Alan Burns: What Women Want From AC Radio

Exclusive Commentary From Alan Burns

More data was released by ALAN BURNS AND ASSOCIATES this week from their most recent survey. On WEDNESDAY (NET NEWS 8/10), we discovered that AC radio’s heaviest female consumers are more interested in and entertained by on-air personalities.

On THURSDAY (NET NEWS 8/11), BURNS' told us the tastes of AC listeners have "modernized."

TODAY (8/12), in exclusive commentary for ALL ACCESS, ALAN BURNS tells us, "If you’re running an AC station -- either Hot or Mainstream -- and looking for more TSL, here’s where I’d focus:

Give them music, make them laugh, give ‘em the weather. That’s about 95% of success, but we don’t do it well enough to get more than about a third of all women to tune us in before leaving home.

1. Heavy radio listeners -- get them committed to your station. Talented air personalities, especially in the morning, will help. Deeply committed heavy consumers of radio listen 90 more minutes per day than the average listener.

2. At-work listeners -- they spend 75 minutes day, over six hours a week, more time with radio.

3. Get women to tune you in before they leave home. Those women spend a half-hour a day more with radio.

4. Weekly visitors to your station website. They're worth another half-hour, too.

5. FACEBOOK fans. They listen to an additional quarter-hour per day, more than an hour in total MONDAY-FRIDAY.

With the possible exception of at-work listeners, all of those groups have one thing in common: They are more engaged with your radio station. You're doing things that produce a response in them. Figure out what those things are, and maximize them.

If it's mornings that need improvement, there's a simple formula that’s difficult to execute well: give them music, make them laugh, give ‘em the weather. That’s about 95% of success, but we don’t do it well enough to get more than about a third of all women to tune us in before leaving home. We can be better."

Concludes BURNS, "I hope you’ve gotten one or two interesting and useful tidbits from our study, and if you need more detail just download the study at www.burnsradio.com or e-mail me at alan@burnsradio.com. And a special thanks to ALL ACCESS and its readers -- you -- for helping shape this year's study via a 'what’s most important to you?' reader poll, and for great coverage here in ALL ACCESS!"

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