Sisterhood Part II - What Do Women Want?

Ladies Listening Mean Cume Climbs

In answer to the question of what do women want, naturally we modified the original question somewhat so that it now reads, what do women most want on the radio? We'll deal with some of the other issues that are important to women in 2009 later.

There is an old adage that women don't like listening to other women on the radio. I've amended that to women don't like listening to bad women air personalities any more than they like listening to bad male deejays. In a recent survey, though, women who were polled said they didn't like listening to female deejays who came across as overly sexy and breathy.

I think this whole notion of women not wanting to hear women on the air may have been a holdover from the old days when it was just a weak excuse made up by male PDs for not putting women on the air. Unfortunately, so many female broadcasters have been characterized as silly, giggly stereotypes that people often think of that image when they think of female jocks.

This myth stems in part from negative reactions women have about the "sidekick" role they have so often been forced to play on the radio, especially on morning shows. I have always maintained that some of the best jocks I've hired, trained and benefited from were females. When I used to do critique sessions with some of these females, I always stressed the fact that they had to match the energy of the song they were talking over. That seemed to be a major stumbling block for some female air personalities who were just fine talking over ballads, but whose style was just a little too laid back when they were talking over some of those high-energy hits.

I found that what those career women I counseled really wanted was to be instructed, critiqued and given a chance to improve. I don't think that's changed. What has changed is the amount of time busy programmers have to work with talent of any gender, on a regular basis.

Female Research Results

We've seen the results of many national and regional female research projects. Questions were asked about lifestyle, reasons for tuning in or out and specific behaviors and needs. Then, of course, there were the music tests. Women wanted to hear what's new and exciting. Considering all the controversy about less talk, particularly as we move forward in the PPM world, it's true. Lots of music is very important for an Urban station in the PPM world. Women too, love lengthy sweeps and two-song segues -- but they've got to be the right two songs. And yes, outside of morning drive, there probably needs to be less talk, but it has to be the right talk.

Women listen to Urban stations for all the stereotypical reasons. But beyond the desire for freshness and new music, they made it very clear they want to hear older music as well ... even titles that are two to three years old. Just playing new music though is not enough. They also demand balance.

A great deal of the blame for Urban radio's shortfalls is because of what I like to call "group think." Labels used to turn to PDs and MDs with a proven ear or feel to pick the hits ... and usually they were right. Now with add dates and impact weeks, the music is being dictated to radio and often the wrong songs go on for the wrong reasons. Both sides need to remember that whenever you try to copy something original and be successful, odds are you won't be.

Invariably in music research, we saw that many adult females like ballads with love lyric integrity. In test after test, women liked songs that are all about passion. This is because women are romantics. They are about love and love lost. Men who program firmly believe that too many ballads cause problems with TSL. And they're right. The key, of course again, is balance.

Unfortunately, today with programmers watching two or three stations, they're often forced to pass along the music scheduling problem to Selector. They ask their computer music scheduling system keep the tempo of the jams at a certain level and force the songs played out of features and newscasts and the top-of-the-hour to have more tempo and energy. The result is that too often daypart control is flawed ... and even if it is maintained, the rotations are thrown even further out of balance.

Let's examine some of the other things history has proven that women want and expect from their favorite Urban or Urban AC station. First, music still drives the format. Urban stations have got to be music-intensive to be successful. Female Urban listeners have a much higher-than-average interest in music. Over 90% strongly agree that they listen primarily for music and 85% said "lots of music is very important." Song identity is very important. More than half of those females surveyed strongly agree that their favorite station should identify songs and artists more than they do now.

Here's a slice of statistical data that may surprise you: Women are worriers. Females who listen to Urban radio are more likely than average to worry. They worry about their future. They worry a lot about their kid's safety and education. This is not surprising, given the current economy.

Many of these women are not only worrying more, they are angry. They are more likely to agree with the statement, "I get angry more often that I used to." The worry and anger are driving forces when they listen to their favorite Urban station. Surprisingly, over 70% listen to the radio to relax and better than 50% listen to reduce stress. So what's the answer for radio decision-makers? Make them feel good. Don't add to their stress.

This may come as no surprise, but many of the females who listen to Urban radio control their own money. They are much more likely to agree that "I make most or all the money decisions in the household" than female listeners of other formats. Granted, many of these women are in single-parent households. But they could be carrying a meter or keeping an Arbitron diary. And finally, on the whole, female Urban radio listeners are only slightly more likely that the average to agree with this statement: "I like to listen to contests with a chance to win cash and other prizes." About 25% strongly agree that "contests are fun to listen to even if I don't play." There is less intense dislike of contests among Urban listeners than among other format listeners.

Now you know a little more about what women want, why they want it and what adjustments your can make to keep them listening longer.

Word.

(Next Week Part III - The Earning Gap)