amfmsw said:
"However, there are just no signficant buys for any demo over 55."
Tell that to Dennis Hopper.
I'm not quite sure what that means, but...
As mentioned, I looked at the buys for LA last year (and less formally consulted with folks in about half the top-10 markets in the US) and found that the agency buys for 55+ on radio were so rare that they could be truthfully considered the exceptions that prove the rule.
Agencies advise stations when they are planning a buy so that the stations can present rates. Agencies have a Cost Per Point (CPP) goal in the target demo for each market (A CPP for Houston will be half that of LA, for example, because a point in LA represents twice the listeners of one in Houston, approximately). If a station presents a rate that is competitive against the target, they will be considered. If the station is above the CPP, they can offer bonus spots or merchandising or promotion to "equalize" the CPP and make them competitive.
So, stations are presenting rates based on the delivery in the target demo for the account, not based on 12+ boxcar numbers. And by adjusting rates, they can get the buy if they are agressive.
Local stations in the smaller rated markets or in suburban settings or in unrated markets do mostly local direct selling. In such situations, they have an opportunity to convince an advertiser of the value of older listenership. In the agency setting, demo goals are pretty much set in stone ahead of the buying decisions, so tend to be impossible to change. This is why we have relatively successful oldies and standards operations in smaller markets, but few in the larger ones that depend on agency business for a large part of revenues and, in many cases, for the ability to make a profit.
"No, it is called burn. Marginal songs test, you play them, they burn a bit, you stop, you test again after resting, they are again playable."
It's called Lunar Rotation.
No, it's not. A "lunar rotation" is just a very slow rotating category... one which plays very seldom and which is the lowest tier on the rotation grid. I am talking about what some call "platooning" where some songs are forced to rest for as much as 6 months before, automatically, rejoining a regularly rotated category. For example, a song can rest for many months, then come back and play, for example, twice in each daypart over a two month period, and then go back to rest. I use reach and frequency calculations for this kind of song, but this all changes as the PPM rolls out as the R&F formulae change for the new measurement, just as radio usage changes.
By NOT burning ANY 30 year old song by playing it daily in different dayparts, TSL goes through the roof.
No, it depends on the song... a song with a barely passing score composed of some to either side of neutral will behave very differently from one that is 100% scored as a "favorite" by everyone within one standard deviation. The former is dangerous, the other can be played several times a day quite safely.
If a song "tests marginally", but is easy to listen to, not abrasive (like some Kinks songs), and not a novelty, it should be left in 365, but play in an optional time window.
I have no idea what an optional time window is, but the marginally scoring song has no passion. It does not add per se to TSL, but can be used to create a variety image if used sparingly. Big songs played often create good TSL Stations with "too big" playlists with lots of so-so songs get low TSL, while ones with tighter lists made up of hits get the big TSL. TSL is moved by playing favorites, not by playing tons of different songs.
Remember, the TSL of an oldies station, for example, sits in the 8 hours a week range. The week has 168 hours, or 128 in the 6 AM to Midnight dayparts. A song played three times a day will be heard by the average listener only about once a week if it rotates "perfectly" through dayparts and hours.
Would any 45-50 year old woman change the channel when 5th Dimension "Working On A Groovy Thing" plays twice a month with 12 hour seperation? I think not. Oh, but play "Satisfaction" 12 times a week. Are you nuts?
First, a 12 hour separation creates a harmonic... any rotation of 12, 8, 6 or 4 hours will create identical patterns every day!
Second, it is not about "turning off the radio" but about the listening experience. If the listener does not hear enough favorite songs... ones that elicit an emotional response... they will not "like" the station overall. It's about playing each listener's favorites often enough, and not playing negs enough to drive segments of the listenership away.
And yes, I agree that some songs are more popular and should be played more often, but not to the point where you hate the song! Don't you read the threads of how listeners are tired of the old fashioned 400 song programming?
I don't get my radio advice from threads. I get it from talking to listeners and by analyzing listening in Arbitron and then designing a product that fits the listening span I hope to achieve based on playing the best songs.
A few listeners are never going to like a format that is intended to serve the average the best way possible. Too long a playlist drives people to iPods, since there they can determine exactly what songs they are going to hear. On the radio, you are trying to satisfy multiple people all at once, and you can not play songs that don't do this.
Oh but wait, I should stop listening then, right?
Probably.
Buy and Ipod. Buy a Sat radio. But wait! I'm 51. I'm too old to change and try new things! I don't switch habits and brands because I'm an oldie listener.
You missed entirely the sales point. Advertisers do not dispute that early boomers and seniors buy things. The issue is that they are hard to sell, and the cost of selling often erases any profit. No ROI.
In fact, you're reading this on a scribed stone tablet, because I'm too old to grasp new things, like computers. You told me so, so it must be true. I'm leaving now to drink my hemlock.
Does that mean you are going to stop posting?
The fact is that there is a big consumer market over 55, but advertisers can not profitably use radio to create consumption of their offerings because they don't make money doing it.
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