Talk is Down, youth is UP

[joshzz]

'Ye olde' talk audience is dying as new Arbitron data indicates.

I wonder how long it will be before the Big Groups realize that their is potential growth in talk but you need more youthful personalities that don't talk down to everyone that disagrees with him or her.

Most current "national" talk radio programs are hosted by individuals that are self-centered, egotistical, & suffer a surperiority delusion.

Talk is heading into the toilet and needs to be revitalized.

There is hope!

I like the morning program on LIFT FM - there's talk, music, local weather and it's all positive.

 

[quadraphonic]

That sounds like a different kind of "talk."

 

[SeanMGilbow]

'Ye olde' talk audience is dying as new Arbitron data indicates.

I wonder how long it will be before the Big Groups realize that their is potential growth in talk but you need more youthful personalities that don't talk down to everyone that disagrees with him or her.

Most current "national" talk radio programs are hosted by individuals that are self-centered, egotistical, & suffer a surperiority delusion.

Talk is heading into the toilet and needs to be revitalized.

There is hope!

I like the morning program on LIFT FM - there's talk, music, local weather and it's all positive.

You're posting in the wrong area, Josh. This should belong under Contemporary Christian.

If I were to recommend someone who is attracting a younger audience, I will mention this gentleman:

http://www.normangoldman.com

Streams live 6 to 9 p.m. Eastern. Free podcasts available.

 

[pellmell]

Who needs the younger audience? The money is 25 to dead.

 

[Talk_Dude]

Who needs the younger audience? The money is 25 to dead.

Brand name loyalty is set very early in a consumer's life. Older people might spend more money, but it's often like pulling teeth to get them to change brands or stores. You want to get the consumer hooked on your brand as soon as possible, then you have them forever.

 

[Goat Rodeo Cowboy]

Who needs the younger audience? The money is 25 to dead.

Brand name loyalty is set very early in a consumer's life. Older people might spend more money, but it's often like pulling teeth to get them to change brands or stores. You want to get the consumer hooked on your brand as soon as possible, then you have them forever.

I know what you write is "conventional wisdom" but is it true today, or just an echo of the past.

A number of years ago I was incharge of insurance administration for a sizeable family company. Up until that time there was a loyalty factor in the insurance world. If you left your "book of business" with a reputable and influential agent, and he in turn placed it with a big national company you could expect a long and friendly business relationship. If you had a bad claims year, consideration was given in respect of your loyalty as a customer (and the loyalty of the agent.)

While I was in that position, the universe turned upside down! The insurance industry turned into a dog-eat-dog free-for-all business-level food-fight.

Can I offer a bit of heresy to the long standing advertising world concept that old people are locked in and un-available to become new customers?

That was true when we knew that keeping your account with the same bank for 37 years bought you some consideration and respect.

That was true when having your phone business with phone company for decades was recognized for your customer loyalty.

I own a LinkSys router for my home netwrk. I don't think it is functioning on all eight cylinders. I know from the last router I bought from them, If I am beyond the puny warranty period, they are NOT going talk to me about how much coverage I should get on the WiFi range of this thing. I've been a LinkSys/Cisco customer for an extended period of time. How much brand loyalty do you think I am going to display when I decide to replace that runt router.

We "seasoned citizens" have the experience to recognize when a vendor has their thumb on their nose, giving us the Bronx-cheer.

I have to believe advertising research in the not-to-distant future may reveal customer loyalty of the mature adults is a museum piece on display right beside doctor's house calls and buggy whips and rotary dial telephones.

For now, we live in the darkness of bad theology called "loyal customers".

 

[pellmell]

Brand name loyalty is set very early in a consumer's life. Older people might spend more money, but it's often like pulling teeth to get them to change brands or stores. You want to get the consumer hooked on your brand as soon as possible, then you have them forever.

As a general proposition, I agree that brand loyalty is paramount. However, as a practical matter, WQQQ (hypothetical) of years ago becomes Q100, then it becomes The Pig, then it becomes The River, the it becomes Mix 100.7, then it becomes Rush Radio, then it becomes The Star....

I don't think the public, particularly the under 25 demographic, has enough brain cells to follow all of the metamorphoses that most stations experience. That is, I think that brand loyalty in radio is elusive. I was in the business for more than 20 years. I do not know the call letters of HALF the stations in my current market.

That's just my opinion. At this juncture, I speak more as a listener than as an insider.

 

[Talk_Dude]

Who needs the younger audience? The money is 25 to dead.

Brand name loyalty is set very early in a consumer's life. Older people might spend more money, but it's often like pulling teeth to get them to change brands or stores. You want to get the consumer hooked on your brand as soon as possible, then you have them forever.

I know what you write is "conventional wisdom" but is it true today, or just an echo of the past.

It is not an absolute, but then there isn't enough space in a typical internet forum post to go into great detail. At one time what I said described the vast majority of the market. With each passing year, it becomes less and less a universal truth. However, it remains true enough that when calculating how to get the biggest bang for the advertising dollar, it's still the safest bet. Not an absolute sure bet, but a safer bet than any other.

And, that's not to say that advertising can't get people to change brands. I'm just saying that generally, it takes less expense to get a young consumer hooked on your brand than it takes to change his mind when he's older.

A book could be written about all of the exceptions. And a lot have been written. There are the products you don't need until you're older. There's no sense attempting to convince men in their 20's that Viagra is preferable to Cialis. Odds are that people in their 20's probably don't have decision making responsibilities for who to buy a steel frame building from, while news/talk listeners in their 50's might.

Brand name loyalty is set very early in a consumer's life. Older people might spend more money, but it's often like pulling teeth to get them to change brands or stores. You want to get the consumer hooked on your brand as soon as possible, then you have them forever.

As a general proposition, I agree that brand loyalty is paramount. However, as a practical matter, WQQQ (hypothetical) of years ago becomes Q100, then it becomes The Pig, then it becomes The River, the it becomes Mix 100.7, then it becomes Rush Radio, then it becomes The Star....

I don't think the public, particularly the under 25 demographic, has enough brain cells to follow all of the metamorphoses that most stations experience. That is, I think that brand loyalty in radio is elusive. I was in the business for more than 20 years. I do not know the call letters of HALF the stations in my current market.

That's just my opinion. At this juncture, I speak more as a listener than as an insider.

I was speaking in terms of the people buying commercial slots, not the radio stations themselves. You're talking about branding a radio station, I was talking about branding toothpaste or a grocery store.

Radio station formats come and go. What often happens is that if a station makes an effort to target any age group, and succeeds, it's still ultimately doomed because as the audience ages, it's taste in entertainment changes. When the early 20-somethings who liked the party station get married and settle down and outgrow the party station, they'll move on. They'll still brush their teeth with Crest that they bought at Kroger, and not with Aqua-Fresh they bought at Publix. Loyalty to brand names on consumer products isn't the same as taste in entertainment.