Possibly a major market radio advertiser during a commercial-free blackout?
I’m going to pick on radio for a moment — specifically certain broadcasters in regions like Minneapolis-St. Paul, where competition for listeners is particularly fierce.
Before I go any farther, you should know that radio has been an important part of my family’s history. It started years ago when my grandfather, Julien Meyer, was an announcer at KBMO in Benson, Minn. For grandpa, it was a passion and a side gig when he wasn’t serving as an educator or elementary school principal. His youngest son, Maynard (“dad” to me), has always made a living as a professional broadcaster, first working in sales or engineering at small-market stations, before forming Lac qui Parle Broadcasting, Inc. with business partner Terry Overlander in 1983.
Today, dad, Terry and a small, committed team operate KLQP-FM, 92.1 FM, based in Madison, Minn. Indeed my family, and the employees “Q-92″, have been enormously grateful for customers who have advertised on the station during its more than 25 years. Flash forward a good decade (or so) for me, where I’ve moved from life in a broadcasting environment to the marketing end of this equation…
Commercial-free radio from a commercial radio broadcaster. How does that work? And what’s wrong with advertising when it’s disseminated via AM or FM frequencies vs. TV, print or online channels of communication? Like any product or service, advertising is supposed to be sold through a mutually beneficial, respectful business relationship. But in major radio markets, there is a growing trend where vendors turns against customers through commercial-free blackouts and for some reason it seems to be widely tolerated by the shunned customers in question.
Of course I know that many fine relationships exist between radio broadcasters and their customers in markets of all sizes and hopefully most enjoy great ROI from their sponsorships. And I don’t suggest that market size necessarily reflects business savvy for broadcasters or their customers. But, seriously, what gives with such emphasis on commercial-free days, hours, mornings and so forth that have become so prevalent among metro area radio stations? It’s like implying that, “If only for a while, you poor listeners won’t be bothered by our irritating customers whose thousands of dollars keep us afloat.” I’m sure I’ve heard tax-subsidized, “member-supported” public radio stations tout their lack of commercials as a key point in their value proposition. What does that say about their commercial sponsors (and let’s be real: corporate underwriting ain’t a whole lot different that advertising)?
I understand, in the iTunes age, that broadcasters have reason to worry. For many radio stations, this largely is the result of their having relied too heavily on music alone to attract and retain an audience. Now to make matters worse, they’re increasingly training listeners to believe that ad-supported radio is a negative thing. With the 24-7 proliferation of very affordable, or free, audio entertainment available online or via satellite, commercial-free blackout periods are only going to be effective for so long (if they are truly effective at all).
Now, let’s consider media that tend to celebrate advertising. You’ve likely heard somebody say, “I don’t follow football, but I’ll watch the Super Bowl because I like the ads.” This year, you could catch all of the ads after the game on YouTube. That’s opt-in advertising! Heck, the Walker Art Center just ran a special exhibit for the British Television Advertising Awards, and every screening was sold out. Think about how often people post funny print ads and direct mail postcards in their offices — maybe you have done it yourself. Have you forwarded or received a recommendation to view a humorous or interesting online ad or web-based promotion? You don’t see many commercial television channels, for-profit websites or print publications that promise ad-free messaging.
What I would challenge more commercial radio broadcasters to do is be creative with ways in which they convey ads, rather than sweep them (and therefore advertisers) under the rug (and I would encourage advertisers to expect better). Discover ways to craft meaningful, memorable messages and present them in an interesting fashion on the radio. Those who are very brave might hearken to the pioneers of broadcasting and even thank an advertiser now and again (OK, baby steps). If nothing else, take a trip 90 minutes in any direction from the metro area border and listen to rural radio for a while. Last I recall at Q-92, the only commercial-free programs were Sunday morning church broadcasts, though you can bet there was a “Brought to you by _____” intro and outro to go with the bells.
Tags: "radio advertising"
Yes, indeed…if it moves, we’ll sell it! Commercial radio is being destroyed by a couple of generations of programmers who have tried to instill the message in listeners that music is good…commercials are bad. Music doesn’t pay the bills…at Q-92 it is simply something we use to kill time between our news and commercials…and we still have thousands of listeners!
Mass advertising had it’s place back when channels were few and competition in many industries was sparse. I’m looking at you industrial era. The problem is that as industries blossomed and new communication channels emerged, advertisers continued to rely on the same methods of mass marketing. As a result, millions of people have been — and continue to be — exposed to advertising that has absolutely no relevance to their lives.
Now throw in telemarketing, e-mail spam, text spam, blah blah blah… it’s easy to see how, to the masses, traditional “advertising” has become nothing nothing short of an annoyance. An invasion of one’s life. At worst, it’s viewed as evil.
Radio stations, like other traditional media, must engage in a balancing act, pleasing their audience AND pleasing their advertisers. I agree with you, in theory, that ad-free blocks of programming should be seen as a slap in the face to advertisers. But, when you step back and consider that the advertisers themselves are also individual members of our society who have grown numb to mass marketing… well, it’s probably not out of the question to assume they’d understand why these outlets are blacking out ads during portions of the day. Especially if a radio station sells it is as a method of retaining listeners by getting them used to leaving the dial set to their station — which, in turn, helps ensure they’ll have the station playing when the advertiser’s message plays.
Personally I welcome advertising with open arms, IF it is relevant to my life. I honestly crave it. I want to know about new Apple products. I want to know when movies I’d like are playing near me. I want to know about sales at Guitar Center. I want to know when the foods I enjoy are on sale. I want this information delivered to me ASAP, any time of day. Unfortunately, most traditional media outlets are not equipped to deliver such relevant advertising. They can tailor ads based on broad demographics such as region or general age, ethnicity and sex of listeners. But that’s just not enough in this day and age. Marketing based on those broad generalizations is still mass marketing.
