BABY IDOL?

[radio_monster]

So apparently there's 2 Baby Idol contests going on right now (BHT and Froggy). BHT is claiming they did this first but am I taking crazy pills or did Froggy start this? Or does anyone even care?

BTW congrats to WILK for a fantastic book

 

[lifetimedj]

So apparently there's 2 Baby Idol contests going on right now (BHT and Froggy). BHT is claiming they did this first but am I taking crazy pills or did Froggy start this? Or does anyone even care?

BHT did it first - but everyone will think WGGY has done it all along, due to them being the dominant station. They are more top of mind, and covering more audience. In any case like this, the more heritage (and WGGY is by a little bit), more top-of-mind station wins.

I don't think anyone cares about who did it first, except for radio people. You know the BHT people are whining - "WGGY is copying us!!!". Yes BHT, and your "Baby Idol" idea was SO original. Oh wait, it's not.....you're copying American Idol. Of course, those entering their babies in the contest care about the contest, but not "who was first". They just want their child to be seen, and hopefully win.

The only people REALLY interested in this contest (and the only reason it's being run) are the Web/Text marketing people at these stations ("OOOOH - we now have xxxx people in our text/email club!!!!" "OOOH look at the hits on our webpage today!!") and the sales people who are selling the text and web marketing for these stations.

Meanwhile, back in the radio programming departments.......oh wait, nothing's going on there these days. Too busy doing web and text.

 

[waunderlust]

"The only people REALLY interested in this contest (and the only reason it's being run) are the Web/Text marketing people at these stations ("OOOOH - we now have xxxx people in our text/email club!!!!" "OOOH look at the hits on our webpage today!!") and the sales people who are selling the text and web marketing for these stations.

Meanwhile, back in the radio programming departments.......oh wait, nothing's going on there these days. Too busy doing web and text."

OMG! LOL! I thought I was the only person who thought that. Let's see per "web" contests.
Rock107 was looking for "snow bunnies" about 4 entries
JR937 is looking for "country girls" unknown entries

Who in their right mind thinks this web stuff helps in the Arbs? The only thing that may work is a station that's hard to receive in an office building...oh wait, I have yet to EVER see/hear someone at work listening to a streaming station. How many offices want you to use their BUSINESS computer for your entertainment purposes? Or a factory/shipping warehouse with a computer streaming the mx?

Show me ANYONE besides Google making a profit off the internet. The dot com bubble burst is a distant memory to those who lost money and still believe.

Get back to the old brick and mortar idea. Keeping in touch via text and all these social networks is cute, but does it help? Focus on your programming. Keep it local. And, if you want to really connect with someone in your database. Send them a HARDCOPY birthday card in the US mail with a gift certificate to a sponsor.

Sorry for the drift....yeah babies are cute

 

[lifetimedj]

OMG! LOL! I thought I was the only person who thought that. Let's see per "web" contests.
Rock107 was looking for "snow bunnies" about 4 entries
JR937 is looking for "country girls" unknown entries

Who in their right mind thinks this web stuff helps in the Arbs?

Don't get me wrong, web and text stuff CAN be good and useful. It's just that most of the time with radio, it's not.

The fact is you MUST have good programming or the whole web/text marketing is useless. It does absolutely no good to run a text contest, getting someone to tune to a morning show, when the show SUCKS. If it does, they won't listen. The programming has to be the priority, so that IF you're lucky enough to have your text/web marketing to get people to tune in, they actually will want to hang around and listen.

However, these genius companies (you know, the ones laying people off, cutting back on everything including salaries and vacations) are now to the point where a radio station is merely the marketing device for what they are REALLY concentrating on, and that is web and text. And if that's the case, wouldn't you want a LARGE audience to hear your promotion of the text/web? You only get that with good programming, geniuses.

Most radio station websites aren't good. Radio really needs to improve what it's doing there. And when you think about it, some of what's on those sites doesn't make sense: Like having a "video section" on your website. If I'm watching/listening to a video, I'm not listening to your radio station. But then, radio DJ's are known to constantly talk about "what's on TV tonight". No wonder radio has thrown in the towel on the night-time shows, even it's own people don't promote it, don't listen to it. Do you hear any TV stations talking about "what's on the radio today"? Nope, they're not stupid.

