• Get involved.
    We want your input!
    Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.

    After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
    If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.

    After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
    https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/

    Thanks in advance and have fun!
    RadioDiscussions Administrators

Bob Hoffman on Advertising B.S: missed opportunities in the 50+ demo

J

joebtsflk1

Here's a snippet from his keynote talk before the NAB last month at the Radio Show, the full text of which is here: http://www.typeagroup.com/2014/09/rab-talk.html#more . Read the whole text from that link before commenting (the first half is about B.S. in Advertising in general, and is germane to the topic below)

"Second, now that we’re on a roll, I have another friendly tip: you are sitting on gold and you don’t have a strategy for extracting it. The gold is people over 50. Let me give you some facts.


· People over 50 are responsible for almost half of all consumer spending in U.S. (Nielsen)


· If Americans over 50 were a nation, they’d be the third largest economy in the world (AARP)


· People over 50 buy 62% of all new cars (Polk)"
 
joebtsflk1 said:
Here's a snippet from his keynote talk before the NAB last month at the Radio Show, the full text of which is here: http://www.typeagroup.com/2014/09/rab-talk.html#more . Read the whole text from that link before commenting (the first half is about B.S. in Advertising in general, and is germane to the topic below)

"Second, now that we’re on a roll, I have another friendly tip: you are sitting on gold and you don’t have a strategy for extracting it. The gold is people over 50. Let me give you some facts.


· People over 50 are responsible for almost half of all consumer spending in U.S. (Nielsen)


· If Americans over 50 were a nation, they’d be the third largest economy in the world (AARP)


· People over 50 buy 62% of all new cars (Polk)"
Click to expand...

But those are all new developments. It didn't use to be that way, and the radio industry bases all decisions on the way things used to be.
 
joebtsflk1 said:
It isn't just radio...he's indicting all of his fellow practitioners in the whole advertising industry.
Click to expand...

The thing is, there is so much churn and turnover in the advertising industry that folks who keep their minds rooted in the past usually fall by the wayside. But in radio, those whose minds were fossilized several decades ago are now running the industry. Though some of them also post in here to tell us mere listeners how wrong we are when we suggest that radio might consider updating its practices to get with the times.
 
Ho hum. Another boomer preaching to an audience of boomers about the value of boomers. They should take away his speaking license.

When a 30 year old advertising exec tells me that boomers are a missed opportunity, then I'll listen. Because there's NO ONE in radio who disagrees with Hoffman. He's preaching to converted. The problem is the advertising folks aren't interested. Yes, he's indicting his industry. But they stopped listening to him a long time ago.
 
Chuck said:
Yeah, Big A, but he might be right....
Click to expand...

It doesn't matter if he's right. The people who have the money get to decide how they want to spend it. If they don't want to spend it on radio aiming at boomers, there is NOTHING you can say, no facts, no charts, no research, no ratings, no nothing that will change their minds.
 
Maybe so on a national spot level. Some "30 something" account executive at a national agency may not get it, but I've found that a lot of local advertisers do get it. What's more, they tell me that it works. So instead of waiting for a big agency to call you (it could be a long wait) you have to go out and pound the pavement to find local sponsors. It's hard work, but they are out there, and like a lot of boomers, they do have money.
 
TheBigA said:
Ho hum. Another boomer preaching to an audience of boomers about the value of boomers. They should take away his speaking license.

When a 30 year old advertising exec tells me that boomers are a missed opportunity, then I'll listen. Because there's NO ONE in radio who disagrees with Hoffman. He's preaching to converted. The problem is the advertising folks aren't interested. Yes, he's indicting his industry. But they stopped listening to him a long time ago.
Click to expand...

Time will tell, I suppose. Some greedy little 30 year old might figure it out, hold his or her nose and instruct the clients to spend more money on the 50+ demo. Or all the bromides may be right, that advertising to 50+ is a wasted effort, for their buying habits have been long established and resistant to change. I doubt that anyone in the advertising biz or in the media biz knows what might be true. I know I sure don't.

Until then, you're absolutely right. Whether the ad dollars are being spent rationally or not, you have to follow the money.

