The Endless Summer Sails On

How The Summer Audience Travels & Listens

We just couldn't let the endless summer of 2009 go by without at least one editorial about what it means and how it affects us. Obviously, one question is how is this summer's audience is different, and how can we take advantage of that difference once we recognize it?

For one thing, the summer audience is becoming increasingly more mobile. Sure, the pocket compass was a handy item in its day, but it has been replaced by new indispensable GPS mobile tools that are part of our lives, which are coupled with features that compete with radio. There is an array of applications, from iPods and iPhones to other little black boxes of wires and wonder that have become summer travel companions. They're not bulky or heavy; if they get smeared with sunscreen or lotion, we just wipe them off, plug them back in and kick back.

Who are the summer listeners whose minds and dial positions we can change? They are kids out of school; people on vacation, and people working part-time who now have more time to listen to the radio ... much of it in cars. When their favorite radio station doesn't give them what they want, studies show they will hit three buttons in the car and then go to some other device, such as an iPod. These kids all struggle with peer pressure and parents who might tolerate their demands for a particular radio station with the thought being that not to let them listen to what they want to hear is not just denying them a choice they would like. Many parents feel they would be denying them "membership" in the social club of the moment.

For those markets measured by the meter, this could be critical. After all, if there are four people in the car all wearing meters, listening to your station, it doesn't take long for those quarter-hours to add up.

Generational Adjustments

What do these Generation Ys really want to hear this summer? They want to hear some fresh new music combined with favorite songs. The challenge is to find this music and combine it in a form the audience will like. The challenge for the artists is this: How do you sound like a machine such as auto-tune ... and not like a machine at the same time? How do you match the mathematical precision and power of a drum program and/or the immense sonic spectrum of a sampler or synthesizer -- and still add something different that justifies your presence in place of a machine? These 18-24-year-olds expect you to sound at least as good as the machines they've heard all their life. How do you meet their expectations and still surprise them?

Listeners have different portable needs in the summer. They're in a different mood. Right now, many of them are hot. Our country is suffering from summer heat in most of the country. Probably nothing would be more welcome that a cool thought or two about how to keep these overheated listeners happy. Adjust your show-prep manual.

Should you suddenly give away a lot of cool prizes? You know, things such as air conditioners, refrigerators, or maybe even a fan or a case of cool beverages? How about some up-front tickets to a really cool concert? Some cleverly worded promos and liners could make a real difference here. This could help, but it's not the solution.

Now we're not saying you shouldn't do any of these things, only that at best, they're short-term fixes. The big question is will people who get a diary or carry a meter remember that you tried to keep them cool and lock your station in? Maybe, but you're betting against short odds.

What's better is an extended cure for the summertime blues, so that when the weather changes, you're still a "major player." They key is to really understand what summer means to your entire target audience. How do the folks who still have ordinary jobs and lead fairly mundane lives feel about what their favorite station is offering during this summer? They want some relief whether they live in town or they've moved to the suburbs. Some of them are young and restless and radio gives them something to do.

Summer also brings about a change in listening patterns, TSL and the overall attitude of the audience. Lot of listeners are on vacation. The kids are out of school. Even though they may be poorer, people tend to be happier in the summer. If you're a programmer who's holding the summer reins for the first time or you've just moved up to a larger market, here are a couple of hot tips for you.

There is a theory that says if you really know good radio you can do any format any time. You can adjust, compromise and still win. Part of knowing good radio is understanding summer differences. During the summer months, you don't just compete against the other Urbans, Smooth Jazzes, Top 40s, Rhythmics and in some cases, hybrids in the market. You continue to compete in the marketplace as a whole.

Some programmers and consultants say they always look at a market and try to figure out how to compete against the other Urban-formatted stations. You should certainly do that, but you also have to take stock of the entire market and look at those stations that you share even a few quarter-hours with.

Summer Singles

One of the new groups that many Urban stations share limited listening time with are the single professionals. They're following the jobs, but in a recent survey these Generation Jones and Ys were found to be different from the married professionals and feel slightly out of place in a conversation about children, a new minivan and the whole "we're headed for Wal-Marts" world. Can you become their favorite station this summer? Because if you can satisfy that niche and super-serve them without losing your core audience, it could pay big dividends. And besides, it's great for PPM. Here's how it works.

