"The unquestioning reliance of radio on demographics puzzles me. For instance, is it wise to cater to a certain age group to secure instant rewards at the price of alienating the rest of the age groups and losing money over the long haul?"
The answer(s) to your intriguing question, from one in radio management: Yes
1. Today's fragmented audience, due to more radio stations in the last four decades, conglomerate "repeater radio", a fickle audience of demographics that overlap in some important ells, but alienating others.
2. The difficulty of too many "media choices," new technology serving the younger demos that grew up in the Internet age, not the Radio age, the ineffectiveness of many 5 and 6 share radio stations in markets large and small (with dozens of stations available,) a struggling economy -- especially as it applies to "media choices," and the decline of AM radio in more than 80 percent of the markets it scores not as #1 -- but within the Top 5, (one station at a time, not as a meaningful media outside of news/talk.)
3. Every station chasing the same demos: 18-34, 25-49, 18-49 -- forgetting the upcoming teens so prevalent in years past, but now, not near as popular as stations need. Little originality and creativity. Focus on males 18-24 not as popular as thought.
4. To much "sameness."
5. To much poor or borderline talent.
6. Disregard for older demographics 35+, 50+ and not so much to back up a "support" demo.
7. Non-creative advertising often haphazardly done and not effective. And 7 minute stopsets don't cut it to most listeners. Nor do 18 minute hours of spots. Or 15. Or 12. Even 10 is pushing it.
8. A glut of poorly performing "syndicated" small and medium market stations not performing to their local communities. And worse sounding "voicetracking." Voicetracking can be effective if done well and correctly, with focus. So little is. It sounds like "a job" -- and not a very good one by many on the air who are rushing to get it done and allow it on the air. No or little direction.
9. Poor web integration. Streaming is NOT the answer.
10. Conglomorates, conglomerates, conglomerates.
11. The realization that PPM does not equate to actual "listening" but merely "hearing." The methodology is still not accredited.
12. Agency buyers who, like their counterparts by age, who don't go beyond the "beauty contest" rankings and not deliver to stations doing good things for an effective, money spending audience -- it's about "demo estimates."
Look at so many of the threads here. It's either a knock on poor programming or why HD changes the rules of "DXing" which don't amount to anything. There is so little "listening," but a lot of "hearing" and on this board, DXing seems to be the hobby du jour ... not listening to programming unliked by certain demos. All talk on AM is not a draw to sales productive demos, syndicated and satellite formats are homogenized -- not localized. Lack of community involved personality. Lack of motivated programming, be it "personality" or "more music, less (but creative) talk in seconds, not in boring bits that don't work. The same holds true for time and temp reader card "jocks." There is less preparation.
And it's not about "Money." An $8 an hour jock who doesn't want to work for $8 an hour, doesn't have to. Not forced to take the gig. A $15 an hour "personality" who is horrible is equally of know value, just because. Money doesn't make someone better. Talent does. A million dollar a year "franchise" player who doesn't get the numbers is soon an on-the-beach non-performer. That's management's fault. And bringing in "TV" people isn't the magic seed, either. Nor is shallow laziness by PD's, OM's and talent / producers.
There are many negatives in Radio. The positives need to be redirected in the right ways -- not just for the next spot buy.
The answer(s) to your intriguing question, from one in radio management: Yes
1. Today's fragmented audience, due to more radio stations in the last four decades, conglomerate "repeater radio", a fickle audience of demographics that overlap in some important ells, but alienating others.
2. The difficulty of too many "media choices," new technology serving the younger demos that grew up in the Internet age, not the Radio age, the ineffectiveness of many 5 and 6 share radio stations in markets large and small (with dozens of stations available,) a struggling economy -- especially as it applies to "media choices," and the decline of AM radio in more than 80 percent of the markets it scores not as #1 -- but within the Top 5, (one station at a time, not as a meaningful media outside of news/talk.)
3. Every station chasing the same demos: 18-34, 25-49, 18-49 -- forgetting the upcoming teens so prevalent in years past, but now, not near as popular as stations need. Little originality and creativity. Focus on males 18-24 not as popular as thought.
4. To much "sameness."
5. To much poor or borderline talent.
6. Disregard for older demographics 35+, 50+ and not so much to back up a "support" demo.
7. Non-creative advertising often haphazardly done and not effective. And 7 minute stopsets don't cut it to most listeners. Nor do 18 minute hours of spots. Or 15. Or 12. Even 10 is pushing it.
8. A glut of poorly performing "syndicated" small and medium market stations not performing to their local communities. And worse sounding "voicetracking." Voicetracking can be effective if done well and correctly, with focus. So little is. It sounds like "a job" -- and not a very good one by many on the air who are rushing to get it done and allow it on the air. No or little direction.
9. Poor web integration. Streaming is NOT the answer.
10. Conglomorates, conglomerates, conglomerates.
11. The realization that PPM does not equate to actual "listening" but merely "hearing." The methodology is still not accredited.
12. Agency buyers who, like their counterparts by age, who don't go beyond the "beauty contest" rankings and not deliver to stations doing good things for an effective, money spending audience -- it's about "demo estimates."
Look at so many of the threads here. It's either a knock on poor programming or why HD changes the rules of "DXing" which don't amount to anything. There is so little "listening," but a lot of "hearing" and on this board, DXing seems to be the hobby du jour ... not listening to programming unliked by certain demos. All talk on AM is not a draw to sales productive demos, syndicated and satellite formats are homogenized -- not localized. Lack of community involved personality. Lack of motivated programming, be it "personality" or "more music, less (but creative) talk in seconds, not in boring bits that don't work. The same holds true for time and temp reader card "jocks." There is less preparation.
And it's not about "Money." An $8 an hour jock who doesn't want to work for $8 an hour, doesn't have to. Not forced to take the gig. A $15 an hour "personality" who is horrible is equally of know value, just because. Money doesn't make someone better. Talent does. A million dollar a year "franchise" player who doesn't get the numbers is soon an on-the-beach non-performer. That's management's fault. And bringing in "TV" people isn't the magic seed, either. Nor is shallow laziness by PD's, OM's and talent / producers.
There are many negatives in Radio. The positives need to be redirected in the right ways -- not just for the next spot buy.
