Buffalo Cumulus was planning to shut down Talk 1270 last Friday

[Buddy Shula]

Are you over 65, BigA? If (as I reasonably believe) you are not, then your experience will be different. Your example neither proves nor disproves my theory where seniors are concerned.

Don’t bother with the Big A****** K.M. You program a great station to boomers, I own a station for boomers, but this guy knows it all. Younger people under 40 can’t even afford homes right now, but this guy will keep saying that boomers don’t have the wealth or don’t spend money, because he does not know any better. He needs to be taught by us. We can teach him what he should know.

I own a pretty big ad agency in Buffalo, that represents one of the biggest HVAC companies in the country. We do research all the time. Our client is everywhere in all medias. But according to this know-it-all, he is going to educate me on HVAC spending. Do you know what the target demo of our client is ? 45-70. With homes and second homes, large household incomes and wealth, planning to purchase a new heater or AC, plumbing, etc.

Simply put, don’t waste your time with these folks. Their sole purpose is to question you on anything you say because they need our teaching.

 

[TheBigA]

Younger people under 40 can’t even afford homes right now,

Not true. 60% of people under 40 own their own homes. Once again, people under 40 outspend people over 70.

this guy will keep saying that boomers don’t have the wealth or don’t spend money,

Average annual income for people over 65 is 50,000. One third of it comes from Social Security.

Do you know what the target demo of our client is ? 45-70.

What percentage of your audience is under 70?

 

[radiofan2023]

Not true. 60% of people under 40 own their own homes.

In what states?

 

[TheBigA]

In what states?

Nationally

 

[radiofan2023]

Nationally

That’s hard to believe.

 

[RadioGuy1864]

That’s hard to believe.

Not really, remember until a few years ago mortgage rates were like 2.5% People could afford the payments. Today, not so much, prices are up and so are rates. If an under 40 bought a house 3 years ago, they are all set, except now they are "locked in" because they can't afford to move. My son is in his 30's and that's his situation.

 

[Kent]

Maybe...the question remains how do people make buying decisions? Especially older people. Do they listen to ads, or use the same service that've used for 40 years? Most HVAC want to get you into a maintenance contract for repeat business.

I bought a new HVAC unit about six months ago. 💸💸💸 The major factor in my decision was one of my co-workers, who I've known since 2012, recommended the company. It does advertise on the radio, and I knew the name when she mentioned it because I'd heard it on the radio. So, that might've influenced my decision a little, but it was more of a reinforcement in the sense that it reminded me it wasn't a fly-by-night operation that wasn't likely to be here in a couple years. And, as David mentioned, it aired an ad that had the whole family featured and made a point of mentioning that the current owner was the founder's son, and he was planning to pass the business on to his child when he retired. (We'll see if that really happens, though, as only about 30% of family businesses get based down from one generation to the next, and the third generation almost always wants to cash the business out and take the money.)

In what states?

I was 32 when I bought my first house, and my sister was 22 when she bought hers. Her first job out of college, however, was a mechanical engineer for a major aerospace company. So, she had a much better job than your average recent college grad. We also live in the Midwest. So, we didn't have to deal with coastal housing prices or Texas property taxes. My partner, on the other hand, is 49 and has never owned her own house. Then again, aside from her job and me, nothing ties to her to here.

 

[radiofan2023]

Not really, remember until a few years ago mortgage rates were like 2.5% People could afford the payments. Today, not so much, prices are up and so are rates. If an under 40 bought a house 3 years ago, they are all set, except now they are "locked in" because they can't afford to move. My son is in his 30's and that's his situation.

I was 32 when I bought my first house, and my sister was 22 when she bought hers. Her first job out of college, however, was a mechanical engineer for a major aerospace company. So, she had a much better job than your average recent college grad. We also live in the Midwest.

But you don't truly own it until the mortgage is paid off.

 

[Kent]

But you don't truly own it until the mortgage is paid off.

If you really want to be technical, you never truly own it because you have to pay property taxes on it forever, and the government can take it from you if you don't. So, the government actually owns it.

For all practical purposes, if you can make the down payment and can qualify for the loan, you own it. The county property records certainly see it that way. You won't find the bank's name listed on my house. If you've ever bought a house, you'll notice almost immediately how quickly your estimated worth goes up. You get tons of people wanting to give you credit. You're almost always better off buying than renting, though I spend at least $5,000/year on my house that I wouldn't be spending if I were still renting.

