Author: Jay Nachlis

Don’t Change Your Radio Station

Tuesdays With Coleman

There are times in the lifespan of a radio station when making changes makes sense. Often, these changes are guided by research. A library music test is a great opportunity to freshen up the sound of the station. A perceptual study may indicate that a shift in music strategy or positioning would be a sound move.

On the other hand, high value propositions from radio research studies can manifest themselves in learning what not to change on your station. Sometimes research indicates the audience is picking up on an image you’re trying to build, like “The Alternative Station.” It may tell you that a new morning show feature has relatively low familiarity but has high excellent scores among those familiar with it.

In “How Brands Grow” by Byron Sharp, the author writes “Again and again it appears in numerous product categories, markets and countries that there is a fundamental law of brand size. Big brands have markedly large customer bases.”

Therein lies the ultimate goal of media research. Use the data to build a bigger brand to draw a bigger audience.

One problem. Humans like to change things.

I was a radio program director and sometimes fell into the trap of Inside Thinking. This is when you think like someone who works for the radio station, rather than putting yourself in the shoes of your listener. When I put a sweeper or promo on the air, I generally used my gut to determine when to take it off, which was usually when it sounded like it was “getting burned.”

Of course, I didn’t listen the way my listeners did. My TSL—or time spent listening—was way higher. When something sounded burned to me, it was probably nowhere near ready to come off.

Outside Thinking would have dictated patience with that sweeper or promo.

A program director may implement a positioner on the air, like “The Best Variety of the 80s, 90s and Today”, knowing from the research that’s an image the station should build. At first, the line is delivered multiple times an hour. Then, the jocks aren’t saying it as much. Some of the new sweepers have the slogan in them and some don’t. You’re feeling “burned” on the line.

Your listener isn’t feeling burned on the line. Unless it is a strong, established image, your listener barely knows you’re saying it.

Building images takes time. Outside Thinking dictates you’re probably not saying it enough.

“That promotion isn’t working.” How often did you run it and for how long?

“That feature isn’t working.” Did you give enough time for the audience to get familiar with it?

Why do we constantly feel the need to change things?

There are a few iconic brands in every category and there isn’t much changing going on. Big iconic brands understand it takes time to build images. Once an image is built, you don’t change things for the sake of change.

A Coke can is red and the McDonalds arches are yellow. If it were the other way around tomorrow, your brain might melt.

Big iconic brands don’t often change logos and colors.

Sure, there are times when a radio station needs to change its logo and colors. But, it shouldn’t be just for the sake of change. Can you think of some radio brands that have kept the same logo for a long time? Chances are they’re big brands.

McDonald’s has kept the same slogan (“I’m lovin it”) for the past 15 years.

Get your singing voice ready. “Nationwide is on your side.”

Radio station listeners generally consume your brand the same way they do other brands.

If a key message is “Traffic and Weather Together”, don’t get tired of saying it.

If you’ve got a catchy jingle they sing back to you, don’t get tired of playing it.

If a key promotion is the Workday Payday, don’t get tired of running it.

If a key artist for your station is Justin Timberlake, don’t get tired of all those Justin promos.

“I’m burned on all those Justin promos. The listeners will get sick of them.”

No they won’t.

Don’t change for the sake of change.

Be an Outside Thinker.

Three Ways Radio Stations Misunderstand Their Listeners

Tuesdays With Coleman

Last Friday, May 4th, Coleman Insights delivered a presentation to the Worldwide Radio Summit in Hollywood called “Outside Thinking: Flip The Script On How You Think About Your Radio Station”.

During the session, Coleman Insights President Warren Kurtzman and Executive Vice Presidents/Senior Consultants John Boyne and Sam Milkman explained how radio station programmers can fall into the trap of Inside Thinking—a boardroom mindset, as opposed to thinking like a listener.

