Dayparting

[Roger That]

Actually, changing or not changing the station has ZERO to do with the sh!t jocks say on the air, or in imaging.

Inconsistency would, indeed, hurt the branding of your radio station. But you're making a sad assumption...that radio stations know anything about branding. "The best variety of the 80's, 90's and today" is NOT branding that appeals to audiences anymore. You might as well say "The best thing we could say that hasn't improved SINCE the 80's." Stop taking so much time to tell people what we want them to know about us. How about something that relates to THEM?

I've used this example before...here it is again: Diet Coke...Life Is Good! The radio way to do it: "The best variety of carbonation, caramel color, and caffeine! All weekend long!!"

Invoke emotion. Speak to your audience. Stop beating your chest with crap no one cares about.

 

[The Truthsayer]

Since one of my posts was deleted I'll say it again:

THE DAYS OF DAYPARTING ARE O-V-E-R, be who you are going to be all day. Open your playlist and be who you are going to be, if that is a mainstream CHR, you need to be exposing the rhythm titles along side the pop and rock titles, ALL DAY! Don't divide your audience loyalty to certain hours, it will eventually kill your Cume and it's killing your TSL right now. Play what people expect you to play, and do it all the time. If a rap song is high on the charts, play it all hours of the day! Every quarter hour should be a solid musical snapshot as to what people can expect from your station.

Twelve noon is one of the highest cuming hours of the day, why play anything but the hits?? I agree with taking a different approach, i.e. mixshow or mid-day countdown, but bang the hits no matter what. Who knows what new cume you could have punching in. Even though a few markets (mostly smaller) still do a RETRO LUNCH, I believe it's a major mistake. Why would you completely change your format for 1 hour every day... at the Lunch hour no less! It's same thing as a Hot AC playing Three 6 Mafia, Fall Out Boy and Rihanna for a "hit music lunch" hour, it makes no sense. If you can't listen at work, then you probably listen in Morning Drive, Lunch time, and on the way home. Doing a retro lunch probably means you are giving them 3 different stations... no consistency!

1. Morning - Mostly talk
2. Lunch - 80's crap
3. Afternoon - Regular CHR

 

[InsertNameHere]

Roger That nailed it! I've seen many AC and Oldies stations going with "Songs You Can Sing Along With" or "Listen and Sing Along", "Life is good, sing along"...etc as positioning statements and it sounds great!

And I love that Truthsayer is saying that "If a rap song is high on the charts, play it all hours of the day!"
Really?
Because Cumulus, the company that employs you, won't touch Dangerous by Kardinal Offishall before 6pm
And it's top 3!

 

[MassMusicMan]

You know Mic, I was thinking about this earlier. And you're on to something.

The phrases "80's" and "90's" do indeed invoke an emotion, like the aforementioned Coke and oldies slogans. You hear "80's", you think about Pacman and those girls' sweaters that expose the shoulder. You hear "90's", you think of Starbucks and "Rachel" haircuts.

The 2000's don't seem to have an identity. Paris Hilton is not an identity. Maybe that's why the phrase lacks cache.

 

[porkythepig]

Get Your Mojo On!

Not to strike a nerve, but I've seen contemporary Christian music stations go with "Live Life," and Cumulus launched a new AC in Sioux Falls a few months ago that goes by "Easy & Fun 100.1 - Songs That Just Make You Feel Good."

My favorite postioner is what 70's/80's classic hits Mojo 104.7 in Fargo uses, "Get Your Mojo On!"  The station sounds great..no surprise they did as well as they have.  The market was starving for a station like this.

Classic Hits/Classic Top 40/70's & 80's Oldies or whatever you want to call it has both legs and staying power.  CBS' Sunny 105.9 in Orlando is probably the best example. Closer to home, WOW-FM! in Lincoln, NE has recently debuted.

My favorite legal ID was then CHR Z93 Dayton's "WGTZ Eaton (eaten) Dayon Alive!"

 

[Roger That]

The phrases "80's" and "90's" do indeed invoke an emotion, like the aforementioned Coke and oldies slogans. You hear "80's", you think about Pacman and those girls' sweaters that expose the shoulder. You hear "90's", you think of Starbucks and "Rachel" haircuts.

@ Will: You're getting closer. But the difference is, simply saying "the 80's" only goes so far. PAINT THE PICTURE. Radio has this amazing habit of taking one phrase, and thinking that if they pound it into your head enough, that wins. Instead of talking AT your audience, talk TO them, by actually using those things you mentioned as examples. We may think of that when we really dissect it, but because we only say it one way (and the same way eeeeeevery time), it just sounds like a Peanuts teacher to the listener. Don't just say it...tell the story.

