this was taken from "the research doctor" on www.allaccess.com
Station Imaging
Hey doc: Are there any studies or surveys that ask people about the different types of station imaging and what they prefer? For example, short liners (just calls, dial position and position statement 5-10 seconds), longer creative stuff (15-20 seconds long), or jingles? One of my friend's kids referred to a longer piece of imaging between songs (22 seconds) as a "commercial" and said how they didn't like it.
I ask these questions my PD and I debate every day as to the direction of the imaging. He likes longer creative material and I am for the "less is more." What are your thoughts? - Anonymous
Anon:
Good question, but before I get to the answer, I need to start with XXX comments:
My comments in reference to your question don't mean anything. It doesn't matter what I think.
Your comments and your PD's comment don't mean anything. It doesn't matter what you and he think.
The comments from your friend's kid don't mean anything. It doesn't matter what the kid likes or dislikes.
Since the comments from you, your PD, the kid, and me don't matter, then what matters? What matters is what the listeners think. Your PD and you aren't programming the radio station for your enjoyment. Your PD and you are programming for the enjoyment of your listeners. Therefore, you need to ask your listeners what they like. Your PD and you can debate every minute of the day for the next decade about which approach is best, but every minute of the debate is wasted time because the only comments that matter are those that come from your listeners.
My first answer, then, is that you need to ask your listeners. Case closed.
But wait, I know what you're thinking — "Did he fire six shots, or only five?" Ooops. Wait a second, that's from a Clint Eastwood movie. Sorry. My guess is that you're probably thinking or saying something like, "We don't have any money to conduct our own research." I know the decision about not conducting research probably isn't yours. I would imagine that your GM and/or owner is/are the culprits. "We don't have any money to conduct research." Yea, sure. I have heard that before and my opinion never changes: How can anyone spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, or maybe millions of dollars, on a radio station, but claim that he/she/they can't afford about $30,000 on a research study to find out what the listeners think about the radio station? Talk about a myopic, nonsensical viewpoint! It's poor management/ownership at the grandest scale. But what do I know?
OK, so I'm going to take a guess that you won't conduct your own research since your GM and/or owner don't want to spend the money to investigate the radio station's programming — the product. Here is what I know, and I'm not suggesting that your listeners think the same way. These are only summary comments:
Radio people are worried (fixated, concerned, obsessed) about jingles, liners, creative stuff, imaging, flow, and everything else you want to throw in that list. The research I have conducted during the past 25+ years indicates that the listeners aren't fixated, concerned, and obsessed about the same things. The listeners want to hear things like their favorite music, talk show host, news, weather, and traffic.
When it comes to promotional things, listeners think jingles are fine. They think liners are fine. They think brief mentions of the station's calls/slogan and frequency are fine. But I haven't found them to be obsessed with these items. I haven't found them to select a radio station, or listen to a radio station longer, because of the length or creativity of the liners or other promotion/identification items.
Does that suggest long liners/promos are harmful to the radio station? Not really. What it says is that when listeners are asked what is important to them when they listen to their favorite radio stations, they do not mention liners, slogans, or any other type of promotional information, or the creativity of such information. (Keep in mind that "creative" is in the eye and/or ear of the beholder. What may be creative to you or your PD may be dreadfully boring to your listeners.)
Do long and creative items add to the "feel" or "flow" of a radio station? Radio people think so and many PDs (and others) spend countless hours preparing elaborate and technically sophisticated materials. Listeners don't know, don't care, and/or don't pay a lot of attention to elaborate and sophisticated materials. The listeners pay attention to things like, "This is WAAA/Slogan, 95.7 FM."
It's fine if your PD chooses to spend a lot of time creating elaborate promotional materials, but there is no evidence to suggest that these materials are effective in attracting new listeners or encouraging them to listen more often.
In summary, I can't tell you what to do because I'm not one of your listeners. You and your PD are in the same category — it doesn't matter what you and he think. And you can forget what the ankle biter said because he/she is only a sample of one. If you want to know which approach is the best, you must ask your listeners. If you can't do that, then I guess you'll have to continue debating with your PD. If your listeners like long promotional materials, the listeners will stay tuned. If your listeners think your long promotional materials are only a variation of a typical commercial, then they may tune to another radio station.
Ask the GM and/or owner what to do. After all, it's only the product.
what does everyone think of this?
