JacoBlog - Jacobs Media's Blog

Email & Radio

There are times when Radio seems almost Third World in its efforts to catch up to other media, when it comes to technology and digital strategies.  But there's one area where Radio is often ahead of the curve - email databases.

At Jacobs Media, we have been fortunate to work and interact with a variety of "competitive media" in television, print, and other technologies.  And we're often shocked by how little thought is given to the strategy of amassing customer email addresses, and creating communities.

But in Radio, we've been doing it for years.  Yes, there are inefficiencies and other speed bumps along the way, but the chances are good that an FM Rock station in Colorado Springs may have a better and bigger database than many cable television channels and other media and technology entities.

That's why a new research report from Ipsos for Habeas, Inc. caught my eye.  There are a few findings that you may find interesting.

First, more than eight of ten respondents say they prefer doing business with companies that use opt-in permission to send them email.  Of course, in Radio's case, that's the method stations use to entice listeners to sign up in the first place.

Second, more than eight in ten also say that a company's reputation can be negatively impacted if it shares their email addresses with third parties.  There are stations making this mistake right now, and it can do permanent damage to their ability to ever rehab the audience relationship.  While sales should have every opportunity to make money on digital and interactive products, a line in the sand needs to be drawn when it comes to turning over a database to advertisers.

Finally, nearly nine in ten say they would like companies to give them more choices over the content and frequency of the emails they receive.  This includes advertisements, coupons and special offers, articles, etc.  This is the next step where Radio stations need to go with their databases, and it's a simple web poll/research procedure than can help determine what members of your email club actually want.  Too often, I receive station emails hyping concerts, presales, and events I have no interest in.  Get to know your database members, find out their interests, and tailor your communiqués to their interests, and the connection grows stronger.

Radio has made considerable progress with email database marketing.  Email "blasts" are getting better, and stations are gathering intelligence about the best ways to communicate with their online audiences.  Giving the database what it wants by customizing content to their interests is an important next step in creating even better relationships, loyalties, and communities.

The Next Radio Tsunami?

Today's guest blog comes from Paul Jacobs, who provides insight on the challenges of radio's listening audience:

Like all media, radio faces significant consumer and technology-based challenges that have been well-documented in this blog and others.  But there is a potential macro event taking place that radio requires awareness and action.  This is because a major portion of our listening base - the in-car environment - is being challenged.

We know from "The Bedroom Project" and other research that radio's stranglehold on "portability" has been compromised.  Gone are the days when listeners carried a Walkman radio around with them.  For many Americans (especially young ones), even the existence of a radio in their homes is a thing of the past.  Today, in-car listening is the last bastion of radio dominance.

But what happens when people abandon their cars and take the bus, the train, or the subway?

That's right, with gas prices above $4, a recent article in USA Today shows that mass transit ridership increased 3% in the first quarter compared with a year ago - the highest levels in 50 years.

And it's likely that a large portion of these consumers may be no longer listening to the radio on their way to and from work.

So we have two choices:  we can sit around and lament our bad fortune, or we as an industry can aggressively fight back.  In big mass transit markets, could deals be cut with Sony or other providers to purchase portable AM/FM radios and hand them out at train stations?  Can the NAB take the lead here?

Should radio buy transit advertising promoting listening to the radio while riding?

Let's not sit back and let outside forces impact our destiny.  Morning and afternoon drive is the lifeline of many of our brands, and the dayparts that traditionally drive ratings.  We have to adapt to changing conditions, and stay relevant.

(And you thought I was going to talk about iPods in cars, right?)

D'oh! Online Communities & Your Station

Here's a revolutionary announcement - Fox is aggregating a group of 2,000 loyal viewers and "giving them a seat at the table in the decision-making process," according to Melva Benoit, a senior VP of audience intelligence with the network.  Holy NeoRadio!

Of course, many radio stations have been engaging listeners via email databases for years now, but the Fox announcement lends more credence to the wisdom of using the audience to help guide programming, promotions, website, and marketing decisions.  Fox notes that it plans to use its "community" as another voice beyond perceptual research and focus groups.

This is exactly how radio should be shaping its future.  As we've seen with our Tech Polls, Listener Advisory Board groups, and other tools, our email databases are a fountain of information and feedback from loyal, caring listeners.