@ Insert: EXACTLY what I'm talking about. Those are great examples of positioning that actually appeal to the target audience. It's about an attitude, an emotion, a BRAND that gets you there. Well said.

 

[MassMusicMan]

@ Will: You're getting closer. But the difference is, simply saying "the 80's" only goes so far. PAINT THE PICTURE. Radio has this amazing habit of taking one phrase, and thinking that if they pound it into your head enough, that wins. Instead of talking AT your audience, talk TO them, by actually using those things you mentioned as examples. We may think of that when we really dissect it, but because we only say it one way (and the same way eeeeeevery time), it just sounds like a Peanuts teacher to the listener. Don't just say it...tell the story.

This is the most intelligent paragraph I have ever read on Radio-Info.

 

[mistermicrophone]

Actually, changing or not changing the station has ZERO to do with the sh!t jocks say on the air, or in imaging.

Inconsistency would, indeed, hurt the branding of your radio station. But you're making a sad assumption...that radio stations know anything about branding. "The best variety of the 80's, 90's and today" is NOT branding that appeals to audiences anymore. You might as well say "The best thing we could say that hasn't improved SINCE the 80's." Stop taking so much time to tell people what we want them to know about us. How about something that relates to THEM?

I've used this example before...here it is again: Diet Coke...Life Is Good! The radio way to do it: "The best variety of carbonation, caramel color, and caffeine! All weekend long!!"

Invoke emotion. Speak to your audience. Stop beating your chest with crap no one cares about.

While I agree about the chest pounding and the "we're the number 1 for this and that" has to go, saying what you are (or offer) isn't bad. I do agree that you need to evoke emotion and be creative when communicating with imaging and jock content, but not at the cost of allowing the brand to fade away.

"Diet Coke...Life Is Good" is great...but the most important part of that is DIET. People aren't going to buy Diet Coke because they say Life Is Good, they are going to buy it because of what it is, DIET. It's an example of emotion supporting the product, not the product being better because of the emotion.

Using Songs You Can Sing Along With only tells half the story. If your name is "Z103, songs you can sing along with"...what have you told me about said songs? Nothing. Are they country songs? Death Metal? Oldies?

A harmonious marriage of what you are and the evoking that emotion is the key!!

 

[jradiod]

The brand of your station should be recognizable to your playlist yet SIMPLE. Guess what 99% of CHRs use as their slogan. "[Market]'s Hit Music Station", "Today's Hit Music", or "All The Hits". No one is going to expect hit music when they turn on your station and hear a random, dated-sounding long liner. When it comes to CHR branding and slogans, the shorter and catchier, the better.

 

[porkythepig]

Mic/JradioD and Roger/Insert have good points.

You don't have to chest pound but you should evoke emotion AND say what you offer.

While "Get Your Mojo On" doesn't tell you that Mojo 104.7 isn't an oldies *cough* I mean Classic Hits (or classic top 40/70's & 80's modern oldies or whatever you call it), their marketing and imaging tells the listener that it is a Classic Hits station.  The billboards in Fargo show flower power and disco balls and their TV commercials show someone dancing to Donna Summer and Falco.

I know a couple CHR's that go with "Today's Best Music" (albeit a bit dated and more common on Hot AC's) and "Today's Hottest Music" (common on "Hot" branded CHR's) as positioning statements.

 

[Roger That]

"Diet Coke...Life Is Good" is great...but the most important part of that is DIET. People aren't going to buy Diet Coke because they say Life Is Good, they are going to buy it because of what it is, DIET. It's an example of emotion supporting the product, not the product being better because of the emotion.

Wow...don't agree with that statement at all. How come Nike has always been such an ENORMOUS brand, yet has NEVER been "the best variety of rubber, patented air bubbles, and Asian child labor"? ? ?

Nike's brand is about what it represents, and how you can achieve it with their product. Same with the Diet Coke example! That part of the campaign (*gasp*...WTF is a campaign?!?!?!?! : ) has NOTHING to do with diet anything. But, as I mentioned, it's part of a larger campaign that likely includes some "zero calorie" messages, as well, which then DOES focus on the diet part of it.

