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40 Truths On Radio Success And Why Talent Matter From #WWRS2018
May 8, 2018
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While I'll miss seeing our radio colleagues this week in Los Angeles for the Worldwide Radio Summit - thought it would be inspiring to re-read the bigger takeaways from last year's event - as we look forward to what will be discussed this year.
You can follow #WWRS2019 on Twitter for takeaways this year!
40 Truths On Radio Success And Why Talent Matter:
- Don't be afraid of Gen Z. They may not be consuming radio in a traditional way (in cars, etc...), but if you have great content, they'll find it. They consume content everywhere.
- Gen Z cares about community, sense of purpose and cause.
- And what does radio do so brilliantly? We connect people, creating community and tell stories to make us feel less lonely.
- If you can create content making folks feel a part of something, you will always be relevant.
- Have courage to do new things.
- Sample the younger generations behaviors (use a ride sharing service for a week - live the lifestyle).
- Research shows younger subjects moving from having car budgets to having ride sharing budgets.
- Learn technology (Alexa, Google Play, etc...) If you don't think about voice, your brand will be dead.
- Disrupt your own wisdom.
- Stop thinking only radio. Develop for everything so we are everywhere the consumer is.
- Take your radio hat off and talk with the audience, talk with colleagues in your building, talk to people - listen to them and use their language.
- We have to stop thinking of ourselves as radio people.
- Companies waiting to make content for digital platforms until they can be monetized will be sh*t out of luck if they continue to hold out.
- There are more sophisticated ways to prove the value of radio today, how radio plays an important role in everyone's media mix.
- Local orientation is overwhelmingly seen as an advantage radio has over competitors.
- The most successful radio stations have strong brands and deliver great in-the-moment experiences.
- Look for opportunities to be a part of the audiences' lives.
- What do you stand for?
- Iconic brands (whether it's a station or a personality) are truth because listeners know when you're lying.
- It's not a format, it's a culture.
- Everyone has access to the same songs - it's what you do with them. We're in the business of making moments.
- The best brands are like the best artists. They keep reinventing.
- Think like a fan.
- Discovery, Surprise and Companionship are radio's advantages.
- Four in ten radio fans say they absolutely listen more to stations who acknowledge them socially. This percentage goes up every year.
- Amazon's Alexa devices are dominant.However, 43% of smart speaker owners have not downloaded any skills.
- And as for what they use the devices for, music via AM/FM streaming is tied for third place; the devices are prompting more listening to AM/FM radio among all demographics.
- Smart speaker ownership went from 11% to 21% in one year, extremely rapid adoption; Sports listeners are leading in usage among formats.
- We're clearly still in the phase in which podcasters need to teach people how to find and listen to them.
- Those who said they're not listening to podcasts said they're "just not interested" and "I don't have time," with also several technical issues -- "I don't know how to do it." It's critical to know 'obstacles' as you craft podcast growth plans.
- Audiences (and advertising partners) don't want repurposed radio content podcasts but do want original content, with "after shows" an option for radio.
- Leading reasons why people listen to AM/FM radio is it's easiest to listen to in the car and radio is free.Last reason - bottom of the barrel - "to win prizes." Contests are not what draw an audience. It's been like this for many years now.
- Radio's emotional triggers still very important: on-air talent, connection, keeping them company and mood elevation.
- There is a clear trajectory toward listening to radio on digital sources rather than traditional.
- People who listen to our stations on an app or smart speaker are bigger fans of your station than most. Streaming is additive to radio.
- Too many messages mean none of your messages cut through.
- Radio follows rules that don't even exist, like 'don't put two women back to back on-air.' Stop following rules that don't exist within listener expectations and behaviors.
- BBC is changing its approach to weekends, with Fridays being programmed differently from Monday through Thursday in recognition of younger audiences looking at Fridays differently from the rest of the week
- Consistency, Persistency, Adaptability - Keeping stations in the moment builds iconic brands.
And perhaps the most solid advice from #WWRS2018:
- Don't put sh*t on the air.
(L to R) Townsquare Media SVPP, Kurt Johnson; Entercom SVPP, Jim Ryan; Westwood One-Cumulus Media VP/Social Media, Lori Lewis; Bayern 1-Bayern 3-Puls/Munich PD Walter Schmich, and Cumulus VP/Top 40, Cat Thomas.A special thank you to the radio colleagues (as seen above) who were so brilliant (and funny) on our Friday session titled, "Great Brands Do What Others Won't Or Cannot Do."
The packed room loved it.
Fred Jacobs, Pres. Jacobs Media, provided much of the data above from their annual Techsurvey. You can reach out to them here: https://jacobsmedia.com/.
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