radiorama1 said:
I know you are a pro and usually agree with your posts about 95-99% of the time, but I have to respectfully disagree with you there. I guarantee you NOBODY who used to listen to WFNX would listen regularly to a station with a playlist like that.
All good. I apologize if that came across as if they are specifically targeting the FNX listener. Not what I meant.
It's not about listening. It's about
exposed "listening." Nobody's targeting an audience anymore. They want to be *on* where potential meter holders congregate. It's the bane of our existence.
My bet is former 'FNX listeners aren't meter carriers anyway. Meter holders are contest players. People who perform for the payoff. Pavlov's dogs. The most ubiquitous formats are the winners right now in PPM. With Boston's pseudo-cosmopolitan image, I suspect the stations played in shops, and offices want to appear to be less Magic, and not quite JAMN. This is what Mix is trying to achieve.
Male buys are fewer & far-between now. Everyone's budgets have been slashed, and more buying is coming from national agencies who have no idea what the format is. Nor, do they care. What's your rating point? That's it.
They look at a demo, buy (and this is a shocker) mid top-ten performers. Why? Value. if you're #1, you're too expensive, and my dollar doesn't go as far. The companies who can fortify the buys with flankers, that rank the same with regard to ratings point, but are more cost-effective, take the dollars off the table.
With compression, a .4 is a .4. Whether you're #3 or #14. Agencies don't have time to hear how ratings points aren't equal. Show me the numbers, buy 4 deep in whatever demo. We're done.
It's not about the product. It's about product placement. *Be on everywhere* Perceived hipness so that the environment sounds vibrant is the M.O. in retail. And retail is where the (meter holders) people congregate.
Who controls the money? Who controls the radio? Women. What's the secret to overall success in PPM? Women. If you have them, you win. That's where the money & meters are most likely to be.
I stand by my guesstimate.