Your point about "polarized songs" jogged a memory with me. Several of the songs I like now--including The Grass Roots' "Sooner or Later,"--I didn't like when they were popular back when they were hits (in this case, in 1971). I tuned the songs out because they were being overplayed and I couldn't stand to hear them anymore. Fast forward to the 2010s, and I find that I can hear many of these songs again--radio, including Internet radio, is playing them a lot less and I find that I don't feel so "polarized" about listening to them as I once did.
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National Advertisers and 55+ radio audiences
- Thread starter davideduardo
- Start date
Your point about "polarized songs" jogged a memory with me. Several of the songs I like now--including The Grass Roots' "Sooner or Later,"--I didn't like when they were popular back when they were hits (in this case, in 1971). I tuned the songs out because they were being overplayed and I couldn't stand to hear them anymore. Fast forward to the 2010s, and I find that I can hear many of these songs again--radio, including Internet radio, is playing them a lot less and I find that I don't feel so "polarized" about listening to them as I once did.
And again, it's all about mileage varying. I was a month away from turning 8 when the Beatles were on Ed Sullivan. I saw it. It was---fine.
I was still 7. A juggling circus bear probably would have gotten more of my attention. Beatles songs that punched through to my brain before I became an active Top 40 listener---"Help!", "We Can Work It Out", "Paperback Writer" and "Penny Lane". That's probably about it. I was still 10 when "Penny Lane" hit.
I also didn't see "A Hard Day's Night" or "Help" until I got my first VCR in 1981, so I didn't get the megadose of personality and charisma that the older kids got.
I also don't think I ever got heavy into specific music fandom in my adolescence. I thought the Monkees were funny, liked some of their songs (mostly what Nesmith wrote)---as I got into high school, there were bands more likely to be consistently my favorites (Chicago, Creedence, Steely Dan), and I could absolutely evangelize about entire albums ("You need to hear Abbey Road"), but a specific hang-a-poster-on-the-wall fandom for an artist or group? No.
In fact, I think I had one music poster on my wall in my room. I was 15, it was Olivia Newton-John and I'm not convinced I'd even heard her yet.
Let's try this: The oldest song I remember being current is, "Primrose Lane" from 1958, the year I turned five. It was probably on American Bandstand when it was a daily show out of Philadelphia. How about you?
Well, again, I didn't have a concept of a song being current or an oldie until later. I just thought songs were there and people liked them or didn't.
The first song I remember hearing on the radio would have had to be three or four years old at the time. The first speaking voice I remember on the radio was Roger Carroll on KMPC (he started there in 1959, when I was three).
And this was the song, from a 1956 album (it was a hit for Kenton in 1944, but this album was fresh recordings with the then-new Hi-Fi technology:
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This is a great one. Several radio stations I have listened to online played one version or another.
I'm late to this thread but I was delighted to see this quote from the article that David posted:
I've been calling that nonsense for years.
There are many reasons why, including that brands don't last forever. If you're 55+, try buying a shiny new 2025 Pontiac! You'll need to consider new choices.
Also, the 55- audience is more likely to be swayed by online ads or social media posts than radio ads.
But to attract 55+ buyers, ads need to be aimed at an audience that's lived long enough to know that "love" doesn't make a Subaru. Their ads should pitch features like performance, safety, etc. -- then maybe 55+ers will take a look at the product.
Let's face it, radio is where the 55+ audience can be found and influenced. Advertisers should take advantage of it!
I've been calling that nonsense for years.
There are many reasons why, including that brands don't last forever. If you're 55+, try buying a shiny new 2025 Pontiac! You'll need to consider new choices.
Also, the 55- audience is more likely to be swayed by online ads or social media posts than radio ads.
But to attract 55+ buyers, ads need to be aimed at an audience that's lived long enough to know that "love" doesn't make a Subaru. Their ads should pitch features like performance, safety, etc. -- then maybe 55+ers will take a look at the product.
Let's face it, radio is where the 55+ audience can be found and influenced. Advertisers should take advantage of it!
They can and do. Every day. However, one possible impediment to those advertisers is this proposed legislation:
Radio Could Lose $150M+ in Ad Revenue Under New Senate Bill - Radio Ink
Radio stations face steep losses as a Senate bill seeks to ban drug ads across all platforms, including AM/FM.
radioink.com
There are a number of other reasons why advertisers don't use radio to target 55+.
First, most are "empty nesters" and buy less.
Second, most are "downsizing" by moving to smaller dwelling units, needing less stuff overall. And many move to condo apartments or developments or apartment buildings where they don't have to mow the lawn and fix the roof and all that stuff. So some product categories get a lot less usage.
Third, there is less specifically targeted media so advertisers use age-specific web advertising as well as traditional cable networks that have predominantly older viewers, like the news channels and certain old rerun channels. They don't buy local media at all for this target.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
I said this in another thread, but in light of that last post, I will repeat myself here.
In addition to creating verbiage that appeals to an older demo, there are also certain business types that happily accept those customers. Home repair and improvement; we have two clients on KRKE who run three or four spots a day for their roof repair and replacement services, and several plumbing/heating/air conditioning firms (one of which has been advertising with the entire station cluster for well over a decade). Local restaurants; even we "senior citizens" want a little variety when we go out to eat, and we are also motivated to give that little café on the corner a try. Insurance, lawyers, other professional services; we may not need them when the ad runs but we sure remember them when we do. Travel-related; while there are far fewer physical ones these days, our demo still prefers to talk to someone face-to-face ... and let's not forget how big the cruise line business is with seniors.
