Lite FM Now Ad Free For 4 Hours Mornings

[b-turner]

I worked Houston and the town in the rural couny seat.

In Houston any business that could possibly afford radio had an agency. Zero didn't.

In the small market, if you aren't on the street seeing moms and pops, you ain't eating.

 

[davideduardo]

But there STILL have to be a few local business' that would maybe, possibly like to advertise on a station or stations.

In a market with such a huge extension... 17 million... over three states... only businesses with widespread distribution (many stores or offices all over the market) can afford the rates that audience sizes like WLTW has. And nearly 100% of such businesses have an agency. The few that buy direct actually have an in-house ad department which works like an agency and buys like an agency.

But it seems like the big radio corporations make it almost impossible to do so.

Because they can't sell WLTW at the same rates as a local station in Morristown does.

Unfortunately, I talked to a local business that did advertise on the "mom & pop" station that still has local sales people [more like a small group station] told me he might as well have thrown his money in the trash can. He got NO increase in his business from the ads so he declined when they came around again.

That is why those larger accounts have agencies... they determine where there is a match of a medium with their client's goods or services.

 

[davideduardo]

In Houston any business that could possibly afford radio had an agency. Zero didn't.

That is true in nearly all of at least the top 15 to 20 markets.

One of my jobs at Salsoul in Puerto Rico ( #1 for 20 consecutive years) was to manage sales. We had three sellers and myself, and did not even take local business. We called on roughly 125 agencies and house agencies and that was it.

I has numerous occasions to turn down local direct as those accounts took too much work to be profitable. The only direct business we did take was "you come to us with cash or a bank draft and we will run your ads" for night clubs... which all ran outside of the hours agencies bought..

In the small market, if you aren't on the street seeing moms and pops, you ain't eating.

And ratings are the last thing those accounts care about, right?

 

[Yabadabado1]

In a market with such a huge extension... 17 million... over three states... only businesses with widespread distribution (many stores or offices all over the market) can afford the rates that audience sizes like WLTW has. And nearly 100% of such businesses have an agency. The few that buy direct actually have an in-house ad department which works like an agency and buys like an agency.

Because they can't sell WLTW at the same rates as a local station in Morristown does.

That is why those larger accounts have agencies... they determine where there is a match of a medium with their client's goods or services.

That I understand. NYC area is unlike any other except the bigger metropolitan areas. I was referring more to areas, maybe mid-sized markets or smaller that maybe have one to three stores that just want to advertise on the smaller Big 3 [or more] stations including the single owner AM/FM stations. I've driven around the midwestern/southern areas enough over the years to listen to the "backwater" stations and they've had some local ads that really were smart, funny and impressive and I've heard some announcers that would have made Ben Stein from "Ferris Bueller" seem like Robin Williams on a cocaine high. And listening to CFZM out of Toronto.....they apparently have only ONE guy that does all their ad announcing, or so it seems. To me, it just makes all ads seem to blend one into another and if you asked me to ID what they were selling, I'd be hard put to name them.

 

[nonstopoldies]

I find Lite NY fascinating as a station. It's Lite, but is pretty much middle ground AC and I do wonder how their figures would look if they reverted to full on soft AC again, like other markets have. Is the market ripe for a rival fully fledged soft AC, much like Miami had? Although if you look at Easy 93, that has shifted to more gold based AC rather than soft AC, but soft AC was what originally put the station to number 1. Is there not enough love for soft AC? Markets like San Francisco have The Breeze, which is certainly softer than Lite NY, but seems to give KOIT a run for its money with audience.

On another note, if you were a local radio station and only doing local sales without agencies buying, would soft AC be more appealing in this space, rather than purely being sold to agency advertisers who buy figures in bulk?

 

[davideduardo]

That I understand. NYC area is unlike any other except the bigger metropolitan areas. I was referring more to areas, maybe mid-sized markets or smaller that maybe have one to three stores that just want to advertise on the smaller Big 3 [or more] stations including the single owner AM/FM stations. I've driven around the midwestern/southern areas enough over the years to listen to the "backwater" stations and they've had some local ads that really were smart, funny and impressive and I've heard some announcers that would have made Ben Stein from "Ferris Bueller" seem like Robin Williams on a cocaine high. And listening to CFZM out of Toronto.....they apparently have only ONE guy that does all their ad announcing, or so it seems. To me, it just makes all ads seem to blend one into another and if you asked me to ID what they were selling, I'd be hard put to name them.

Put it this way: if a store or business serves substantial parts, if not all, of a metro area, then the cost of advertising on a major station may be justified if all the other variables fit in place. By that I mean that the station format fits the business' customer's tastes, the ad is well written and presented, competitors don't have better offerings or a better location, and so on.

