Avoid Being Out With The "In Crowd"

Just Cleaning Up the Clutter Could Make You The S---

You would think with all the emphasis on compelling content, especially in the growing PPM world, that clutter would be one of the first things that gets handled.

But you'd be wrong. One of Urban radio's biggest challenges, even beyond getting the music right, is clutter. It's not just too many of the same sounding commercials, weak production or excessive and poorly prepped jock chatter; it's the combination of all these things.

Is there a policy on commercial inventory and quality? The goal should be to create quality advertising that complements the station's programming. Clients who insist on doing their own commercials and remotes may change their minds if they are presented with creative options. And ask the question:Do value-added mentions really add value and at what price? Have your live endorsements outlived their effectiveness? With syndication taking as many as two dayparts from many Urban station's lineups, are you running out of air talent who need to lose weight, get laser surgery or lower payments?

Bear in mind, that just like music, commercials have burn-out too. How many times have you heard the first few seconds of a commercial and decided to make a change? Today, listeners have so many choices that instead of just going from a P1 to a P2, you could lose them altogether. Clutter could force some audience members to turn the radio off and choose instead to fire up their iPod or cell phone. That's one of the risks you face ... one that could find you out with the "in crowd."

The fact that other formats have made clutter an issue makes it Urban stations' problem as well. That means we need to pay crucial attention to and re-evaluate all non-music and non-entertainment elements. After years of pressure from our sales departments to grow revenue at all costs, we have reached a tipping point. We have to control clutter on our stations whether they are group-owned or individually-owned, whether they are in small markets still measured by the diary or larger markets with electronic measurement procedures.

It is unfortunate that many managers still feel clutter is a non-issue and that program people should understand that management has maintained good inventory control. Then when the ratings come out and the station is down, they want to know why? If they're not satisfied with the answer they begin an immediate search for a programmer who can win with clutter. And there are programmers today who will agree totally with the manager's point of view, until they are forced to face the problem head on.

There is a growing perception that radio is a cluttered medium as a whole ... not just on a handful or stations. As far as some listeners and advertisers are concerned, when the largest broadcast companies acknowledge a problem, that paints every station with the same brush. On the other hand, until we do something, we are going to continue to have clutter problems in Urban radio.

So what is cutter? Clutter is probably best defined as anything that takes away from the listener's positive experience -- in other words, anything that is not germane to effective programming. The truth is that this is how the audience perceives our stations. To them we are a utility whose only mission is to play their favorite songs and in between make them laugh, chuckle or think, or all three in a single break, over an intro and across the quarter-hour.

Obviously we can't eliminate all clutter -- everything that any one listener would deem clutter. But we can improve our stations by cleaning up the obvious clutter. We cannot do it without management's blessing. It's not just a sales or programming issue. But before we get into counting spots and trimming breaks, it's important to do a local assessment. How does your station stack up in the competitive environment? Are station promos written and produced for maximum impact?

Taking 60 seconds for a promo that could adequately work better in 20 seconds sucks. If it's a big promotion with a lot of moving parts, create several versions of the promo. Cut it to 20 seconds with one version to catch listeners' interest, another to explain the details. Is there any data to support a potential issue with spot loads or too much talk? After that review, unfortunately, some managers who have never really been on programming's side will conclude there is no need for any change at their stations. But the challenge is not simply a matter of determining if there is a clutter problem now; it's also a matter of determining what the future holds. Will your station develop a perceived clutter image due to changes in the competitive environment?

Clutter Causes Cume Problems

To better understand today's Urban audiences, you need to realize that we're the only group in history raised during an era of continuous technological and social change. We never really get the time to catch our breath. We became a generation who figured the only way to get through this quagmire was to continue to experiment. But wait -- part of the problem is the quagmire and the impatience of today's generation to tolerate it. Yes, we can experiment, but there are certain risks we simply can't take. We can't afford to get stale ... and we definitely have to get rid of the clutter.

