Be Occasionally Remarkable In 2010

Same Goals With A New Spin

Being occasionally, but predictably remarkable is definitely something that can get you noticed in 2010. It's part of a new game that's already quietly making a difference in a number of markets.

Going forward, programmers are going to have to design and market compelling content to a wider range of listeners than ever before -- and do it in spite of limited budgets, syndication and voicetracking. Doing occasionally remarkable things often means making a combination or series of little moves that, when done right, can create sharp listener focus and make a huge difference.

Effective Illusions

Being occasionally remarkable is a kind of magic that can mean the difference between a P1 and a P2. One of the tricks or illusions involves changing the perception of your station and stepping outside the format boundaries occasionally. The other part of the trick involves a sleight-of-hand technique that you can use to increase your audience share by scheduling the right crossover music at the right times. Even when you know how the trick is done, it's still dazzling to watch it done right.

For Urban Adult stations, the illusion means playing some rap songs that are extremely familiar, a.k.a. crossover adult party songs. There are songs that would be a hit at any party, such as Alicia Keys' "Empire State Of Mind" with Jay Z, or Melanie Fiona's "It Kills Me" or Black Eyed Peas' "I Gotta Feelin'." These types of mass-appeal, crossover jams are part of the new strategic thinking about awareness and format-exclusive artists.

There has been a shift in the core of Urban radio's library over the past few years. We've been moving away from some artists that have been found by everybody's research and overplayed. There is a new theory that hip-hop is replacing rock with a younger male audience. It happens with every generation -- and it's especially true on those markets currently being measured by Arbitron's PPM.

If we've learned anything about market leaders in the last few years, it is that a well-programmed Urban or Urban AC station can do very well despite the competition from format-similar stations that often have larger signals, better research and deeper pockets.

How do you combat these things? You combat them by offsetting their advantages. You do it by becoming occasionally remarkable and by using effective target formatting.

It has to do with maintaining the proper balance between consistency and freshness. For example, we can't hope to capture and keep an adult audience with nothing but oldies and ballads, even if they're the right oldies and ballads. There must be balance -- balance in tempo, demographic appeal and freshness. It's a proven fact that the Urban audiences are trendsetters, so sameness will not work over the long haul.

If you're going to move from being a strong alternative or P2 station to become the favorite station, target formatting needs to be a part of the plan.

Don't Forget The Hipness Factor

There is a hipness factor that is part of being occasionally remarkable. The hipness factor must grow from being "occasionally hip" to "always hip." The hipness factor should be delivered on a consistent basis -- in the liners, the contests, in the way the air personalities handle callers, etc. The hipness factor is very much like the difference between a bank shot and a slam-dunk. They both go in and the score is the same, but true fans of the game want to see a little style, flair and swagger. That is true entertainment and whether it's an NBA highlight or something just as compelling on your station, this is what the hipness factor provides. It helps if you have an in-house production director who gets it, too.

Make no mistake about it: The hipness factor itself cannot repair a floundering format. You still have to have the right music, and constantly adjust your rotations so that your station always sounds fresh. And you need the right positioning.

Positioning is a key part of being occasionally remarkable. Here is where great copy that is hip and geared to the audience that is there to hear the music comes in. A positioning statement is a like a promise to your target audience. One that you can never violate if you expect to occupy mind share. Occupying mind share can translate directly into higher numbers, especially in a PPM world. These positioning statements should offer a unique benefit to the listener. They serve as a point of reference, not just "number one for hip-hop and R&B." That statement, like the music it surrounds, has to constantly be changed, updated, and produced with different approaches for it to continue to be effective.

Energized Differentiation

Today more than ever, the airwaves are overflowing with brands ... and listeners are having a tough time assessing the difference between them. With most companies having very little marketing dollars available, whatever branding you do has to be maximized. This is where brand strength and energized differentiation comes in.

Energized differentiation reflects the brand's future value and becomes a leading indicator ... an early viable sign of change. Once you have identified the attributes and importance of brand energy, you will find that it fits closely with differentiation and can be combined into single metrics of energized differentiation. The impact that energized differentiation has on relevance is extremely important. Without relevance the brand will languish. The brand may stand out, but it will have little or no meaning to the audience. Relevance is the pathway to strong consideration, trial, preference and ultimately, share of audience.

The unique measure of energized differentiation on the radio establishes a direct link between brand momentum and creativity. Differentiation not only represents the brand's point of difference, it also creates the meaning, margin and competitive advantage in the brand.

Finally, sometimes to be occasionally remarkable you may have to disregard a series of music test scores and follow your gut. Keep in mind, just because a test group said that a song is familiar, doesn't mean they want to hear it over and over. At the other extreme is the notion that songs could be put into a power rotation out-of-the-box. But wait -- what about the familiarity precept that says that listeners only want to hear songs and artists they recognize? The answer is songs still have to be balanced properly. Too much unfamiliar music sends the wrong message to the target audience.

Who are they? They are people in the outside world, listening to a traditional Urban or Urban AC station. When you put a new jam in the power stack on a station that has high cume, you can, by simply playing that song every four hours, make it familiar to your audience. Sometimes this is what you need to do. You have to make your own hits. Now is the best time to do this. You still introduce new music first on the night show and then let it spread to other dayparts.

Finding and playing your own hits and target formatting will automatically increase your freshness and flavor. This will cause you to pick up some new "curious cume" that becomes attracted to your station. These moves help you win over a younger, hipper audience that will grow and help you connect with the next generation marketplace.

In the process of becoming occasionally remarkable, we must listen carefully to the market and continuously modify, personalize and improve our offerings. In today's environment, the benefits listeners are looking for are constantly evolving. By being keenly aware of these shifts in perception, Urban programmers can help their stations survive and even grow in spite of the many media distractions.

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