 

[K.M. Richards]

I bought a new HVAC unit about six months ago. 💸💸💸 The major factor in my decision was one of my co-workers, who I've known since 2012, recommended the company. It does advertise on the radio, and I knew the name when she mentioned it because I'd heard it on the radio. So, that might've influenced my decision a little, but it was more of a reinforcement in the sense that it reminded me it wasn't a fly-by-night operation that wasn't likely to be here in a couple years. And, as David mentioned, it aired an ad that had the whole family featured and made a point of mentioning that the current owner was the founder's son, and he was planning to pass the business on to his child when he retired. (We'll see if that really happens, though, as only about 30% of family businesses get based down from one generation to the next, and the third generation almost always wants to cash the business out and take the money.)

You don't live in Albuquerque, do you, Kent?

One of our advertisers is on four of our stations, constantly. It's a plumbing/heating/HVAC firm called Brothers Electromechanical. The owner voices the spots himself, with a very conversational yet serious tone. He is the second generation owner, and had a spot last year where he said his family started the business "when I was just a little kid". He comes off as sincere and reliable. In fact, the closing line to his commercials is "let Brothers treat you like family".

It must be working for him, because he's been advertising with us for over ten years now.

 

[DavidEduardo]

But you don't truly own it until the mortgage is paid off.

I was 24 when I bought my first home... actually a condo... and with my first annual bonus as a station manager I paid it off. In other words, there are lots of differing situations. And after the first "pure interest" years of a mortgage along with real estate value increases, one establishes equity.

 

[Kent]

You don't live in Albuquerque, do you, Kent?

I'm afraid I don't. I lived in Albuquerque for about a year when I was still crawling around in diapers about 48 years ago but have only visited once since then, and that will have been 20 years ago this summer. I had a great time there, but it's a good 14 hour drive from here. I suppose I could always fly as the local airport has resumed commercial flights, but I don't enjoy the hassle.

One of our advertisers is on four of our stations, constantly. It's a plumbing/heating/HVAC firm called Brothers Electromechanical. The owner voices the spots himself, with a very conversational yet serious tone. He is the second generation owner, and had a spot last year where he said his family started the business "when I was just a little kid". He comes off as sincere and reliable. In fact, the closing line to his commercials is "let Brothers treat you like family".

It must be working for him, because he's been advertising with us for over ten years now.

I know the company I used has advertised on radio for quite awhile. I want to say he's been on what are now the local Cumulus properties since I've lived here, which is almost 25 years. I seem to remember it advertising when I was working at that cluster before Cumulus bought it. It's a similar spot to the one you're describing. It even has the family dog barking at the end.

 

[AMRadioGuy]

Here Are The Markets With The Largest Proportion Of AM Radio Listeners.

As broadcasters and lawmakers in Washington await word from nine automakers on their plans for AM radio in their vehicles, Nielsen is out with a list of the 141 markets

www.insideradio.com

One reason for Buffalo having a high percentage of AM listeners is that it has AM stations still putting content on the air people want to listen to. I think one reason for the decline in AM listening is the station owners have neglected them/decided FM is better and not to bother.

Look at the many AM's now simulcasting on full power FM's including WINS, WSB, KNX, etc. The AMs were still doing fine without the FM but the owners had a failing FM they didn't know what else to do with so they threw the successful AM on it justifying it to shareholders saying it will pull in better demographics. I don't know that that has proven true. People had no problem finding that stations on AM when they wanted that content.

When I'm visiting WNY I always listen to WECK on the AM since it covers a wider area and I don't need to keep flipping around. I thought I read on this board a while back that WECK AM had 40% of the audience with the other 60% split between the translators.

Nudge, nudge - run the AM in stereo if you have a transmitter like a Nautel with it built in. WJIB is running it in Boston/Cambridge. The current owner commented he was surprised by how many people listen in AM Stereo so when he moved the station from 740 to 720 he made provisions to keep it.

An example of what you're talking about: a local AM went off the air a little while back because of transmitter problems. The translator stayed on the air. That's what they push all of the time in their imaging, etc. The AM was off for a couple of days before coming back on.

I hear that management was astonished by the amount of calls from people complaining that the AM was off the air. They assumed everyone was listening to the FM. That was definitely not the case...

Most of the AMs I listen to, I cannot physically receive the translators because I'm out of their limited range. The AMs still come in fine.

 

[Radio-Bored-Op]

Banned.
that says it all

and this has really got nasty.
why does everyone need to be so petty
?
Multiple pages of comments aren't even about the actual topic......