Size Does Matter

"It's Not How Large You Make it, But How You Make it Large"

As we dive deeper into the Spring 2008 Arbitron sweeps, we are faced with the traditional size problem. In this case, it's the size of the shares. The larger the shares, the better you look. So the question now becomes, how do we "big up" for Spring? There is no question that, in this case, size does matter. Some will say that size always matters. Others will say that the whole question of size is mostly a "guy thing." But the truth is that when you're speaking of ratings, size is really not gender-specific. It's an everybody thing. If you're about winning and as Jeff Johnson says, "You want to do it big," this is the time to "buff up your station."

Using a sport analogy, that is why some people who want to get fit have hired personal trainers to help them trim down and buff up. The good thing is if they work at it, they will wind up healthier, reducing bad cholesterol and lowering their blood pressure. But the whole concept that size does matter and that bigger is better has now been reinterpreted for radio programmers to mean that a larger slice of the target audience is always better, but if you can't get a huge slice, at least get a better slice.

So we're going to attempt to be your trainer this time. Our goal is to provide you with some things you need to know to effectively re-shape, build muscle and get your station as fit as possible during these important Spring sweeps. We want you to absorb it all, be fit and win.

The Power of Positioning

The first thing we want to tackle this time is not the music, but the fine-tuning of your positioning liners. Exactly what are the best things you can say to your audience? We used to be able to precipitate a change in the market simply by switching or changing a format. That's not as easy to do in 2008. Radio audiences today have far more choices now than they did five, even three years ago. As a result, so many format changes go unnoticed by the core listeners they were designed to reach.

It's important this Spring that your marketing be as tenacious and tight as your programming. Most listeners have no real idea how to accurately describe your station. That's important, especially as Arbitron prepares to roll out the PPM.

It's more important now than ever that you deliver a positioning liner that will distinguish you from your competition. To do that, you have to speak your listener's language. So many research companies have come to that conclusion, but since they are not familiar with Urban and Urban AC formats, they are stuck as to what to do. These "aliens from another format" continue to search for the right answers. They get everything but what I call "the hipness factor." We hear things like "Today's #1 for hip-hop and R&B," or even one station that said "100.3 -- we've got your number." These are all examples of non-specific communications that vastly overestimate the audience's product knowledge regarding the station. In each case, jargon and unclear communication cause all types of potential problems for a station trying to position itself. You can't ask your average listener to think like a broadcaster, because they aren't broadcasters. The audience, by all standards, is uninterested in how we market ourselves on-air. Therefore we must be as precise and understandable as possible in the images we create for our stations.

Liner Burnout & Listener Benefit

Another problem that can get in the way of building on-air muscle and growth are positioning liners that worked well five years ago. They have little or no meaning in today's competitive world. Liners such as "more music, less talk," or "your adult station" used to mean something to listeners because they offered a clearly identifiable theme that extolled a listener benefit. But in 2008, no fewer that four or five stations in a given market meaningfully strive to obtain the "more music - listen at work" position. Yet, just one or two can gain any real benefit from that position. The rest simply toss their positioning liners out into the crowded air and hope.

The same is true of the "we play your favorite jamz" positioners. Stations repeat each other right and left with that position and the result is a dilution of the overall marketing effect. It's not unique anymore. Focus groups often discover listeners saying, "Well, naturally they play favorites. What are they supposed to do, play bad songs?" To be successful, stations will have to eliminate the tired clichés of the past decade and instead focus on establishing a unique benefit in their relationships with core and cume listeners.

What we recommend is that in your own market research, figure out what stress benefit-related questions could work in your favor. In other words, what do listeners see themselves getting from your station? When do they cume? What is the single most significant thing they like about the music or the air talent? How do they use your station? With the answers to those questions, you can construct a very compelling on and off-air presentation that reinforces your station's primary benefit.

Maybe research indicates your female listeners really want to know the artists and titles of the jams you play, and they believe most stations don't tell them. That may be especially true of syndicated personalities. You should pay attention to this and a potential positioning liner might be: "102Jamz ... where we always tell you the titles of the tunes we play." Then make sure that new songs and especially new artists are scheduled first or last when possible, so they can be front-announced or back-announced. Trite as that seems, for a substantial number of listeners that is a significant benefit they can appreciate. But you can't just say it; you have to do it.

Here's a secret that has to do with how the human brain works with the right positioner and how a listener-oriented positioning liner based on a perceived benefit could be worded. "Magic 102 -- the station you can listen to all day long." The sell line deriving from this could focus on the fact that you don't repeat songs during they day (even though you do and you should). The implied benefit is that the listener develops the sense that yours is the station they really do listen to all day long. This works really well for those stations that are still Arbitron diary-based. We also have the perfect liner for those "metered stations," which we will pass along to you at another time.

Finally, the other key to larger cume shares is to do your own marketing ascertainment. Look at the all the liners you're currently using. What do they mean to the listener? They should suggest the significant benefits of listening to your station. They should also truly communicate what makes your station different and better from the competition.

If you find your positioning liners lacking in pizzazz, sit down at the drawing board and put yourself in your typical listener's shoes. Are it really going to mean anything that you've adopted "Kiss 102 cares" as your new positioning line? "Cares about what?" Is this going to mandate any benefit for him or her? Liners that begin with words like "Mix", "Kiss," Magic" or "The Beat" are essentially content and benefit-free. They don't mean anything to a listener unless that listener can connect with something that resonates with them and they can fill in the blank. You must spell things out very clearly. For those purposes and the listener's "left brain," the word "variety" is more effective than "mix." "Mix" is a broadcaster's word. When asked in focus groups what the word "mix" means, respondents often say things like: "I don't know," "Mix of what?" or "I'm note quite sure what it means."

To be really effective, you have to explain exactly why "mix" will create a significant benefit to your listeners. And don't feel that you have to run dozens of variations of the position line you've chosen. The point is worth repeating. Listeners don't come to your station to listen to positioning liners. You can't burn out a strong positioning liner. Consequently, you really don't need a ton of variations of the same one. That only serves to dilute your basic selling position. Once you've established a positioning line that's benefit-oriented and shows off your station as unique and distinct, leave it alone. Just give it to the listeners as often as possible in the manner that communicates directly to them.

Proper positioning is part of being prepared this Spring. It's part of what you need to do to get your station in shape and keep it fit. Regardless of size -- and we all want to be bigger at critical times -- if you're passionate about what you do and all its possibilities, you can never know enough. There's no such thing as too much information when you have big goals and aspirations. Remember the best man (or woman) doesn't always win, but the best-prepared will always score. Knowledge, quite simply, is the edge.

Finally, winning is not a solitary achievement. You cannot win by yourself.

Even champions don't win without coaches, trainers and a support team. Business titans don't build empires by themselves. Any victory, or any aspiration, is gained through efforts of many, and any triumph is made more gratifying when it's shared with others who made the victory possible. If you think what you've achieved thus far you've done on your own, you're only kidding yourself. If you believe you can achieve your aspirations without the help of others, you're destined to fall short. And since size does matter, you know what happens when you "fall short."

Word.