Outside Thinking Worldwide Radio Summit

Coleman Insights’ Sam Milkman and John Boyne at Worldwide Radio Summit

Soon, we’ll be sharing the entire presentation so you can discover how successful radio stations utilize the principles of Outside Thinking to build powerful brands with consistently impressive ratings. In the meantime, we’ll share three ways radio station programmers misunderstand their listeners. This misunderstanding, rooted in Inside Thinking, causes radio stations to over-focus on things like short-term tactics. It encourages programmers to make knee-jerk decisions by not being patient. By recognizing these three misconceptions, radio stations can recalibrate their focus and think like a listener.

MISUNDERSTANDING #1 (INSIDE THINKING): LISTENERS CARE DEEPLY ABOUT RADIO.

We’d love to think our listeners know the names of all our personalities. We picture them playing every contest and attending all our big station events.

REALITY #1 (OUTSIDE THINKING): LISTENERS DO NOT CARE DEEPLY ABOUT RADIO.

Like other entertainment options in your listeners’ lives, radio plays a role—but it is likely not the most important role. Listeners generally don’t engage in a deep, well thought out process of choosing a station.

MISUNDERSTANDING #2 (INSIDE THINKING): LISTENERS ARE PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION.

Surely if we tweak our clocks and go from one to two 80s songs per hour, all our listeners will know and we’ll get credit for it.

REALITY #2 (OUTSIDE THINKING): LISTENERS AREN’T PAYING CLOSE ATTENTION.

Listeners not only don’t notice the little things we do, they often don’t notice the big things. You’ve heard listeners call your station by the wrong name or dial position. They’ve thought your morning show was on the competitor. Because listeners aren’t paying close attention, changing an image takes a great deal of time and patience. Clock changes, like in the example above, aren’t enough. You have to tell the listener about the change, repeat with regularity, and stick with it.

MISUNDERSTANDING #3 (INSIDE THINKING): LISTENERS CAN BE EASILY MANIPULATED.

By using carefully placed tactics, contents and clock changes, listeners can be made to listen at specific times.

REALITY #3 (OUTSIDE THINKING): LISTENERS CANNOT BE EASILY MANIPULATED.

Like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, listeners wake up at the same time every morning. They get their coffee at the same time, shower at the same time and commute at the same time. They also generally listen to radio stations at the same time. Your station needs to be a part of their lives and habits. This is much more realistic than trying to manipulate them to listen at times that may not be possible for them.

There’s lots more to share regarding how you can use Outside Thinking to flip the script on how you think about your radio station.

Subscribers to the Tuesdays With Coleman blog will be notified first when the presentation video is made available.

If you’re not yet a subscriber, click here and watch your inbox!

Why The Plenti Loyalty Program Failed

Tuesdays With Coleman

On May 4, 2015, American Express announced the launch of a “coalition loyalty” rewards program called Plenti.  A coalition loyalty program offers incentives to customers of two or more businesses in exchange for user data.

On April 16, 2018, members received an e-mail notifying them of Plenti’s demise.

What went wrong?

American Express should be commended for its ability to bring a remarkably wide variety of brands together to participate in Plenti. These brands included Macy’s, Chili’s, Direct Energy, Hulu, Nationwide, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Expedia and AT&T.

One by one, companies dropped out of the program until it caved completely.

As many radio stations we work with understand, building a coalition is no easy feat.

A News/Talk station may learn via research that fans of one show are not fans of another.

Adding 90’s Country to a Country station may take away appeal from an on-air mix based on Contemporary Country, but adding 00s Country may add appeal.

That’s why our clients are able to utilize research to identify coalitions to help them build more cohesive products.

In Plenti, you had a national coalition loyalty program that brought brands together in different categories, with customers displaying completely varying characteristics.

As one analyst put it, “researching consensus on how the program is structured can be a lot like herding cats.”

I may use AT&T for my phone, but Netflix (not Hulu) for my streaming. Perhaps I’m a member of the Gold Plus Hertz rewards program, so I couldn’t use my Plenti points with Hertz. This pretty much nullifies my interest in the car rental benefit Plenti is offering.