Those are just some obvious examples. And in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter if the agencies don't realize the purchasing power of the older demos ... because these are local station buys.
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Responding to posts made while I was writing all that ...
As much as I like Bernie Sanders, I think he is doing more harm than good with his proposal. Unlike the ban on cigarette advertising in 1970, which was implemented in the name of removing health risks, the ads for various pharmaceuticals -- as much as they can be annoying -- do, in their own way, promote a better doctor/patient dialogue by creating brand awareness (for lack of a better term).
And not all of the older demo-focused advertising has shifted to "targeted media". KRKE runs the syndicated classic American Top 40 shows on Sunday, and there's always at least one pharmaceutical ad in the network commercial positions every hour. Lots of OTC drug spots, too ... what comes to mind is that Pepto-Bismol is constantly advertising in a way that keeps brand awareness for them.
So that's my take on all this, for whatever it is worth.
In addition to creating verbiage that appeals to an older demo, there are also certain business types that happily accept those customers. Home repair and improvement; we have two clients on KRKE who run three or four spots a day for their roof repair and replacement services, and several plumbing/heating/air conditioning firms (one of which has been advertising with the entire station cluster for well over a decade). Local restaurants; even we "senior citizens" want a little variety when we go out to eat, and we are also motivated to give that little café on the corner a try. Insurance, lawyers, other professional services; we may not need them when the ad runs but we sure remember them when we do. Travel-related; while there are far fewer physical ones these days, our demo still prefers to talk to someone face-to-face ... and let's not forget how big the cruise line business is with seniors.
Those are just some obvious examples. And in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter if the agencies don't realize the purchasing power of the older demos ... because these are local station buys.
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Responding to posts made while I was writing all that ...
As much as I like Bernie Sanders, I think he is doing more harm than good with his proposal. Unlike the ban on cigarette advertising in 1970, which was implemented in the name of removing health risks, the ads for various pharmaceuticals -- as much as they can be annoying -- do, in their own way, promote a better doctor/patient dialogue by creating brand awareness (for lack of a better term).
And not all of the older demo-focused advertising has shifted to "targeted media". KRKE runs the syndicated classic American Top 40 shows on Sunday, and there's always at least one pharmaceutical ad in the network commercial positions every hour. Lots of OTC drug spots, too ... what comes to mind is that Pepto-Bismol is constantly advertising in a way that keeps brand awareness for them.
So that's my take on all this, for whatever it is worth.
That's exactly the point. Well said!
It's exactly the opposite where I live. The younger folks who don't want to own anything live in apartments and condos. The old-timers live in houses where they need new roofs, HVAC, house painting, appliances and all kinds of services.
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I agree with Sanders on this one.They can and do. Every day. However, one possible impediment to those advertisers is this proposed legislation:
Radio Could Lose $150M+ in Ad Revenue Under New Senate Bill - Radio Ink
Radio stations face steep losses as a Senate bill seeks to ban drug ads across all platforms, including AM/FM.
Too much big government trying to tell people what to do. I agree with Rand Paul.
As I said earlier in the thread, while advertising for audiences 55 and older is not hopeless, older people do have brand preferences based on experience of perhaps 30 years or so of trying "the next best thing". It does take more ad money to convince them to change.
Part of the reason Pontiac died 2010 was that there wasn't a line of people habitually buying shiny new Pontiacs. The last one was 15 years ago. Statistically, the odds of anyone still driving a 15-year-old Pontiac being in the new car market is really, really low. And if they do, they're old enough to know Pontiac's gone, but that its sister divisions of GM---Chevy, Buick and Cadillac---are still with us (and these days likely to be under one roof).
I'm 69. The last Pontiac I even looked at when buying a car was in 1979, and that was spurred by my getting one as a rental car, not by any of their advertising.
"Love. It's what makes a Subaru a Subaru" has been a very successful ad campaign for the brand. Now, in addition to the additional exposures needed to convince 55+ buyers, we need a new age-specific ad campaign for a group of people (and again, I'll be 70 on my next birthday) that, on average, might have two more car purchases left in their life?
Also: The average age of a U.S. new car buyer in 2024 was 60.
The average age of a Subaru Forester (its best-selling model) buyer? 62.
Subaru Knows Its Forester Buyers And It Could Backfire On Them
Subaru, known for its deep understanding of its buyers, has designed the new 2025 Forester compact SUV with them in mind. However, this strategic move could potentially disrupt the Japanese automaker's market dynamics.
K.M. Richards
Program Director, The Eighties Channel™
Thank you for your support of lowering our ad revenue from a reliable product category.
I guess that part of my post is exempt from your agreeing with me.
If someone wanted to advertise fentanyl on your station would that be okay?
Where I live, and I've heard reports that this is happening nationally as well, housing prices have gone so high that few younger people, even if they wanted to, could afford them. We currently have a young couple, friends of my sister's, living in a prefabbed room behind my bedroom, that my sister had installed with the purpose of doing her work as a counsellor there outside of the hearing of yours truly and anybody else who might wish to listen to these private conversations. We are now renting this room to some friends of my sister who just are not making enough money to support even the house payments necessary to purchase a new home nowadays.
Nobody's advertising fentanyl.
If someone wanted to advertise Ozempic on your station, would that be okay?
How about Lyrica, for diabetic neuropathy?
Eloquis, which reduces stroke risk?
Because those are three of the top prescription drugs that DO advertise on-air and that would be banned.
Doctors should advise those drugs, not v/o artists with inaudible disclaimers.
Agree. Sanders is wielding way too broad a brush.