In many ways, radio has been ahead of its curve, but simply hasn't formally tapped into this resource, partially because it's so different from traditional research studies.  Many radio stations have larger and more vital databases than most cable television networks.  It's just a matter of putting together a program, and staying with it.

Even Homer Simpson could tell you that.

When Waterfalls Go Up - Part 2

In yesterday's blog, we talked about how the automakers may need to pay more attention to teens in order to better understand how consumers will eventually use dashboard media.

Too bad that radio never took that advice.  A new study from Coleman Insights indicates that we're at a techno "tipping point" when it comes to teens and the ways they use new gadgets and media to access and enjoy music.

Of course, that's what our "Bedroom Project" was all about, and many of you remember those storytelling videos.  But Jon's research inspired me to go back to our most recent Tech Poll, and just focus on those who are under 18.  It's a sample of nearly 500 young Rock listeners, and their tech reality differs greatly from their older counterparts.

>Click for larger view<

Here's how to read this Media Usage Pyramid.  The pyramid is constructed in the same order as the total sample, so when you see various dimensions "widen," it's a deviation from the norm.  So, at the very bottom, 85% of our teens own their own cell phone, while only 81% listen to the radio at least an hour a day.  That radio listening percentage is lower than for any other age group, and it speaks to the phenomenon that Jon reports in his study.  (TV viewing is also on the low side.)

But check out Internet use (at least one hour/day).  It's at 93% and leads all other activities/media.  We also have exceptionally high numbers for iPod/mp3 player ownership (87%), video streaming and social networking site usage (both with 80%), and of course, lots of text messaging (61%).  But between the Internet, iPods, sharing music and thoughts on MySpace and Facebook, and using texting as a conduit to friends, these teens are on very different platforms than many adults.

Bottom line?  It doesn't look like the 25-54 data at all.  And that's the point.  Radio's been talking to aging audiences to determine the status quo for at least two decades - instead of talking to the tech movers and shakers - teens - and attempting to understand what's next.  Studying those waterfalls heading upward would be a smart investment in time and money for a medium that's struggling to get its mojo back.

When Waterfalls Go Up - Part 1

As technology moves at lightning speed, it is increasingly difficult for radio companies (and all businesses) to track and respond to it - much less get ahead of it.  When you consider that iPods, Google, YouTube, and MySpace have only been around a few short years, it can be mind-boggling to even think about what we'll all being doing in 2010.

But that's precisely what we're paid to do.  Because as radio has learned - the hard way - continuing the same repetitive motions leads to stagnation, and ultimately being usurped by new media, and perceptions that we've become passé.

So how do we keep up with what's next?  Well, the auto companies are grappling with the same issues.  Finally, cassette decks in dashboards are vanishing.  But do consumers want satellite radios, HD radios, GPS systems, or wireless communications systems?

Tom Steenman, VP of Intel's digital enterprise group puts it this way: 

"It will waterfall up instead of down."

That is, in-car technology is something that young consumers "get" and appreciate, so car makers would be smart to load up affordable cars with the latest gadgets and services.  "It is evolving rapidly, Steenman said.  "The car is becoming the next frontier."  Eventually, telematics (as the automotive business calls it) will work its way up to older demos who have more money to spend.

From our Tech Polls and the Arbitron "Bedroom Project" ethnographic study we conducted last year, that logic rings true.  If you want to know what you'll be doing a few years from now, talk to a few 14 year-olds.  One of our "Bedroom" respondents told us "Email is for old people," and that finding made us stop and think about the differences between adults and teens.

A few years ago, I remember watching my tween-aged daughter IMing seven of her friends simultaneously.  At the time, I wondered who in their right mind would do this, and why she wouldn't just pick up our landline phone and call them all.  A couple of years later, I found myself IMing my co-workers two doors down the hall.  And who needs a landline?

The same might be said for social networking sites, blogs, cell phone texting, and many of the other tech trends that have taken societal hold in the past few years.  They start with youth and "waterfall up."  Radio has all but lost the teen audience, and technology mixed with corporate denial and arrogance ("Where else are they going to go?) have been the culprits.  But it doesn't have to be that way.  Teens will tell you what they want - and don't want - and their preferences are "techno-omens" about what's to come.