In order to attract and maintain a strong summer following, you must have a current image. And guess what: Those 25-plus demos GMs think you should be chasing don't want to hear a steady diet of oldies and ballads, no matter how much research forced them on the menu. This is especially true during the summer. You might think that the best way to grow a summer audience would be to play some cool music, and many of the really cool songs are ballads. That simply is not true. Whether you're a straightahead Urban station or an Urban AC, the smart thing to do this summer is to freshen up and add some currents -- and tempo, in the case of the Urban ACs. Remember, not everyone, especially the young professionals, who listen to your station are going to the clubs or being "shouted out."

Check the latest population figures and see what the trends are in your market. Have there been population shifts? How many 20-somethings will start to work this summer? Check the average age of these new suburbanites. You will probably find their median age is around 30. That would put them smack dab in the middle of the most desirable, saleable demographics.

They're changing the culture and the color of the suburbs. Can you flava the format a little so their fickle fingers will fix on your frequency? The fact is that there are thousands of them our there and we're missing out on them.

Recent studies conducted in several major and medium markets have shown that, by the time these young professionals are ready to drink wine with the year on the label, they're ready for a station that not only plays their favorite jams, but treats them like an adult. If they're going to listen to and enjoy the same station their kid brother or sister listens to, it better be jammin'. There are markets and stations that have figured out how to capture this new suburban cume. You see them at the top of the ratings at various times all over the country. The problem is that sometimes these stations put the right combination together accidentally. Then when the book comes out and they're way up, they can't remember what they did. But we're not talking about having an accident; we're talking about creating a summer buzz.

Buzz is the word, and you can start one this summer. It's a lot of hard work and you have to utilize everything at your disposal, including the liners, interns, vans and website. The key is consistency. The billboards, bus-backs, television spots, direct mail and website all have to be saying exactly the same thing -- same logo, colors, graphics and image lines.

Think about other industries that have experienced the same things. Take the athletic shoe industry, for example. Both Nike and Reebok are looking a little worn about the heels these days.

Despite the tremendous amount of advertising they do, they've both been hurt by the sudden shift to grunge fashion, few really hot new shoes and tight consumer spending this summer. Some industry observers say Nike and Reebok are out of step on the fashion front. Now, despite the economy, they're both still making money, but not as much as they had hoped for. Not as much as they had projected. Despite big sports-themed marketing efforts that focus on show performance, it's fashion, not performance, that will spur most summer athletic shoe sales.

What's taking the place of high fashion kicks this summer? Cheaper alternative footwear. You see examples of it in music videos and artists' public appearances constantly. And it's not just rappers and those who want the "White Tee" thug look who are shedding their sneakers. Those single professionals we mentioned earlier are wearing these hip, cheaper, alternative shoes on the weekends and after work. They'll do the same thing if you suddenly become their favorite radio station. And all you have to do is recognize them. Say and do some things on-air that lets them know that you know they're out there.

What A Difference A Daypart Makes

What kinds of things do you say and do and when do you do it? You start off by establishing your morning show and then follow with lots of current hit jams throughout the rest of the day. Notice I said current hit jams. Now that doesn't mean you can't play an occasional former #1, or throw in an active recurrent joint now and then, but if there's one thing that can bring these single and married young professionals to your side of the dial this summer, it's freshness.

Looking at it from a pure daypart standpoint, you want to be about 80% current, familiar and uptempo in the morning. Then you should move through middays about 70% - 80% current with a slight tempo shift. Afternoons should be at least 80% current and nights should be 90% current. Nights is where you introduce the new music. The daypart difference should probably be high-profile artists. The idea here is that during these hot summer days listeners love to hear fresh, new music by their favorite artists -- the ones they're going to put on their iPods.

Remember, BET, MTV VH1 and some local channels will be playing to this summer audience, too, Some of these video outlets often get and air these music videos before radio does. Radio is waiting for the results of their callout research. Don't wait this summer. You don't want your station to be at a competitive disadvantage. You want your summer listeners to be able to come to you for the new music; they want to hear the latest releases as soon as they are out. You have to take some occasional chances ... and summer is the ideal time to do it, for the sake of freshness.