Fortunately, we’re moving into an era where marketing to individuals is growing increasingly easier. I have Facebook open right now and one of the sidebar ads features the cover of a book I’ve read. It’s promoting the audio format of other books in the series. How does it know I’ve read the book? Probably because I am a fan of a couple pages that center on the author and his works. Facebook also delivers ads with my age embedded in the message, or ads based on my profession or interests — or even on the fact that I am married and have a child.
Some may view this as an invasion of privacy. To that I say, “Lighten the f**k up and become a member of society please.” The only way to receive such information is to share some information about yourself. Facebook is a great example of how specific demographic information can be shared without specifically sharing names or other extremely personal details about oneself. I know for a fact these advertisers have access to my interests but don’t have access to my name, address, phone number or e-mail. They don’t need it, and they know it. They know they can reach me without it.
As radio, television and newspapers become more “connected” (as they move from the airwaves and paper to being online services) they’ll be able to deliver relevant advertising to individuals. Slowly we’ll continue to see advertising evolve from an annoyance to something people naturally integrate into their lives.
It will be fun and interesting to contribute to this evolution — as both a marketer and a consumer.
A lot of good points. My question, still, is why the commercial-free movement is fairly limited to radio when other media find ways to almost complement their programming with commercials for entertainment or even education value?
Radio is the one medium still struggling to “find it’s way” when it comes to the balancing act I mentioned earlier. Unlike newspapers and television, people have no control to edit commercials from their radio routine. It’s the only place we have no option but to sit and listen to ads (unless we move to satellite radio, but we pay for that). Consider the other media:
Television: TiVo and other DVRs allow us to record our shows and watch them at anytime without ads. We can also watch online with minimal advertising or very targeted advertising. Sites like Hulu can gather information about you to deliver relevant messaging — stuff we, as individuals, may actually want to see/hear and not tune out. Television is adapting to our habits and evolving with technology. The industry is learning to make money despite our “workarounds” to eliminate ads. And, it’s learning to target individuals in the process. We also have the option to simply purchase our favorites shows, ad free, for a couple bucks on iTunes and other online stores.
Print media: Historically, readers have always had the option to quickly skip over ads — it takes but a split second to flip the page or glance across a spread. The exception being magazines with more ads than “real” content. Now, this industry is moving from paper to the web — though I think some will stick with print for years to come. Online we have many options to remove advertising. And, again, it’s typically easy to skip ads.
It will be interesting to see what platforms like the iPad do for this industry. I, for one, will be more than happy to subscribe to magazines and papers through a tablet PC. For some reason, however, I would not subscribe to it via a traditional computer. I think it’s because the tablet turns the content into something tangible that I can hold in my hands and interact with much like I would actual paper. A traditional computer just doesn’t offer than. Plus the level of interactivity a tablet will offer is very compelling.
That brings us to radio… unless you pay for satellite radio (which still has advertising, for it’s own channels and content) there is no way to remove advertising. It’s because radio is something we still do in real time. It doesn’t work around our schedule, we still have to work around a radio station’s schedule. We can’t TiVo it. We can’t skip over the ads — unless we change the station or hit the power button for 60 seconds. However, we expect radio to offer us the same conveniences as other media. And, in an attempt to meet that demand, the industry is doing what it can to offer us the “in control” feeling we get from television and print. Thus, ad-free blocks of music or programming when it’s “convenient” for us — such as rush hour.
Side note: As print, radio and television move online we’ll see a marriage of these media outlets. That’s a bit scary, really. Personally I think the fragmentation and diversity of venues helps assure no single source monopolizes what we hear — and thus what many believe for fact.
To add to the above comment:
I don’t think people want to TiVo radio. I think people still want a medium that delivers content in real time. So radio will always have a place in our routine. But, they will be held to the standards set by mediums we have more control over, and they’ll need to get creative to meet those expectations.
It is unfortunate that radio has sold itself as a music medium over the years. That is exactly the reason it is having the difficulties it has today. There is no way terrestrial (traditional) radio can compete with Pandora, iPods and other music sources which give people total control.
Radio always has been an information medium….a source people can turn to for LOCAL information which cannot and will not be provided by on-line sources or the daily newspaper. It is encouraging to see the results of recent studies that show listenership hasn’t really dropped that much…even with younger listeners who still spend quite a bit of time each day with radio. Everyone likes to know what’s going in their own neighborhood once in a while and that is the strength of radio.
Smart radio operators have also embraced the internet. Although we do not stream our signal live at this point…at Q-92 in Madison, MN we do record our local high school sports coverage and provide the games as podcasts on our web sites..we do that with other locally produced programs as well. It is a very popular feature as people can, as you say, work it into the own schedule very easily.
Times they are a changin’ and radio needs to get back to its roots to survive…local service, not music.
I wouldn’t say local information cannot and will not be provided over the web. It already is. I can rattle off dozens of websites that offer local information for the Twin Cities. And, you are one online resource for local information in Lac qui Parle County — I see those school announcements you slap up on Facebook.
At this point, it’s a natural evolution for television, radio and print to move to the web. It won’t be long before every device you own, from your toaster to your car to your computer to your radio is connected. But that won’t change the type of content people want. They’ll still “tune in.” It will just be a different type of tuning in — their receiver may pickup a signal from a wi-fi network or satellite rather than radio waves.
In the end, the content is what matters, and people want content. Over the centuries there has been a constant evolution of the vehicles through which that content is delivered. That evolution isn’t going to stop now. Those who don’t keep up are the ones who will be left in the dust.