Tomorrow, we'll look at teens and Tech, along with Jon Coleman's new study about how we're at the techno "tipping point" when it comes to young people and music consumption.

If You Spend It, They Will Come

As radio proceeds through tough financial times, marketing budgets (among other expenditures) have been slashed.  What type of impact do these cuts have, and how might they be hurting the medium's long-term growth, as CEOs continue to tighten the belts?

There's no better Petri dish than right here in the State of Michigan where the economy is clearly the worst in the nation, led by the highest unemployment numbers in the 50 states.  Trust me - it sucked here even before the economy tubed.

And yet, Michigan has announced it will increase its tourism marketing budget by 33% to $17.5 million.  How can they justify this, while jobs continue to deteriorate, along with home prices?

It's because the campaign - "Pure Michigan" - worked.  In an independent study conducted by Longwood International, they found that for each advertising dollar spent out-of-state (Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Milwaukee, and Ontario), $2.82 came back to Michigan in new tax revenue.  As a result, they're budgeting more for advertising, and expanding it to other markets in the Midwest. 

It's a great campaign on both TV and radio - voiced by Michigander Tim Allen - and of course, that is a big part of its success.  But the other side is simply the same basic axiom that radio reps have been saying to clients since the beginning of time:  marketing works.

Here are two examples of what the spots sound like:

Download MP3 File of "Gone Fishin'"

Download MP3 File of "Beachtowns - Lake Effect

We should follow our own advice.

And by the way, so does great writing, outstanding delivery, and a well put-together audio campaign (something that's been missing from so much local production over the past decade).  It's amazing how a well-crafted commercial campaign stands out in this environment.

Music Discovery

In the midst of this musicFIRST fiasco, radio's role in breaking music and artists continues to be minimized.  Of course to those of us in radio, this nearly "1984" spin about the truth is mind-boggling.

But now, consumers weigh in on the topic.  A new Pew study - "The Internet and Consumer Choices" - reveals what radio people have known since Alan Freed.

Here is a sample from the Pew report:

- The Internet is a great tool for connecting consumers with artists and music info, "But it doesn't strongly influence how they buy."

- 56% of music buyers say they find out about music through online sources (a band's website or streaming samples of songs).  But more than half of music buyers say that online information had no impact at all on their purchasing decision.

- Yet, 83% of music buyers say they find out about music "from hearing a song on the radio."

So, it makes you wonder why the marketing "strategies" on the label side continue to veer away from broadcast radio.  An artist interview on a satellite radio may not reach any more listeners than the cume of a Boise radio station, but that's what excites them.

This is more proof that radio is still the prime source of how consumers discover music.  Too bad the music business isn't doing research, and instead is letting their anger and emotions dictate policy decisions.

iPods & Cars

Our Tech Poll clearly shows the impact that iPods are having on the driving experience.  While iPod ownership continues to soar, more than half of these consumers say they can connect these devices into their cars.  It's more proof that radio continues to fight a difficult "location war," especially in its long-time bastion - the car.

*Among iPod Owners

But radio isn't the only one suffering from the iPod in-car explosion.  It turns out that in-dash audio aftermarket sales are down 21% for the first four months of '08.  A new article in Brandweek discusses how companies like Pioneer and JVC Mobile are combating this trend with new campaigns.

Pioneer is going to shoot older (and away from the iPod super-target), while focusing on devices that include GPS to Bluetooth to iPod connectors to voice recognition.  JVC is going in a different direction, using the Internet in a campaign that features rock bands Buckcherry and Papa Roach to promote El Kameleon, a device that has Bluetooth, video, and a proximity sensor.

Meanwhile, neither HD Radio nor satellite radio are even mentioned in this article as gadget come-ons to lure consumers back to the in-car audio aftermarket.  Wonder what that means.

Dumb & Dumber

Kudos to Edison's Larry Rosin for his recent think piece about college grads and radio.  If you haven't read it yet, it's worth your time.  To give you the 10-second headline, Larry's Arbitron analysis shows that college grads give considerably less quarter-hours to radio than their less educated counterparts.

