Hustle And Flow

The Key To Longer Listening Spans Is Making The Station Flow

As we begin to ramp up for the upcoming spring Arbitron sweeps, we're going to look at how we can hustle our homies into listening longer. Great content and flow can make a big difference, even with a little budget. Many intelligent managers believe the smartest way to grow sales is to find new customers. It's true. What is also true is that the best way to capture new cume is to build a better on-air product. Some think it's better to protect what they've got, but the best way to do that is by presenting the best possible product on the air. All the elements, including the music, must interact and contribute.

Focus On The Format

Radio in 2006, regardless of format, is arguably not the first choice among some younger demos for getting new music and lifestyle information. So the question becomes, are we in danger of losing the ears (and the diaries entries) of Generation X or Y or Jones? And, if so, how do we get them back?

The answer is that we have to focus on the format and stay attentive. There have always been fragmentations in the urban format of disposable time, whether it was television, cable, Internet, iPods, satellite radio, books or movies.

The current subscription models, even as they continue to gain in penetration, still have relatively small audience caps relative to the reach of terrestrial radio. Up until now urban radio has always successfully co-existed with self-programmed entertainment devices.

We've got to remember this spring that we can't execute our way to excellence without a blueprint.

Part of that blueprint or plan or format focus this spring should be on attracting those Hispanic listeners who like urban jams. America's Hispanic population is now over 42 million. Hispanic origin and age figures released recently by the Census Bureau include Hispanics who may be of any race and accounted for about one half of the national population growth.

Working-age Hispanic adults (18-54) year olds totaled 184 million nationally. Some 63% were in that age range. The proportion who were members of this age group ranged from 66% for Asians to 61% for blacks and Hispanics..

These heavily weighted Hispanic listeners can make a huge difference in your station's overall numbers this spring.

Daypart Indexing

Now is the time to follow up on your hunches or the results of your latest perceptual studies. If you think your late night jock might do better in middays and the research seems to support that theory, now is the time to make that move. It's all part of effective daypart indexing. This is a comparative technique developed by Arbitron to assist programmers to determine what dayparts are helping the station and which ones are not.

Your station's total share of audience is actually made up of multiple shares for each daypart. In other words, an average of morning drive, middays, afternoon drive, evenings and overnights. By creating an index which compares each daypart to the overall average, you can now see which time periods are under or over performing and then make adjustments.

Another factor to consider in daypart indexing is daypart relativity for each format

In other words, every format has its uniquenesses and anticipated performance curves. For example, middays on some mainstream urban stations are often lower than other dayparts. The reason is that those indexes often favor stations (such as urban adult) that target at-work listeners. This disparity is inherent to the format itself and should not be cause for concern.

Keep in mind daypart indexing is a great equalizer of information and a good way to look at your at your station and see what's pushing you forward and what may be holding you back. It also provides a standard point of comparison that brings each daypart's contribution into sharp focus.

Promoting Ahead & Creating Listener Benefits

Building great ratings depends on being able to consistently promote ahead to improve flow, extend TSL, and even build quarter hours. You should never go into a stop-set without teasing ahead. Giving listeners something to anticipate creates aggressive momentum and flow.

You increase TSL by constantly selling listener benefits. Doing this makes the show and the station more interesting and helps to create longer listening spans. One method I really like is one in which you have live liners that sell one of the station's unique qualities several times an hour. This aids listeners to better use the station and gives them more reason to listen later in the hour and into the next day part.

Finally, urban radio's greatest strength this spring still lies with its on-air performer's execution. The toughest job is finding and maintaining them. We still have to hustle to find them and then we have to make them flow, not so they will fit in, but so they will stand out.

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