Consumers may be loyal to Enterprise or Nationwide or AT&T, but they’re loyal to them individually because that brand carved out a position and built a relationship with that consumer.

The consumer has the relationship with each individual brand, not with the Plenti program itself – just as listeners have relationships to a single radio station or a single podcast.

There are plenty of other reasons why Plenti failed. These include a clunky interface, low brand awareness and a confusing rewards system, as well a group of companies that each had their own agendas.

But at the end of the day, American Express tried to force a coalition to work. Without clear synergy, brand and product coalitions are destined to fail.

Identify A Need And Fill It

Tuesdays With Coleman

Is your radio station filling a need? Many brands that identified the needs of their customers and then served those needs are finding great success.

Do you remember the term, “Bankers’ Hours”?

Not often heard in the lexicon anymore, this referred to a short working day because banks were traditionally open to the public from about 9am-2pm.

The banking industry has gone through enough disruption to minimize the once common usage of the term, “Bankers’ Hours”. Adoption of online banking means you’re not limited to managing your accounts during the typical 9-5 workday. Many banks offer extended hours—some, like Coastal Federal Credit Union, use centralized tellers to offer services 7 days a week into the evening.

As the saying goes, the only constant is change. If you can identify something that needs changing based on negative perception and you fill that need, positive results could be on the horizon.

You know the feeling of calling a technician when your heating or AC goes out? You know, with certainty, that the company is going to try to sell you a new unit.

So, what if the company didn’t sell furnaces or air conditioners?

6 & Fix addresses two issues in the HVAC industry. One, they only service the unit—so they build the perception that they will do everything in their power to fix it with no upsell. Second, if you call before 6pm, they guarantee service the same day. Trust and convenience.

Getting a flu shot can be a hassle, especially if you have to make an appointment with your primary care physician.

Now you can walk into most pharmacies, get the shot (usually without much wait) and even pick up some Benadryl and a bag of gummy bears if you’re so inclined.

CVS took it to the next level with their in-store “Minute Clinic”, offering everything from physicals to B12 injections.

Dollar Shave Club identified a need for cheaper, quality razors.

Uber identified a need for a better taxi.

We work with a great many successful radio stations that utilize research and strategic insights to identify listener needs.

When you know what listeners want and what lane is available, the strategic plan and path to success becomes crystal clear.

Identify a need and fill it.

Why Toys “R” Us Is Closing

Tuesdays With Coleman

Digital photography killed Kodak’s business.”

“Netflix put Blockbuster out of business.”

“Amazon put Toys “R” Us out of business.”

When an iconic brand goes under, the blame game always commences.

The truth is, Amazon didn’t put Toys “R” Us out of business. Neither did Target or Wal-Mart.

Toys “R” Us put Toys “R” Us out of business.

My colleague Warren Kurtzman wrote last week about how essential it is for every brand to have a clearly defined base position. But is that enough?

What’s a better base position than “the photography company”? Or “the movie store”? Or “the toy store”?

Kodak, Blockbuster and Toys “R” Us didn’t just have strong positions in their categories, they owned the dominant positions. The problem is, each of these brands lacked positive brand depth beyond their base positions.

An engineer at Kodak actually invented digital photography. In 1975. Navigating the consumer through the digital space using the brand equity of Kodak moments would have been a perfect and natural complement to its base position. Unfortunately, Kodak couldn’t see beyond its history as a film company, and competitors swooped in.

Blockbuster had an incredible, dominating base position. Unfortunately, it had negative brand depth in the form of late fees, which left it vulnerable. By the time Blockbuster removed late fees, it was too late.

If Blockbuster had entered the DVD-by-mail category or streaming category first, the company would quite likely still be around. Blockbuster had the chance to buy Netflix in the early 2000s for $50 million.  Today Netflix is valued over $100 billion, worth more than every media company that’s not named Disney.