Generation Y'ers and Joneses have grown up with VH1, MTV and "106 and Park," and they know how to text, surf, download and Tivo. We have to do something to keep them enthralled. One of the first things we need to do to hold their interest is to "take out the trash." Then we've got to learn how to win between the records. Whatever our goals, recycling audience into other dayparts, establishing a signature sound, selling the station's key benefits and developing a consistent station personality are the keys to avoid being out with the "in crowd."

As we approach the diminishing moments of 2009, now is the time to look at some of the problems caused by the trash on the transmitter. The problem for some programmers is that they may not know exactly what is clutter or trash ... and what is not. Here are a few thoughts on wrapping the garbage that offends those listeners who are fond of our frequencies. If we don't toss the trash, eventually the U-Haul will appear in our driveway. Our listeners want the format to be funky, but they don't want it to stink. When it does, the garbage has got to go

Should we spray it with disinfectant chemicals or simply cover it with "fresh jams"? Where and how can we store it until the tainted trash is removed? Auditorium tests and focus group studies constantly reveal that music freaks are especially irritated by anything that is not fresh new music. They are not only less tolerant of trash, they also don't care that the station needs commercials to survive and that you have to take time out now and then to inform them. They're selfish and not empathic to your need to serve the community. If it means stopping the music, you'd better be either funny or jamming.

Let's face it: Today's listeners, especially the "music freaks," are selfish and spoiled. Most just want to be entertained. "Just make me laugh and play my favorite songs" is how most listeners feel. They want to hear just their favorite songs over and over again ... and to have fun. Anything else is strictly trash ... a tune-out. When we run for the ratings, cleaning up the clutter should be an important part of what Urban stations that want to win must do. First we've got to clean up the kitchen. Then we have to get down to some really creative cookin'.

Secrets Of Horizontal Recycling

Another thing programmers struggling with clutter need to recognize is the value of horizontal recycling. It works better when you use it to promote tomorrow at the same time, rather than trying to promote the rest of the show, even though both are important. Even the most loyal listeners (hopefully those with a meter or a diary) are only listening to one of five hours of a show. Morning shows have a tendency to come on the air with guns blazing, doing the passionate, personal stuff they're excited about at six o'clock. But the power hour doesn't begin until seven. If you structure and schedule the content on the morning show with this in mind, that can make a huge difference.

Horizontal recycling is crucial if yours is a market being measured by PPM. Clutter will take its toll very quickly. And you can't recycle any audience if they're already gone because of the clutter.

One of the best places to begin getting rid of the clutter is through regular airchecks with the jock staff. Now I know that in many cases, regular aircheck sessions, no matter how bad they're needed, are just not possible for a PD watching over two or more stations, voicetracking one and or doing a full shift. But somehow, you've got to find a way to it and when you do, here are some suggestions. When you listen to your staff (the few who are still left after syndication and voicetracking), how may of them still attempt to be funny or informative, but only end up being boring and silly? An air talent who adds clutter to the format is a liability who must be eliminated. Otherwise, the whole station's format is in jeopardy.

Dealing with talent is always a major issue, and it takes a different approach for each personality. In spite of having huge egos, talent usually wants everyone to listen to and like them. The key is to get their egos to work for them. Don't criticize them directly; find their strengths and focus on those. If you can make them understand and show them where they're shooting themselves in the foot, they'll take out some of the trash for you.

As a consultant, one the areas that I always find sorely lacking is how personalities handle the phones. Many still put callers on live. That is an absolute no-no. Listener calls should always be recorded and edited. That way, bad or risky calls never get on the air and long callers get edited down. This is just one quick but effective way of "taking out the trash."

Personalities should be made aware that callers exist only to set up the talent and make them look good. They are essentially props. If Tom Joyner, Rickey Smiley, Steve Harvey, Russ Parr, Doug Banks, Donnie Simpson, Skip Cheatham or Frank Ski never took callers, the audience might not even notice. That's because callers are such a very small percentage of the audience that they are not a critical response factor, providing the other elements are in place.

