Urban Format Facing Demo Dilemma

Saying No To The Niche Notion

Urban programmers today face more obstacles and demo dilemmas than ever before, including having their ratings affected by Arbitron's attempts to contact unreachable cell phone-only listeners and savvy audience members who get their music off the Internet before the station airs it. Cell phones and wireless content delivery are the two of the biggest issues all formats face. We're losing more time-spent-listening (TSL) to listeners talking on the phone in their cars than to any other competing source.

As technology grows and wireless distribution continues to push past voice into data, the problem will only get worse. Most Urban stations must also face up to the fact that at least a third of their audiences are unreachable by Arbitron, Neilsen or any other research company because they are in cell-phone homes -- and the younger portion of the audience demographically is at the forefront of this movement.

In addition, the recent Arbitron "report cards" have provided further evidence of just how competitive the 25-54 demo has become for Urban formats. Only 25% of the straight-ahead Urban stations surveyed topped their markets in men 25-54. This was by far the lowest percentage in five years. Now, to be honest, there were some Urban stations that did well in males 25-54, but they were few and far between.

In contrast, Urban ACs did well ... except that the very top end of the demo, those between 35-49 showed some slippage. How and why did this happen? The explosion of formats and stations targeting the lucrative 25-54 demo has undoubtedly played a major role in the declining percentage of straight-ahead Urbans' losses in older males. There have been some bold experiments by a handful of stations that have worked, especially in the PPM world. Let's also not forget Rhythmic Top 40, which has probably had more to do with the decline than anything else. Not only is the format incredibly popular, it's undergoing its own fragmentation, which is producing even more stations attempting to vie for a slice of the male upper-demo pie.

For years the brightest minds in the Urban world have been urging their stations to prepare to "choose or lose." They've been admonishing their stations to pick a narrower, definable target and lock it up or face being "sliced and diced". The recent decline in Urban's overall 25-54 performance may be a sign that, for many stations, the time to choose is here.

On the other hand, I should point out that an additional 27% of those straight-ahead Urban stations surveyed finished strong in the 18-34 category. So the vast majority of stations aren't losing out on many buys just yet. It's more a case of having to share the wealth a bit more than in the past. What is most obvious is that there are fewer older males whose fickle fingers are finding Urban frequencies. If you're a late entry in an already overly saturated market, you may not be able to compete for 25-54 males with a straight-ahead Urban format. What does that mean? It means you may have to settle for a larger slice of a demo race you can win. Making money in a "fringe" format is better than being the 7th or 8th station in the 25-54 demo and losing money.

New Ratings Tactics

Of all the tactics Urban stations will attempt to use to help them win their ratings battles this year, one of the most interesting and challenging may be intimacy. A few stations are already benefiting from it and may not even know they're using it. We've all heard about how terrestrial radio's one advantage over the Internet and satellite is localization. Now recent studies have shown that something else we can offer that gives us an edge is intimacy. The combination of localization and intimacy can be very powerful.

Providing intimacy or companionship, a live, warm human offers a distinct advantage and can really help with stations now being measured by Arbitron's PPM, which we'll examine later. Urban radio is more than capable of providing companionship on a one-on-one basis. Companionship is part of intimacy; some say it's an elusive quality, although most of us sense it intuitively.

Some are going to ask, "What is intimacy and why is it important?" Intimacy is a combination of elements. It means communicating effectively with each member of your audience. And yes, as an air talent you still have to make your audience laugh, chuckle or think, or all three -- especially in morning drive. But intimacy is more than that. It's impossible to sound intimate with a member of your audience even if you haven't the vaguest idea who he or she is. That's why it's important and why we recommend the use of the personal listener concept. When you believe you're talking to one good friend, everyone in search of human contact will perceive you are talking to them. It's an old idea that can be freshened and made to work very effectively.

In addition to that one special person you're communicating with, it's extremely beneficial to know the actual makeup of your audience. We may assume everyone is getting up and going to work or school between 6-10 in the morning and then heading back home somewhere between 4:30-7p. But the latest national surveys are showing that fully a third of our audience doesn't work the traditional 9 to 5 shift.. So now that we know this, what do we do with it?

Well, once in a while you can put some backspin on the show by saying something like, "Checked in with Bubba, who works the night shift at [local factory, plant or company], and yesterday he and his homies all listened to us and they want us to know they like the vibe. Jennifer on the South Side says that on weeknights she listens when she and her friends are headed to the club. Well, check it out, whether you're headed to the club or crib right now, here's a little something to rock your ride with."

Or how about a little something for middays -- and again, this is especially effective for PPM markets -- beyond appointment listening and occasions? Most savvy programmers have their stations targeted directly at the "desperate housewives," mothers or homemakers. They're not that hard to figure. They're like everybody else. They are going to get their share of diaries and meters. For this coveted crew of ladies, you might want to tap into their left brains this way: "For everybody balancing their bankbooks right now, here's a jam I know you can relate to, a little music to sign checks by." Phrases like that help you to connect; they put you top-of-mind and in emotional contact with some people who are usually left out. Including them is putting intimacy to work.

Instant Polling Pay-Offs

There's a direct benefit to polling your audience occasionally, too. For example, "We'd like to know what you're doing while we're jamming the box for you. Why don't you hit me up on the jam lines or log onto the website or text message me?" Then share this information on the air: "We just heard from Darlene at the main post office. She says that every now and then they make her stop listening and sort for a few minutes. I'd love to hear from you, too." The richer your understanding of exactly who it is you're talking to, the better you'll be able to create the illusion of one-on-one radio.

Here's another thought about intimacy. We're all so complicated and stressed from dealing with life's daily issues, we need relief. It's nice to be able to connect with someone. If you're an air personality who presents the exact same face to your listeners all the time, they will soon sense your "act." They'll tired of it, get bored and move on.

A New Way To Keep It Real

Nobody's cool all the time. Nobody's always upbeat or bright all the time either. Trying to be that way, as many of us were taught for years, doesn't always uplift your audience. It can alienate them. That doesn't mean you should bring them down by being negative. It simply means that being real and intimate is what will give you an edge. The bubbly, positive, always-laughing posture are attitudes that are nice "default positions," but if you don't occasionally show the range of your emotions -- including frustration, sadness, and tenderness -- the audience is not going to think of you as a real person and bond with you. This method of keeping it real can also help you do one more thing: It can make you seem more believable to the listeners who have more entertainment sources and choices than ever.

Winning radio stations have to be inspiring, passionate, imaginative and caring. And they must offer compelling content. They should become something the audience looks forward to every morning, drives with during the day and goes to bed with every night. They should be a part of the very fabric of people's lives.

There's no doubt that it all starts with the jams. Music is the infrastructure of the station's presentation. But music only tells part of the story. Technology plays an ever-increasing role in a station's success, not only as a tool for the programming team, but also as a way to get the listener involved in the station. We spoke to a winning programmer in the Southeast who said that despite a reduced budget and having to oversee two other stations, he works hard to embrace new technology and tries to always be caught up to, if not ahead of the curve. "We recently launched our test-messaging initiative," he said. "This gives our audience a new way to communicate with the live air talent. We also allow them to text for tickets and other prizes."

Our job as programmers is to embrace the technology, provide fresh, compelling content in all of our non-syndicated dayparts and musically to give the audience a tight, focused selection of songs based on research, proper rotation and balance. The words in the songs we play can offer an intimate glimpse into a relationship that takes the listener on a romantic ride. If they associate that pleasant journey with your radio station, that association can give you a very effective "weapon" in the demo dilemma battle.