I get what you're TRYING to say, and I do agree with that as it relates to radio. Because we're still in a recall world (for now), at SOME point, we have to identify ourselves. Even Budweiser, which errs to the side of entertainment in their marketing, will have Clooney talk about the history and ingredients in their beer all official-like from time to time.

But I still maintain that radio sucks at it. A Program Director hears that and proceeds to POUND it on the air. They talk at their audience, not to them. They tell them what they are without telling them what they're about. Let's be real...if you say the same mindless hype over and over again, and the audience tunes it out anyway, how valuable is it really to you?

Think of how much more effective your short time with your listeners would be if you actually made it memorable for them...if you actually ENHANCED their experience with what you put in-between records and around stopsets, versus annoying them. I mean, has anyone taken a step back to realize that in most cases, outside of morning drive, the station with the highest ratings in a demo are usually nothing better than the "least annoying"? That said station is winning IN SPITE of the crap that they're forcing on their listeners' ears? Food for thought...

 

[mistermicrophone]

"Diet Coke...Life Is Good" is great...but the most important part of that is DIET. People aren't going to buy Diet Coke because they say Life Is Good, they are going to buy it because of what it is, DIET. It's an example of emotion supporting the product, not the product being better because of the emotion.

Wow...don't agree with that statement at all. How come Nike has always been such an ENORMOUS brand, yet has NEVER been "the best variety of rubber, patented air bubbles, and Asian child labor"? ? ?

Nike's brand is about what it represents, and how you can achieve it with their product. Same with the Diet Coke example! That part of the campaign (*gasp*...WTF is a campaign?!?!?!?! : ) has NOTHING to do with diet anything. But, as I mentioned, it's part of a larger campaign that likely includes some "zero calorie" messages, as well, which then DOES focus on the diet part of it.

I get what you're TRYING to say, and I do agree with that as it relates to radio. Because we're still in a recall world (for now), at SOME point, we have to identify ourselves. Even Budweiser, which errs to the side of entertainment in their marketing, will have Clooney talk about the history and ingredients in their beer all official-like from time to time.

But I still maintain that radio sucks at it. A Program Director hears that and proceeds to POUND it on the air. They talk at their audience, not to them. They tell them what they are without telling them what they're about. Let's be real...if you say the same mindless hype over and over again, and the audience tunes it out anyway, how valuable is it really to you?

Think of how much more effective your short time with your listeners would be if you actually made it memorable for them...if you actually ENHANCED their experience with what you put in-between records and around stopsets, versus annoying them. I mean, has anyone taken a step back to realize that in most cases, outside of morning drive, the station with the highest ratings in a demo are usually nothing better than the "least annoying"? That said station is winning IN SPITE of the crap that they're forcing on their listeners' ears? Food for thought...

I never said Diet Coke was the best mix of crap in a can, so I don't get your analogy. Diet Coke sells because it's DIET Coke. If you took the say campaign and applied it to regular Coke, people may think "life is good...but the calories will go right to my ass!!"

I do agree that we, as an industry, need to take a step back and evaluate how we present our product to the listener and force "crap" on them. Some of us have. I just feel that, even in a PPM world, building and maintaining a successful brand will help you to win. Like I said before, it's just a matter of finding the right mix and not allowing the see-saw to go to much in either direction.

Where I disagree is that the stations that win are just the least annoying. Just like the music you play and a good morning show, imaging and jock content doesn't have to be annoying...it needs to be focused and sonically palatable to your demo.

 

[Roger That]

Where I disagree is that the stations that win are just the least annoying. Just like the music you play and a good morning show, imaging and jock content doesn't have to be annoying...it needs to be focused and sonically palatable to your demo.

Oh...you misunderstand...it's in that which we COMPLETELY agree. What it SHOULD be and what it IS are two different things, though. I'm 100% with you that none of it should be annoying. It should all be compelling, attention-getting, and audience-focused.

But pick a market at random, check its top performers, and then stream the station(s). What is really happening when it comes out of the speakers is not always what we think it's going to be on paper.

As for the Diet Coke analogy, I guess I didn't get your reason for bringing it up. Ultimately, sure, they'd choose Diet Coke because of their zero calories angle, but that's not how you build a brand. And regular Coke does the exact same thing in their branding. "The Coke Side of Life"...it's about how the product makes you feel; how it fits your life. It's the "why"...not the "what". Products, particularly practical ones, will always have an element of real life that will make people choose them over something else (e.g. "diet" whatever). But the best products make you WANT them...they make themselves synonimous (sp??) with a relatable part of your life. Radio doesn't do that. Stations just bark the ingredients.