(BTW, there will be a quiz on the first half of Mr. Hoffman's talk, and how many expletives he uttered...)
 
TheBigA said:
It doesn't matter if he's right. The people who have the money get to decide how they want to spend it. If they don't want to spend it on radio aiming at boomers, there is NOTHING you can say, no facts, no charts, no research, no ratings, no nothing that will change their minds.
Click to expand...

In other words, "we know we're wrong but we're not going to do anything about it"?
 
Ravens said:
In other words, "we know we're wrong but we're not going to do anything about it"?
Click to expand...

Depends who the "we" is. We in radio would love to program to over-50s. I've pitched the concept to obvious sponsors like Whole Foods. They came back to me and said they don't need to advertise to that demo because they already shop our stores. That's just one example, but I have lots of them. So we're left with insurance and drug companies.

Advertisers give a lot of time and thought deciding how to spend their money. I'm not saying they're thoughtless. They always have good explanations when they say no. But for the most part, they very often say no.

The most interesting part of this discussion comes from talking to boomers on this site who tell me over and over how they absolutely hate advertising, and aren't influenced by it. I hear that over and over. If boomers aren't influenced by advertising, it makes it very hard for us to justify programming to them. Unless they're willing to pay a subscription, which they also don't like. I'd love to program radio strictly to boomers. They're very loyal to programming. But they hate advertising. And unfortunately, that's how we pay for the programming.
 
TheBigA said:
The most interesting part of this discussion comes from talking to boomers on this site who tell me over and over how they absolutely hate advertising, and aren't influenced by it. I hear that over and over.
Click to expand...

We hate bad advertising. That's not the same as hating all advertising.
 
I know I'm crazy, but I've found that if you make the spots sound like part of the programming, merely informing you of things going on in your community, then boomers respond positively. They don't like people shouting at them car dealer style, but if you tell them about a great road show that will be visiting their area, they are anxious to buy tickets. They all go out to eat. Restaurants are prime advertisers, and their owners tell me that their spots really work.

Most boomers have decided that they aren't going down easily so things like health clubs, vacations, Harley dealers and even tractor dealers who sell high end 4-wheelers are fair game. Yeah, we do have our share of "retirement communities" and even funeral homes, but our number one advertisers are financial planners and stock brokers. A lot of people over 50 have money and want to know what to do with it. Personally, I like the bumper sticker on an RV that said "We're spending our kid's inheritance."

Perhaps it takes being selective about your sponsors to make it work. It's really not that hard.
 
Chuck said:
I know I'm crazy, but I've found that if you make the spots sound like part of the programming, merely informing you of things going on in your community, then boomers respond positively.
Click to expand...

That pre-supposes that you as the salesman have the option to make the spot. In my world, the advertiser makes the spot. It's their money, they get to sound as good or as bad as they want. We can, and often, do suggest. But they usually trust their own people, regardless of how bad that advice is.

Chuck said:
Perhaps it takes being selective about your sponsors to make it work. It's really not that hard.
Click to expand...

That sounds very easy, but we bill millions of dollars a year.
 
Last edited:
Well, some people "get it," others don't. The ones who don't listen are usually disappointed with their results.
 
Chuck said:
Well, some people "get it," others don't. The ones who don't listen are usually disappointed with their results.
Click to expand...

That may be, but once again, it's their money. We can suggest, we can show them how to improve their results, but you know what they say about leading a horse to water.
 
TheBigA said:
Who is "we?"
Click to expand...

The people you referred to when you said, "boomers on this site". I am one of them, and speaking for all of us. Don't you read your own posts?

TheBigA said:
That pre-supposes that you as the salesman have the option to make the spot. In my world, the advertiser makes the spot. It's their money, they get to sound as good or as bad as they want. We can, and often, do suggest. But they usually trust their own people, regardless of how bad that advice is.
Click to expand...

That's the difference between a salesman and an order taker.
 
Is this the same Bob Hoffman that was once General Manager of WSEE-TV in Erie, PA?
 
Status
This thread has been closed due to inactivity. You can create a new thread to discuss this topic.


Back
Top Bottom