Station Imaging
Hey doc: Are there any studies or surveys that ask people about the different types of station imaging and what they prefer? For example, short liners (just calls, dial position and position statement 5-10 seconds), longer creative stuff (15-20 seconds long), or jingles? One of my friend's kids referred to a longer piece of imaging between songs (22 seconds) as a "commercial" and said how they didn't like it.
I ask these questions my PD and I debate every day as to the direction of the imaging. He likes longer creative material and I am for the "less is more." What are your thoughts? - Anonymous
Anon:
Good question, but before I get to the answer, I need to start with XXX comments:
My comments in reference to your question don't mean anything. It doesn't matter what I think.
Your comments and your PD's comment don't mean anything. It doesn't matter what you and he think.
The comments from your friend's kid don't mean anything. It doesn't matter what the kid likes or dislikes.
Since the comments from you, your PD, the kid, and me don't matter, then what matters? What matters is what the listeners think. Your PD and you aren't programming the radio station for your enjoyment. Your PD and you are programming for the enjoyment of your listeners. Therefore, you need to ask your listeners what they like. Your PD and you can debate every minute of the day for the next decade about which approach is best, but every minute of the debate is wasted time because the only comments that matter are those that come from your listeners.
My first answer, then, is that you need to ask your listeners. Case closed.
But wait, I know what you're thinking — "Did he fire six shots, or only five?" Ooops. Wait a second, that's from a Clint Eastwood movie. Sorry. My guess is that you're probably thinking or saying something like, "We don't have any money to conduct our own research." I know the decision about not conducting research probably isn't yours. I would imagine that your GM and/or owner is/are the culprits. "We don't have any money to conduct research." Yea, sure. I have heard that before and my opinion never changes: How can anyone spend hundreds of thousands of dollars, or maybe millions of dollars, on a radio station, but claim that he/she/they can't afford about $30,000 on a research study to find out what the listeners think about the radio station? Talk about a myopic, nonsensical viewpoint! It's poor management/ownership at the grandest scale. But what do I know?
OK, so I'm going to take a guess that you won't conduct your own research since your GM and/or owner don't want to spend the money to investigate the radio station's programming — the product. Here is what I know, and I'm not suggesting that your listeners think the same way. These are only summary comments:
Radio people are worried (fixated, concerned, obsessed) about jingles, liners, creative stuff, imaging, flow, and everything else you want to throw in that list. The research I have conducted during the past 25+ years indicates that the listeners aren't fixated, concerned, and obsessed about the same things. The listeners want to hear things like their favorite music, talk show host, news, weather, and traffic.
When it comes to promotional things, listeners think jingles are fine. They think liners are fine. They think brief mentions of the station's calls/slogan and frequency are fine. But I haven't found them to be obsessed with these items. I haven't found them to select a radio station, or listen to a radio station longer, because of the length or creativity of the liners or other promotion/identification items.
Does that suggest long liners/promos are harmful to the radio station? Not really. What it says is that when listeners are asked what is important to them when they listen to their favorite radio stations, they do not mention liners, slogans, or any other type of promotional information, or the creativity of such information. (Keep in mind that "creative" is in the eye and/or ear of the beholder. What may be creative to you or your PD may be dreadfully boring to your listeners.)
Do long and creative items add to the "feel" or "flow" of a radio station? Radio people think so and many PDs (and others) spend countless hours preparing elaborate and technically sophisticated materials. Listeners don't know, don't care, and/or don't pay a lot of attention to elaborate and sophisticated materials. The listeners pay attention to things like, "This is WAAA/Slogan, 95.7 FM."
It's fine if your PD chooses to spend a lot of time creating elaborate promotional materials, but there is no evidence to suggest that these materials are effective in attracting new listeners or encouraging them to listen more often.
In summary, I can't tell you what to do because I'm not one of your listeners. You and your PD are in the same category — it doesn't matter what you and he think. And you can forget what the ankle biter said because he/she is only a sample of one. If you want to know which approach is the best, you must ask your listeners. If you can't do that, then I guess you'll have to continue debating with your PD. If your listeners like long promotional materials, the listeners will stay tuned. If your listeners think your long promotional materials are only a variation of a typical commercial, then they may tune to another radio station.
Ask the GM and/or owner what to do. After all, it's only the product.
what does everyone think of this?