Text is very personal, and should be beneficial, if done correctly, and not overdone to the point where people drop from the text list. It can be a great, immediate way to get someone to tune in NOW. But many times the stations are not creating listening of any type, getting repeated listening via text contests. No.....it's just on-air hype of "text as often as you want to increase your chances to win". It's their own game to see how many total texts they get, to then go out and sell that to an advertiser. No reason to tune in.. just keep texting us to get in the drawing to win.

Ratings? Take a look at the Arbitrons for this market for the past couple of years....the emphasis on websites certainly increased in those years, and in the past year or 2, there's been a huge push on text clubs. Anybody see any ratings increases with all of this? Anybody see 979X going up with all the text promotion they do? All the time being put into that, with nothing to show for it in ratings? You better be making a ton of money selling text/web. But wait....if the programming were good, couldn't you be selling the RADIO STATION?

While my comment on nothing going on in the programming department, because they're too busy doing web & text, is funny I guess, it's sad, and true. Again, this goes back to the geniuses at the top of these companies, who've cut back staff size to the point of absurdity. The PD's now are webmasters, when the stations should have a person or staff to PROPERLY do the web and text marketing. In most cases they don't, that's all on the PD's now. So while I'm sure many of them would LIKE to be doing programming of the station, these companies demand the web and text initiatives be the priority.

 

[The Sigon]

Lifetimedj and wanderlust, I think you guys ought to just make sure your button shoes are all done up and good luck at the buggy whip store.

You're both missing the point entirely.

Web, text, are not any radio station's focus. They're tools. And even when they're done poorly and most of them are, to not have them creates the appearance of irrelevance and missing the boat. It's a lifestyle thing.

True to be done right requires at LEAST one person who is dedicated to that alone. But like the ducks ass underwater, owners, GM's, are tight with money. Always expecting more from less. And so some PD's are minding the web. Others have dimbulb dj/computer hobbyists who they're more than just too happy to foist off the web chores too. And it shows.

But like I said, whether it sucks or not, you don't have a website, for sure you're ignored. Text club, pretty much the same thing. If nothing else the station can benefit from both at least in terms of presence or top of mind.

Why do they have a video section? Umm, because they can? Just a guess.

The remark about "dj's talking about what was on television", are you kidding? You don't think they should be talking about the things that every other person who's not on the radio sees, does, talks about, is affected by? You'd have been a great program director in 1965.

Lighten up fellas. I always wonder what happened to guys like you when the barely masked vitriol manifests in such patently illogical (I didn't say stupid but could have) ways.

 

[waunderlust]

Sure "the sigon" I've stopped listening to so many radio stations and stopped watching TV because they didn't have a website/myspace/facebook/twitter/ipod download/free music/text/twitter page.

It's still a radio station. If you have to twitter or text them to listen to your station for something "important. They weren't listening anyway and will probably just delete your message.

 

[lifetimedj]

Lifetimedj and wanderlust, I think you guys ought to just make sure your button shoes are all done up and good luck at the buggy whip store.

Hardly. I'm on the internet all the time, and text many times a day. I think both technologies CAN be useful, as I said previously.

Web, text, are not any radio station's focus.

LOL THAT is funny. Work for one of the "big boys" and you'll see they are THE focus. Do you think all the meetings and conference calls they have all the time are about PROGRAMMING? LOL again!

The remark about "dj's talking about what was on television", are you kidding? You don't think they should be talking about the things that every other person who's not on the radio sees, does, talks about, is affected by? You'd have been a great program director in 1965.

Lighten up fellas. I always wonder what happened to guys like you when the barely masked vitriol manifests in such patently illogical (I didn't say stupid but could have) ways.

I DO think the so-called "personalities" on the air should be "talking about the things that every other person who's not on the radio sees, does....etc". TV is hardly that. Most "personalities" don't have a clue what real people are talking about. I listen to them, I work with them, and hear many across the country while traveling - and most of it's a bore. Self-centered egotists who think listeners are interested in what the personality did yesterday. They need to start actually TALKING to listeners on the phone and in person, and LISTEN to them. You might find out what people are really talking about. That won't happen, though, as most "personalities" treat listeners as an annoyance at best, and look down their nose at them and make fun of them (pretty funny, considering many of the "personalities" I've known and worked with).

When I hear people talking in restaurants, stores, the gym, sports events, etc, it's usually NEVER about TV, it's about things that matter. Media types talk about media, and that goes for radio, TV AND newspaper. The rest of the world couldn't care less about the business, whichever one it is.

Again I ask the question: where are the ratings increases for all the time and effort being put into these initiatives, resulting in far less time put into programming the station? (crickets chirping...................)