Summer Rites Of Passage

When Seasons Change, Do You?

As we roll into the first phase of the summer of 2010, here are a few thoughts on summer, how and why it is different from the other seasons and what you can do to take full advantage of it. We want to help you max what we're calling "the summer rites of passage."

Is summer really that different from the other seasons? Yes. For one thing, people listen differently during the summer. Their attitude and needs are different. There are kids who are out of school, people who are on vacation (those still employed) and even for those who are not working, there's a whole summer "feel."

Capture it and you can instantly convert some P3s and P2s to P1 listeners. If you can become their favorite summer station, you will be their favorite station this fall and beyond. The goal, of course, is to be as mass appeal as possible without exceeding format boundaries.

Habituated Listening

Habituated listening is a type of reconstructed listening left over from Arbitron's diary measurement days. This pattern of listening tends to reflect an "idealized day." The listeners find a station they really enjoy, lock it in on their pre-sets and develop a habit of listening to it. In the process of developing habituated listening, the audience becomes more loyal to their favorite station. They become more engaged with the station. Listeners develop a higher level of station awareness. They become connected with the station. It becomes their friend.

While we're developing habituated listening, we can also significantly impact how people listen to and remember what they heard on the radio. Then, if we've branded and marketed correctly this summer, they will identify with and remember which station was part of the greatest summer of their lives. Gears need to be set in motion for this new building process.

Urban stations should remember that under PPM, people actually hear more stations than they did with diary measurement. So stations that rely on a large total audience, such as Top 40s and some Rhythmics, have historically done better in the summer than Urban stations whose total audience is often smaller, but stays tuned for longer periods. Unfortunately, Arbitron doesn't measure listener involvement.

Something else to keep in mind this June, July and August, is that every quarter-hour should be a representative sample of how your station sounds. Watch those "back quarter-hours." You know the ones that are loaded with commercials between :45 and the top-of-the-hour. Based on previous summer listening habits gathered from Arbitron, this is the "softest" quarter-hour for tune-ins.

Every summer that our stations are measured by PPM we learn something. What we've learned from last summer is that listeners are just as likely to tune in your station at :50 and :45 as they are at :00 and :30. We have to shift our focus and work to understand the lifestyles of our target audience. Do our listeners' summer commute patterns or shift changes put them in their car and available to listen in the "back :40?"

Look at it this way. That loaded back quarter-hour is going to result in existing listeners developing a pattern of tuning away during a long block of commercials and feel they will not miss any music or content. For our sponsors, both local and national, there will be fewer listeners who can respond to the commercials we air. That means either a loss of sponsors (or more 800 number pitch spots to replace them) or more make-goods.

What's the best way to handle this problem? It's better to provide a consistent listener experience to every person who tunes in and to assume they're tuning in every minute of the hour. And make sure the hooks and teases on the left side of the stopsets are fresh, well thought-out and strong.

It's Still A Numbers Game

The digital decade has spawned complex numbering systems that often define and direct our e-mail, cellular telephone calls, research, earnings, transportation systems, playlists and websites. Then there are the report cards from Arbitron that are part of our obsession with numbers.

Speaking of numbers, it's important to understand the difference between daily in-tab and weekly in-tab, especially in meter measured markets. First, in-tab indicates the average number of panelists that were included in the sample for a given period of time.

In PPM markets, you'll see two reported in-tab figures. One is the average daily in-tab and the other is average weekly in-tab. Which in-tab is most important?

The AQH (average quarter-hour) ratings, AQH persons and AQH shares are based on the average daily in-tab. You often will see larger daily in-tabs than weekly in-tabs. A panelist, for instance, may carry their meter for 15 hours during each of four days in a survey week. This panelist is considered in-tab for each of those four days, but does not qualify for average weekly in-tab for that week because of not reaching the threshold of six qualifying days out of seven in the survey week.

Obviously, some numbering systems are necessary. Things such as zip codes, area codes, social security numbers and Arbitron share-trends have become a way of life.

From focus groups to satellite delivery, mp3s and iPods, downloading, Internet radio to the emergence of HD Radio, it all comes together. This is important and we have to take the time to think about it this summer because we have new competition. Now more than ever we have to avoid sounding old and stale. The best way to sound fresh is to first make sure the music is fresh. Now is the time to take some chances on some fresh new jams. Cut back on the gold and recurrents and bring the energy up.

Recent research studies have shown that during the summer months and because of the sheer energy they offer, Urban jams and artists are more than mass appeal. They often provide much-needed fresh energy for ballad-heavy formats. They offer a welcome change for many Top 40 and Hot AC formats' constant guitar-based bands and singers. There are still markets such as Charleston, Charlotte, Birmingham, Memphis, Orlando and Atlanta where Urban music stations are both format dominant and market dominant. But with the constant mergers and ownership changes the landscape is changing politically as well as formatically.

In spite of these changes, by following through on many of the secrets and suggestions mentioned above, this summer Urban formats should be able to do quite well. And in the process of doing well and achieving ratings success, we can also create a more balanced world ... one filled with lasting summer rites of passage.

Word.