The answer is to stay close to your listeners and understand what they want. Do that and own a position, and you're that much ahead of the game. The stations that own a position this summer are the ones who are going to score. Play the best possible current music and make the station sound interesting.

This means that the part-timers who fill in for vacations have to be really familiar with the way the station has to sound. It also means extra effort and talent development sessions to ensure that the station remains consistent. Don't forget about the summer "music freaks." They are the selfish listeners who find our frequencies and use our stations strictly as a music source. One of the keys that will keep them fixed on your frequency this season is musical consistency.

During the summer months, it is especially important to recognize this and realize that with a few tweaks you can capture them and make them part of your primary audience. The problem is that programmers -- many of whom may oversee more than one station and/or have an air shift in addition to their programming duties -- have precious little time to program each station. With these time constraints, programmers may not get a second chance to make the right decisions. Because of their schedules, it is virtually impossible for a busy rookie programmer who hasn't been taught the basics of how to soothe these music freaks to survive.

One of the ways Urban radio can soothe these summer music freaks and grow some audience is to stay consistent and not limit itself. It is also important to be being willing to air some fresh new music and artists to please the summer "music freaks." Who are they and where are they, you ask? They are everywhere. They are those listeners who selfishly only use radio as a music source. They just want to hear their own personal favorite jams over and over. During the summer they multiply.

Unfortunately, a lot of programmers haven't realized that Urban stations need to be aware of this and they need to stay fresh. Even the Urban Adult stations need to expose some fresh new product; all varieties of it, including some hit rap songs that fit (once they become familiar, of course). Today's music freaks don't want to listen to just one very narrow type of music, especially in the car. If the station is too narrow, so is its audience, its ratings and its program director's employment chances.

The key to keeping the summer music freaks is to find a hole that your station can fill in the market this summer. Then focus. Put the blinders on and execute

Listening To Your Listeners

If you listen to the listeners, they will tell you what they want to hear on their favorite station. Smart programmers follow their research and gut closely to keep their station synchronized with the audience. This research, properly interpreted, will reveal what the music freaks love most and just as important, what they hate most. It's not unusual for there to be less than 8-10 jams they're really into that aren't short-term recurrents.

Many stations with aggressive new music positions are finding that less than half of the music in current rotation survives and makes it to the recurrent stack. The percentage is even smaller for tracks that ultimately make it into the station's library.

We have observed an interesting development lately. In a recent series of callout tests among upper demographic age groups, artists and jams that had traditionally only tested and scored well with the young end demographics began to change. Not only are some songs scoring better in the 18-24 and 25-34 age groups, we're also noticing significantly higher scores among 35-44 year-olds for some titles. In these comparisons, the 35-44 demo scored artists such as Jamie Foxx, Keri Hilson, Drake and Maxwell very high. They actually scored an average of 40% higher during the summer than in March and April. Why is this happening? It is because of the summer music freaks. More and more we're finding growing popularity for songs as they cross format and demographic lines. Urban, Urban AC and Rhythmic stations lose exclusivity as these songs cross over. Heavy exposure on multiple sources can increase burn scores in the callouts and ultimately shorten a song's life on the station that got it started.

As vital a tool as research has become, it is still necessary to take a proactive approach to music, particularly in the Urban format. Here, programmers with strong instincts have a clear advantage. Some jams will test just "OK" in the beginning. Of these, a few important songs may eventually emerge. But belief and gut always precede research. They can take time. Some of our best, most evergreen songs don't test immediately, so it's important to have a very sharp idea of what your music freaks want and don't want.

What will research tell us? I like to recommend that programmers count on their strong intuitive feel for the audience. Use research to only educate your gut. For pure rap songs, even ones that you might feel initially could become "adult party songs," there's usually a cutoff age around 29 or 30 for men, a bit older for females, especially for songs that have love lyric integrity.

When you use research properly and regularly, you are less like to be victimized by surprises. With frequent checkups, you can avoid mistakes that might otherwise leave you clutching your heart in a panic. Research may help you see exactly what is happening to you now, and often it can provide you enough of a glimpse into the future to keep you employed.

Pushing the envelope too much can push the audience to a competitor. Being too aggressive with the wrong new music can damage TSL above a station's natural cut-off age. Not recognizing that you can take it with you can be a major problem. The solution this summer is making what you create something listeners will want to carry with them.

Word.