At least we both agree that it needs to change. ;D My argument is that many think that what they're doing is accomplishing "branding" when its not even close.

 

[1900radio]

Where I disagree is that the stations that win are just the least annoying. Just like the music you play and a good morning show, imaging and jock content doesn't have to be annoying...it needs to be focused and sonically palatable to your demo.

Oh...you misunderstand...it's in that which we COMPLETELY agree. What it SHOULD be and what it IS are two different things, though. I'm 100% with you that none of it should be annoying. It should all be compelling, attention-getting, and audience-focused.

But pick a market at random, check its top performers, and then stream the station(s). What is really happening when it comes out of the speakers is not always what we think it's going to be on paper.

As for the Diet Coke analogy, I guess I didn't get your reason for bringing it up. Ultimately, sure, they'd choose Diet Coke because of their zero calories angle, but that's not how you build a brand. And regular Coke does the exact same thing in their branding. "The Coke Side of Life"...it's about how the product makes you feel; how it fits your life. It's the "why"...not the "what". Products, particularly practical ones, will always have an element of real life that will make people choose them over something else (e.g. "diet" whatever). But the best products make you WANT them...they make themselves synonimous (sp??) with a relatable part of your life. Radio doesn't do that. Stations just bark the ingredients.

At least we both agree that it needs to change. ;D My argument is that many think that what they're doing is accomplishing "branding" when its not even close.

Alright, maybe I can help. Both are right to an extent, but people are forgetting a few things.

1. Products have life cycles. For a long time, the Diet Coke jingle was "just one calorie... Diet Coke."
2. When you are listening to the station, YOU ALREADY KNOW WHAT IT IS. If you are running TV spots, then it might be a good idea to say "Best of 80's, 90's and today."
3. Once most of your target audience knows you exist and what you are, the need to tell them that lessens.
4. Just because you play a few 80's songs doesn't mean you need to promote it. If someone asks me if I like 80's music, I say no. But there are 10 or so songs that I'll still jam to. But if somone says, "Do you like music that makes you feel good?" - different answer. That's why Coke Zero was invented. A lot of people don't like the word diet. Or think it's a chick drink.

 

[porkythepig]

I get the points that Roger and Mic say.  Positioning statements and/or branding need some change.  Telling everyone who you are (esp. if you are a new station) is good when it's not shoved down listeners' throats.

A good example of that are the commercials of a Fargo country station (sister to Mojo 104.7):  http://www.bob95fm.com/TVoriginalBOB.asp

Yeah I know it's a rip off of "Mahna Mahna" off the Muppets

 

[radiorob2.0]

but...but...but....We only stop the music twice an hour so you can listen longer. To make sure the listener knows that we say that between each song. My favorite idiot image liner was on an AC station in East Tennessee, "We know how you hate it when your favorite songs are interrupted, that's why we keep the interruptions to a minimum...." Of course they stopped the music to tell me that.....

Glad to see others have the same observations about imaging.

"N-N-N-NOW, THIRTY MINUTES OF M-M-M-MUSIC WITHOUT ALL THE IN-IN-IN-INTERRUPTIONS (insert out of place movie line or some form of noise or explosions) ON THE STATION THAT P-P-P-P-PLAYS THE MOST MUSIC (filtered effect repeating it a few times), YOUR TEN IN A ROW STATION, (insert another movie line or wild effect)THE NEW ULTIMATE MIX 108 (station name repeated a few times with another voice).

Where are the new millennium Bill Drakes and Ron Jacobs when we really need them.

 

[jsu5381m]

WZYP has taken dayparting to a new extreme on Fridays. Now, you can request an 80s hit anytime during the daytime on Friday, and not just during the retro lunch at noon.

 

[porkythepig]

Slightly off topic... Just a few thoughts.  Radio that wins is CONSISTENT on the air. Not the station that copies everything the major market stations do.  I programmed a CHR in a sub-200 market for years that did just that.  It had consistently good local air talent who played a lot of the RIGHT music and stayed in the market building up a local following.  We gave away plenty of cash, but it was in smaller amounts. $100 something here, $1,000 Thursdays.  One station that had flopped all over the place trying to beat us gave away a HOUSE.  That's right...a nice HOUSE (about $250,000 to $300,000 in today's terms) THEY STILL got their ass handed to them by us in that book.  Why?