Advertising is effective if the amount of increased sales is a number of multiples of the cost of each ad and t he cost of the whole campaign. In other words, is there a good return on the investment.

In a small metro, just being a business that serves the whole market is not enough. Radio is a conductor between the messenger (the store) and the receiver (the potential customer). There are so many other variables involved that it is hard to measure effectiveness of even a good message.

 

[davideduardo]

I find Lite NY fascinating as a station. It's Lite, but is pretty much middle ground AC and I do wonder how their figures would look if they reverted to full on soft AC again, like other markets have.

The problem with soft AC stations is that they lean too old in demographic appeal. We see that younger demos... under 55 or 60 or so... want a bit brighter songs. If a station is "too AC" you have the phenomenon of WDUV in years past which was being #1 but way outside the top 10 in billings because the demos were too old. The music was too old and too soft... think Carpenters and Barry Manilow.

Is the market ripe for a rival fully fledged soft AC, much like Miami had? Although if you look at Easy 93, that has shifted to more gold based AC rather than soft AC, but soft AC was what originally put the station to number 1.

Yes, but it leaned old, and did not get the revenue. Just as sister WDUV updated its presentation so did Easy in Miami. They could not sell the older demos.

Is there not enough love for soft AC? Markets like San Francisco have The Breeze, which is certainly softer than Lite NY, but seems to give KOIT a run for its money with audience.

There is no lack of "love" but the lovers are too old.

On another note, if you were a local radio station and only doing local sales without agencies buying, would soft AC be more appealing in this space, rather than purely being sold to agency advertisers who buy figures in bulk?

Any local account big enough to pay significant rates is going to be with an agency... local or national. Sure, there are accounts that can buy on the bigger stations without an agency, but they generally have their own ad manager or even an in-house ad department. And the issue is that so many local businesses have disappeared due to the Walmarts and Amazons that there is not much left.

 

[nonstopoldies]

The problem with soft AC stations is that they lean too old in demographic appeal. We see that younger demos... under 55 or 60 or so... want a bit brighter songs. If a station is "too AC" you have the phenomenon of WDUV in years past which was being #1 but way outside the top 10 in billings because the demos were too old. The music was too old and too soft... think Carpenters and Barry Manilow.

Yes, but it leaned old, and did not get the revenue. Just as sister WDUV updated its presentation so did Easy in Miami. They could not sell the older demos.

There is no lack of "love" but the lovers are too old.

Any local account big enough to pay significant rates is going to be with an agency... local or national. Sure, there are accounts that can buy on the bigger stations without an agency, but they generally have their own ad manager or even an in-house ad department. And the issue is that so many local businesses have disappeared due to the Walmarts and Amazons that there is not much left.

If you look at what KISQ (Breeze) is playing, they aren't playing really old soft stuff like Barry Manilow, it's quite 80s to now focused and has some tempo, albeit not much. It's still a far easier listen than WLTW, but seems to perform well without the Rihanna We Found Love type stuff.

The past hour or so looks on KISQ looks like this...

Heaven - Bryan Adams
Caribbean Queen - Billy Ocean
Suddenly - Billy Ocean
With Or Without You- U2
Just the Way You Are - Bruno Mars
Un-Break My Heart - Toni Braxton
Your Song - Elton John
Every Time You Go Away - Paul Young
Love Me Like You Do - Ellie Goulding
Every Breath You Take - The Police
Baby, Come To Me - Patti Austin
(I Can't Help) Falling In Love With You - UB40

As much as stations have evolved from soft AC to mainstream AC, this is surely an example of how soft AC can evolve without not being soft AC? It's why I'm intrigued about this format and age demos etc. Although the audience may weigh older to this, I still think younger people would find this appealing.

 

[TheM1ghtyBear]

Although if you look at Easy 93, that has shifted to more gold based AC rather than soft AC, but soft AC was what originally put the station to number 1.

It's pretty much the same story with WLIT in Chicago. I'd thought they'd be shifting towards Mainstream AC when they started playing Pink Pony Club back last summer.

 

[Barry]

I wonder whether Lite will revert to three hour commercial free blocks later in the year, when advertisers place more ads.
Actually, I am surprised that they had kept the three hour ad free blocks for over a year, without cutting back on them.
Also, it’s interesting that Hot A/C WNEW FM also has several hours commercial free each day, but divides them into various time periods, rather than running them all at once.

 

[Yabadabado1]

I



That is why those larger accounts have agencies... they determine where there is a match of a medium with their client's goods or services.

I'll give the guy props for at least trying. Some places you can go into and the business owner would go "Radio? What's that?"