Hear 2.0

What's in a Name?

Everything, it turns out.

We've got this all wrong in the Radio business.

Instead of looking for the RIGHT name, we look for the familiar one.

And by familiar, I mean familiar to the radio biz. Hence, the plethora of "Stars" and "Magics" and "Points" and "Peaks."

Here are some tips from INC magazine based on an interview with the author of the newish book Wordcraft.

The very first tip - write down a story of who the station is and what it does - is worth its weight in gold. And its something roughly 99.9% of radio stations do NOT do.

I have another problem: There are too many cases where we want to change format but stick with our old name "so the advertisers don't perceive a change."

Well, folks, if the advertisers don't perceive the change, the listeners won't either.

This sort of tying our hands behind our back is destined to either impede our progress or stop it dead in its tracks.

Don't underestimate the power of a name - especially a NEW name.

Do Positioning Statements Kill?

Another outstanding post from Tom Asacker....

This time on the dubious value of platitudes...er...positioning statements.

Tom sums up: "Let's stop spending hard earned money trying to brainwash people with pithy prose, and let's start creating the future: those great products and experiences, which will light up the darkness of people's lives."

Question: What "Position" does Motorola own? Answer...?

What's this?

Do some of the world's biggest brands lack...hold your breath...a POSITION?

Tom Asacker says they do in this post.

What if Tom's right. And what does that mean for you?

Could it be...could it POSSIBLY be...that building a strong brand is about more than the simple and handy "positioning line"?

It is if you're a client of mine.

As Tom asks:

In Interbrand's 2004 ranking of their Top Global Brands by dollar value, some of the biggest gainers (all double digits) were Apple; Amazon; Samsung; Yahoo; Goldman Sachs; Caterpillar; Canon; and Motorola. For the life of me, I can't describe any of these brands' "position" relative to their competitors. I'm not kidding...

So would someone . . . anyone . . . please tell me what the "positions" of the eight aforementioned businesses are? Precisely what are the "sharpened, oversimplified messages" that they are communicating to their audiences? What "positions" do they "own" in the "minds of their prospects?" I'm not kidding. I really want to know.

A Letter to Wall Street: Cut us some Slack

Dear Wall Street:

It was you who seduced our industry into cluttering up our radio stations with spots in the first place. Please cut Clear Channel some slack as they attempt to right the wrongs you rewarded us for during the 90's.

Signed,

The Radio Industry

From today's Radio Business Report:

Another analyst weighs in on "more is less"

"Reading between the lines of management comments, we believe inventory reduction heavily involves inventory unit sales shift from 60 second units to 30 second units without significant unit price discount," RBC Capital Markets analyst David Bank told clients as he digested what Clear Channel management had to say in Friday's conference call. But he says details of just how that will be accomplished remain "elusive."

Thus, while he reads between the lines to conclude that Clear Channel is going to try to shift advertisers to :30s from :60s, the analyst says he still needs more information on just how this is going to be done and how the shorter spots will be priced.

Do you take listeners "backstage?"

It constantly amazes me how rarely we "lift the curtain" and take listeners backstage.

There are so many ways to do this, from literally inviting fans to tour the station to launching online-only initiatives designed to give listeners a feel for what happens between the morning show bits.

Here is an example of how HBO's Six Feet Under does this so successfully - they actually take you inside a production meeting. Thanks to Creating Customer Evangelists for the link.

Don't you have music meetings, Radio? Don't you have Morning Show meetings? Don't you have writing sessions? Aren't these the kinds of things that could build relationships with your audience? Does anyone out there KNOW these things exist?

Do you care? Because your listeners probably do.

Get with the program, Radio.

New Research Study Highlights Impact of iPods on Radio

A new online study conducted by SBR Creative Media among more than 7,000 AAA format listeners nationwide has some eye-opening findings.

The full results of the study will be presented by SBR at next week's AAA Summit in Boulder.

Here are just a couple of the things that jumped out to me:

Owners of portable mp3 players (e.g., iPods, etc.) are considerably less likely than the total sample to say they “listen to music the most” on FM radio . iPods and their like are being used as radio substitutes by many of these folks. Further evidence, 16% of the total sample says they listen to "more than 6 hours of radio per day" compared to only 10% of iPod/mp3 player owners. That's a big difference, folks, and it hits radio at its heavy-TSL heart.

I have for some time talked about how mp3 players - and iPods in particular - are fundamentally different from any of the other portable music players in our history. Here, finally, is some evidence to suggest I'm right. These units, although inevitable, are a serious challenge to music stations long term.

Recall that it was in the Spring that the NAB that gave away iPods as door prizes at their convention. Ha!

It's also interesting to note the 18-24 shift AWAY from traditional record stores and toward large retail stores as their preferred sources for CD's.

Lots more stuff in the SBR research. Look for more details from SBR and in Radio & Records.

Less is Less Good

As an industry, we'll get more credibility with advertisers if we use the English language properly.

In this case, we're actually doing FEWER commercials and FEWER station promos.

Or, if you prefer, LESS commercial time and LESS time invested in promos.

Sometimes, it seems, LESS is wronger.

How Mercury helps you build your Radio Station's Brand

One of Mercury's competitive weapons is our ability to help you build out your radio station's brand.

To that end, I have developed a Brand-Building Guide for Radio Stations - exclusively for present Mercury clients.

If you're a client and would like a copy of this, contact me.

Here's a sample page from the guide (Adobe Acrobat Reader required).

When reducing spots is BAD news

When a major radio group cuts back on spot inventory in order to give something back to the audience and their advertisers, there are two ways to spin it: The "gift to the audience and the advertisers" way or the "desperate attempt to stem audience tuneout" way.

As this article proves, Clear Channel could use a better PR firm.

I Want My MTV, s'il vous plait

Interesting piece on MTV's international brand strategy