Here's my theory.  We did what we did very well EVERY DAY.  We didn't just sit with our feet on the console and then spring into action when the books started.  We were just as involved in a slower month like January after the holidays as we were in say, April, when everybody drags out the "big" book promotions.  Our jocks didn't have to tell a joke a minute or celeb gossip every time the mic was cracked, but you could bet that they had something INTERESTING, LOCAL, INFORMATIVE, etc. to say when they cracked the mic.  The litmus test with every break was......"what is in this for my LISTENER."

What a lot of MCRADIO stations have done to offset their incredible debt-service and/or appeal to stockholders is figure that "any interchangeable voice reading liners" is "good enough."  So, they can all of the pros who have built up respect and trust with the LISTENERS over a long period and replace them with some newbie who sluffs through his voicetrack session in 5 minutes.  Or pop on a satellite format or pick up some syndicated show (i.e. Ryan Seacrest or John Tesh.)  After all, the audience doesn't know the difference, right?!?!?!  WRONG!!!!  They may not know the technical term, but they DO know that their station isn't as enjoyable to listen to as it once was.  So maybe now and then they pop a CD in the car instead of listening to the radio.  Or maybe they start scanning the dial for a station that gives them what they USED to get on their old station.  What do they hear?  The exact same voice sluffing through a voicetacked shift on the "new" station. So they pop in more CD's or whatever, and suddenly radio is far less important to them than it once was.

Believe me, if you own a restaurant that is known for PRIME cuts of meat and you start "cost-cutting" by replacing it with CUBE-STEAK, sooner or later you will see your business take a big dump.  That's precisely what has happened to radio in the past 10 years.  You can't blame it all on iPods and cell phones.  We as an industry have watered radio down to the point where there is little to nothing SPECIAL about us anymore. Nobody is going to mistake a McDonald's Big Mac for Filet Mignon.  The listeners may not know the technical terms like "dead air" and "stepping on a vocal" and "quarter hour maintenance," but they damn sure know when something isn't as interesting or enjoyable as it once was.

Too many radio types think like "radio types" and firmly believe that if you play enough sparkly sound effects and use enough drops from the latest movie or TV show, you have a winning station.  That's because they are busy thinking like a "radio-type."  You can polish the fenders of a Yugo all you want, but nobody will mistake it for a Rolls.  Yet, we (from the company presidents on down) are frequently turning out YUGO-radio and trying to pass it off as a Rolls.

When the dust settles, the stations that consistently are dependable for their markets will win.  These are the stations that take the time to make sure that EVERYTHING is in order.  The music is right, the jocks reach out and actually TOUCH the market, the salespeople make certain that the ads are RIGHT for their clients, and the stations (none of this "for all your (blank) needs" crap.)

Develop good talent, have a plan, be creative and make it all fun.  If you're eager to spend on promotions, cool...but make it lifestyle stuff.  Shoes, purses, dream kitchens, etc.  A bunch of winners getting cool, "i really want this and can use it every day" prizes has more power than a car giveaway (not that I don't love cars and cruises and stuff...giving 'em... "i never dreamed it'd happen to me" prizes are good...but as part of the plan, not as the entire plan).

Oh, and get involved in the community. Join Kiwanis, Rotary, JC's...volunteer to be on boards of local non-profits.  Use your talents to help others and you discover our life has purpose.

 

[porkythepig]

Forgot to add that an individual PD, sales staffer, GM, etc. doesn't necessarily make or break a station.  The winning stations have a staff that works together:  the owner(s), GM, Market Manager, PD, OM, airstaff, sales staff, GSM, etc.

Listeners WOULD RATHER hear entertaining compelling sweepers (for example a station ran "It's been 15 minutes since Lindsey Lohan's last DUI - XL93" for a while), even if they are long, than just boring positioning statements that mean nothing.

And there's nothing wrong with Ryan Seacrest, John Tesh or any syndicated show... it's when a respected (or even a veteran) jock is canned and replaced by them to simply cut costs.  Why replace someone that already brings in strong ratings, revenue and a following??  If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

 

[jsu5381m]

Here's something I thought of yesterday. I think if a CHR is going to do a retro noon lunch hour, it should be both 80s and 90s songs. I don't mean just early 90s, but late 90s as well with Spice Girls, N'Sync, Britney Spears and Christina Aguliera. A good bit of today's CHR target audience probably remembers hits from 1998-1999 from their early teen years. I just feel it would be a better situation from a ratings and programming standpoint.