Would Netflix have had that growth under the leadership of Blockbuster? Probably not, and that’s the point.

Netflix started as a DVD-by-mail company, but its base position centered around convenient entertainment delivery. All the moves and innovations Netflix has made, including doubling down on streaming and adding original programming, has been complementary to its base position. Netflix added brand depth.

Amazon started out as an online bookstore that became an online marketplace. Its moves and innovations, including ease of app use, marketing automation, customer service and free two-day delivery, have all supported its base position as an online delivery service.

Toys “R” Us had an enviable base position and an emotional connection to legions of children who wanted to be Toys “R” Us kids.

Where did the emotional connection go?

Although the road would have been challenging, Toys “R” Us could have added brand depth to its base position. It may have been through incredible marketing automation techniques (like Amazon and Starbucks) or hiring an ace social media manager (like Wendy’s). It could have been a research program that let kids test toys. It may have been partnerships with kids’ museums around the country.

Not to say any of those ideas would have definitely worked, but Toys “R” Us needed to try long before Amazon posed a significant threat.

Integrating Babies “R” Us into Toys “R” Us stores was definitely not the answer–it detracted focus from its own brand.

Last year, Toys “R” Us CEO David Brandon said the chain hoped to add playrooms where kids could try out toys and spaces for birthday parties.

Unfortunately, they never got the chance to give them a shot.

When we work with radio stations, we illustrate the base position on our Image Pyramid, but also explain the perils of a misguided Image Pyramid–which is what Kodak, Blockbuster, and Toys “R” Us all ran into.

Coleman Insights Image Pyramid

Clearly define your base position. Once you do, never stop adding brand depth.

Reducing Friction On Your Radio Station – Part 2

Tuesdays With Coleman

Where do you go when it’s time to brainstorm and talk shop?

Recently, the Coleman Insights brain trust found itself where it often does on a random Friday afternoon.

Chili’s.

Just before the server took our orders, I noticed our dining musical accompaniment featured the ambient beats of “Jive Talkin’”, which had seamlessly faded into “Got to Be Real” by Cheryl Lynn.

“Huh”, I remarked. “Disco Friday at Chili’s”.

Donna Summer came on after Cheryl. It was indeed Disco Friday.

This led to a conversation my colleague Jessica relayed to me later in the week, during which she was asked, “Does any radio station play disco anymore? And if so, who would?”

As you know, if you’re on the hunt for an all-disco station, it’s gonna be slim pickins on the prairie. That doesn’t mean there aren’t stations that play disco titles. Where would you hear it?

Last week’s blog discussed obstacles to the customer experience, sometimes referred to as friction. I mentioned some of the ways radio stations have traditionally dealt with listeners, and whether some should be re-examined in 2018.

Another kind of friction can occur when expectations of the brand don’t mesh with what the brand is delivering.

Does a little disco make sense on a Classic Hits station? Adult Contemporary? Adult Hits?

The answer could be yes in all those instances, but it could be tough to determine how much to play. Does the market see disco as a fit with your brand? Does it work with the core sounds you’re playing on the station? Or, should it perhaps be relegated to a specialty show or not played at all?

A Classic Rock station’s core may be 60s and 70s Classic Rock. How far this station can deviate from that core differs by station and market. Is the spice 70s and 80s Pop? Can it delve into 90s Alternative Rock?

How much can a Hot Adult Contemporary station rooted in contemporary sounds play in the 80s or 90s? How does it mesh with popularity and brand perception?

Zappos used to sell only shoes. Now, they sell shoes, clothes and accessories. This isn’t unusual for a shoe brand, but if they started selling televisions that may cause some friction.

In 1990 Coors figured they’d get in the water business because, you know, the water in their beer was so good.

Didn’t work.

Cartoon Network was known for showing kid-oriented cartoons but had developed a more adult slate of programming at night. Research guided them to spin their “Adult Swim” into its own network. This allowed each network to stay in its lane. Same with Nickelodeon and Nick at Nite.

