Inside Music MediaJerry Del Colliano

TOO MANY COMMERCIALS

It’s getting worse and remember listeners were complaining about radio commercials decades ago.

Now, because stations are dropping their rates and forcing competitors to do the same, they have to all run more spots that are cheaper.

No one ever complains about the Super Bowl commercials. In fact, Super Bowl commercials are a source for attracting audience. But in radio the commercials are so bad. And because there are so many short spots it sounds like double or triple the average 18 minutes per hour.

The good news is that there are ways to approach the need to run these commercials in better ways without driving listeners nuts.

Grouping by length, departing from the PPM quarter hour wisdom that you must win 5 minutes in every 15-minute segment to win more quarter hours.

It isn’t working – just look at the PPMs for any market. They all follow the same rules but only a handful of stations seem to benefit.

That’s why I have put this topic on the agenda for my Philly conference in less than a month from now.

It’s a phased plan. You can even test it until you’re comfortable. We’ll discuss face to face.

REPETITIVE MUSIC

Actually, listeners want more music discovery which is why anyone under 33 years old rarely listens to any song all the way through.

Yet, think about it – a music radio station’s entire reason for being is that if they play the right songs and do a lot of music sweeps, they will keep their audiences tuned in.

Not so anymore.

And our listeners are way ahead of radio. They find new music from each other, streaming music services and YouTube. YouTube is everything today.

There is a way to deliver on much more music variety and the popular hits in a new mixture of music not seen in any current radio format.

SWEEPERS

The audience hates them because they’re so phony and idiotic.

Voices that don’t sound real.

Bragging (or as radio likes to call it – promotion).

No authentic messages.

The answer is dump the sweepers. They’ve served radio well but if we continue to rely on them we are going to turn off more listeners than we will attract. It makes radio sound old.

I’ll show you a way to replace sweepers with something more effective that all listeners – especially younger ones – will respond to.

OUTDATED MORNING SHOWS

Stations are essentially doing the same morning show that they have done for 40 years or more.

Not one new significant innovation has been added.

And it worked well until now.

We are going to get into the new features to add to morning shows that are unique, compelling and even more importantly, addicting.

Take them home and try them. Better yet, try them and sell them.

TOO MUCH HYPE

As you’ll see when I share with you the 7 Things Millennials Want From Radio that authenticity and no hype are the first two – are you surprised?

Any words that end in “est” are not believable (like “greatest”).

Self-promotion that used to be what radio did 24 hours a day now backfires.

These are 5 of the critical issues facing radio stations and digital entrepreneurs.

Here’s the program content:

1. Attracting More Website Visits. WTOP in DC does 2 million every month and 31.8 million page views. So we’re bringing PD Laurie Cantillo in to sit with us and discuss. We can question here together.
2. Solutions to Commercial Clutter. Look, running 8-minutes of unlistenable commercials every hour is a suicide wish.  I know, they pay the bills. I’m going to present you with 11 ways to make this problem get better.
3. How Much Radio, How Much Digital. I can tell you right now I am going to show you the digital initiatives that have no payoff. But you’ll be impressed by the few that do and you’re going to want to jump on them. One costs under $1,000 and is pretty impressive.
4. Listen Longer Strategies. Radio TSL has been dropping every year since the early 1990s. This calls for disrupting the way we build our hot clocks. I’m going to show you how to throw that hourly clock out and replace it with something better.
5. Eliminating 2015’s 3 Biggest Listener Objections. Outdated morning shows, too many commercials and repetitious music. Do even one thing on these three listener objections and you’re ahead of the market.
6. Effective Ways To Compete With On-Demand Content. I am going to play dirty with Millennials developing content they cannot possibly resist about employment, college loans, themselves. We can do this – as you will see.
7. What Millennials Want From Radio. This list has seven things on it and I can tell you I live by this list every day whether I am talking to Millennials or not.
8. Selling Against Programmatic Buying. This is essentially bidding down rates so its time to have an action plan to combat it. How to walk from a deal that media buyers ruined by bidding down the rate on a competitor. The secret to getting longer term contracts. A few very smart stations are way ahead of the industry on this.
9. Start Your Own Short-Form Video Business. Digital shouldn’t be an add-on to what you do on the air. Do the best on-air radio you can possibly do and a separate stream of revenue from the hottest digital project ever. Let me play some short-form videos for you that are being done by young people who are making more money than most stations do from all their digital initiatives.
10. Beyond Clicks – Listener Engagement. Social media is changing rapidly from mass audience to small groups of participants. Radio must rethink using social media to promote what’s on the air.   It’s a waste. Let’s talk about what your listeners who “like” you really want.  Which social media site is ascending at the pace of YouTube?
11. Telling Stories – the New Spoken Word Radio. You don’t have to run a talk station to cash in on storytelling.  And it is highly saleable.
12. Why You Should Take a Pass On Podcasting. Podcasting is another form of talk radio. It may appeal to Gen Xers and Baby Boomers but it sure hasn’t made any real money. Ask me about storytelling and how it could find its way onto your station – even a music station. Especially, a music station.
13. 8 Millennial Mistakes You Don’t Want To Make. There are 95 million Millennials out there – the largest generation ever, even larger than the Baby Boom generation. Here are the 7 things Millennials want most from radio.

March 18^th – a day of information and inspiration where we work together. I’m putting lots of time aside for your questions.

This event will not be available by stream or video – only live and in-person.

Less than 3 weeks until conference day.

Independent broadcasters and digital entrepreneurs are invited to the 6^th annual Media Solutions Seminar at the Hub Conference Center March 18^th in Philadelphia, walking distance from Amtrak’s 30^th Street Station and 20 minutes from Philadelphia International Airport.

Buffet breakfast, lunch and all breaks prepared by James Beard award-winning chef Jean-Marie Lacroix, former executive chef at The Four Seasons included.

Register Now

Contact Jerry about the conference and group rates here.

Online program brochure here.