Once you have taken out the trash, you have to replace it with compelling programming. Just what is compelling programming? Compelling programming is when the air personality tells the listeners something they don't know when they speak very frankly about it, and it better be something they already care about. Then, if they can do it with a touch of humor, and do that consistently, you've won the game.

This whole concept of editing and eliminating the "trash" is a special problem. It often involves a lack of training. It's a known fact that the demand for qualified air talent, particularly in the mornings, far exceeds the supply. Syndication and voice-racking notwithstanding, today's programmers and consultants still have to find a way to spend some time listening to airchecks (and music) and less time in front of their computers. The reason is obvious: If we can't find talented on-air personalities, we have to train them ... and nobody wants to do that. We want someone else to find them, just like we want someone else to find our hits.

But eventually when it's time for those syndicated personalities to retire, we're going to have a huge problem. Where are tomorrow's star talent going to come from? Research can't find them. Research can't find tomorrow's hits, either. It can help to sort out those titles that are burned or don't achieve high passion scores, but it can't find them. A consultant whose forte is not Urban (those aliens from another format) doesn't even know where to look for the talent or the music answers.

We all want to play it safe. But you can't put the station on automatic and expect ratings to rise. That's simply not going to happen. There are reasons why training and talent development continue to be major problems for Urban radio. The reasons go far beyond the basics of just getting the music right.

Some of today's decision-makers have problems training others because they themselves weren't really trained. Many came from stations where the PD was on the air, moved up and never knew how to use talent development to remove the trash. If that's your situation, you can't ignore the problem and wait for it to bite you. At least once every two weeks, sit down with your air talent and really listen. Listen critically for one hour a week. Transcribe the show in detail, catching the missed formatics, wrong sequences, lack of meaningful content, poor voice transitions, etc. It you note just one little thing that you can tell your air talent, they'll think you listen all the time.

Technical Air Pressure

After we've taken care of the air talent trash, we have to look at the overall sound of the station. Even if you've got the perfect playlist, if the station sounds like it's being filtered through a wind tunnel, you've still got big problems. If your engineer can't tell that the sound of the station is flat, shallow and "muddy" compared to your competition, you've got a tough fight. It will be noticed right away by your listeners, who constantly make comparisons, even subconscious ones, between you and your direct (or indirect) format competitors. You've got to take care of it. You must convince your chief engineer, GM, owner, consultant or group PD that there is a need for some new audio processing equipment. It's an area that is all too often overlooked in Urban radio.

Now let's check out the signal itself. Whether you are AM, FM or HD, you want to sound as clean and crisp as possible. One of the ways Urban stations often lose, especially with the blurring of formats and music lately, is when your competition plays the same song. often at the same time you are playing it ... and it sounds better over there. All of a sudden, it doesn't matter who plays 10 songs in a row, because all that hum, hiss, cross-talk, vibration and distortion in your audio signal are going to take a toll. It affects and causes something called audience fatigue.

Let's face it: Tuners and other audio equipment in homes, cars and portable devices are now digital and getting better, cheaper and smaller all the time. And next year, in 2010, HD radios are going to be standard equipment in even more economy model cars. This is going to make even the younger members of your audience somewhat purist, if only by comparison.

If you're skilled, persistent or fortunate enough to get rid of the rubbish, and you get your station lean and on top, naturally you are then expected to keep it there. Your GM may even add more commercial units, promos, remotes and garbage and ask you to understand. They've got pressure, too. Cluster strategies are rarely concocted solely at the local level and given the chance, the people on the ground would not program this way.

Every program director and many general managers have an incredible amount of pride and drive to take their stations to the top. But this is big business and unfortunately being successful these days is less about who and what you hear on-air and more about meeting budget numbers. The financial pressures are greater than ever in a faltering economy.

Finally, you may discover that to avoid being out with the "in crowd" means adjusting some of your own rules regarding clutter. Just remember these rules generally aren't the type that slink quietly away if you ignore them.

Word.