And he raises a myriad of questions about the implications, which I'll paraphrase below:

1. Is commercial radio programming driving college grads away, and toward other media, gadgets, Public Radio, etc.?

2. Should commercial radio isolate the most fertile of listening environments - at-work - among non-college grads?

3. Why is this phenomenon happening, and why don't college grads spend more time with commercial radio?

4. To make his point, Larry cites San Francisco where non-commercial KQED rules, so is Public Radio doing a better job of serving college grads than commercial radio?

5. And what can we do about it anyway?

Larry's done the industry a service by bringing these issues to the forefront.  Like his original at-work Arbitron survey conducted in 1997, his observations are an eye-opener a decade later.  And like a lot of research, it raises as many new questions as it hoped to answer.

Here are some thoughts to add to the mix:

* What’s the trend on this?  That is, is radio's lower TSL among college grads something that's been regressing over the last decade (since consolidation), or has it always been this way?  We have this same situation in our Tech Polls where the last four years of data is wonderful, but it doesn't really address issues from the '90s - or earlier.  Has radio always had problems with college grads?

* His San Francisco example is interesting.  But are KQED and KFOG representative of most markets?  And notably, a recent Scarborough report identified San Francisco as a Top 10 market where "digital savvies" live - consumers who tend to be on the leading edge of all things techno.

* For college grads, is it simply a time issue, where they just have less of it because of their professions?  And are their jobs less conducive to listening to the radio at-work than their blue collar, less educated counterparts?  It's easier for a construction worker to have the radio on at-work than the attorney or the CPA.

To learn more, I went to our newest Tech Poll where we ask an "early adopter" question.  Sure enough, even college grads who aren't necessarily on the cutting edge of all things technology, are somewhat more likely to be ahead of the curve:

It makes sense.  When you've graduated from college, the chances are good you're making more money, and consequently, can buy more "stuff."  But does Larry's discovery go beyond that obvious truth, and does it have programming implications? As we saw in the KQED example (an exemplary Public Radio station, by the way), many listeners have gravitated to the lower end of the dial all over the country.  Does more "intelligent" programming on Public Radio stations help explain this listening disparity?

We are going to dig deeper into our Tech Poll for more answers.  In the meantime, please weigh in on this interesting topic.

Your Wildest Streams - Part 1

As streaming capability rapidly makes its way into phones and cars, I think about the odd and meandering course that radio has been traveling during the past decade.  Slowly, but surely, most stations and companies have reluctantly thrown in the towel and begun to stream - as if they've been forced to do so.

And amazingly, there are still operators in radio who continue to question the wisdom of streaming.

This belief flies in the face of every bit of research provided by the Arbitron/Edison Internet studies (aren't they up to #78 by now), as well as our four annual Tech Polls, each of which points to the increased listenership that comes with providing a stream.  For too long now, we have argued on behalf of providing a quality stream, equating it to erecting a different transmitter and tower that is capable of reaching an entirely new audience.

Over the years, I have heard many excuses for not streaming, and here are my favorites:

1. "Until it pays for itself, we're not doing it."

2. "Why should I give my content away for free?"  (I still don't understand that one.)

3. "It won't help us in the Arbitron."

4. "I don't want to pay for listeners in Belarus."

5. "You make the choice - a music test or we stream.  We can't do both."

6. "If I let you guys do it, everyone else in the group will want to start streaming, too."

7. "Our station doesn't sound good enough to stream."

8. "I've never streamed anything so why would anyone want to do this?"

9. "Many of our listeners don't have computers."

10. "Our salespeople can't sell it."

I'm sure many of you have heard other excuses, reasons, and rationales for not providing a stream.  But consider this:  when everyone will have the capability of streaming everywhere they go - from their cars to their computers to their phones - what streams will they listen to?

In spite of radio's reluctance to invest in this technology, most of our listeners would prefer to stream the brands they know.  If you live in Philadelphia, you could opt to stream that cool station in London, that public radio station in L.A., or that service that allows you to create your own radio station.  But the odds are better that you'll take the easy and simple way out, and choose WMMR, WMGK, and other local stations that you know and love.  If you don't believe me, just check out the data.

The "Excuse Train" has left the station.