Research can help answer questions like these. When brands have a clear understanding of their core proposition, they can better focus on delivering their product and know how to explain it to current and potential customers. They know what lanes to stay in, where there’s room to add spice to the recipe and which spices to add. We use measurements such as Fit and Compatibility to assist our clients in this process.

Aim for a focused, cohesive, consistent product.

Aim to reduce friction.

Reducing Friction On Your Radio Station – Part 1

Tuesdays With Coleman

Friction is a hot buzzword in marketing these days. It refers to obstacles in the customer experience.

Can’t find the “submit” button on a form? Friction.

Pop-ups getting in the way on a website? Friction.

Getting charged unexpected fees? Very irritating friction.

Are you adding friction to your radio station?

How much has changed in the ways radio station personnel deal with listeners?

Still asking for caller 9 to win a pair of tickets to the home show, only for the listeners to get a busy signal?

When a listener wins from a town an hour away from your studios, do you tell them you’ll mail the prize or do you tell them they have to pick it up because “that’s the policy”?

Do you make fun of “prize pigs” and tell them they can only win every 60 days, essentially inviting them to listen to another station? Or, do you celebrate people who are actively engaged with your content?

When a listener makes a request, do you tell them, “I’ll see what I can do”, or “I’ll get that right on for you” or “It’s coming up” (even though it isn’t coming up for 15 hours)?

Does your website make it easy to connect with the team, from the General Manager to the jocks? Is there an easy way for them to provide feedback?

Are you engaging with your audience on social media or using it as an advertisement, leaving their comments hanging?

Are you only allowing people within your metro to stream the station (and is that worth it)?

Are you paying attention to the spots and promos on the stream? Is it playing the same PSA over and over again, making it unlistenable?

What do Amazon, Southwest Airlines, Nordstrom, and your radio station have in common?

They are all brands.

What if you treated your listeners the way those brands treat their customers?

Strong brands research, develop a plan from the findings and execute the plan.

Friction is the enemy of plan execution.

Next week in Part 2 of “Reducing Friction on Your Radio Station”, we’ll discuss how radio stations can reduce friction by utilizing research to present a more cohesive product.

 

Are You Listening To Your Customers?

Tuesdays With Coleman

“Our way or the highway”.

“Because we’ve always done it that way”.

“We know what we’re doing”.

When one company takes over another, they often bring their own ideas, processes and people.

When Alaska Airlines bought Virgin America in 2016, and subsequently announced they would get rid of the Virgin America brand, I thought it was a terrible move.

On one hand (and a decent argument for the acquisition), Alaska and Virgin America both have solid reputations as customer-focused airlines.

In the annual Airlines Quality Rating report released last year, Virgin America was ranked the third best U.S. airline. Alaska came in #1 overall.

Airline Quality Report (AQR) rankings

On the other hand, there are some potential brand synergy issues.

Alaska is an old airline –founded in 1932. Virgin America is new school, having begun operations in 2007.

Alaska Airlines was generally not known outside of Alaska and the Pacific Northwest until they started expanding in the 2000s. Virgin America flew to both coasts from the outset.

Virgin America seems like a more logical national brand than Alaska. Where is Alaska, exactly?

In October 2017, Virgin founder Richard Branson let loose on the acquisition, saying Alaska Airlines “castrated” Virgin America.

Ouch.

While Alaska Airlines customers clearly like the company, Virgin America customers often evangelize about it on sites like Trip Advisor and Yelp.

Some of the things they love:

  • The leather seats
  • The ability to order (some pretty tasty) food and drinks from your seat
  • Free TV and movies at every seat
  • That purple mood lighting

Last month, we learned some surprising things about the “new” Alaska Airlines.

They’re installing blue mood lighting in all their planes, as well as music that celebrates its west coast roots (how very hipster).

They’re putting in high-speed Wi-Fi, new seats and carpeting, and you’ll get the free shows and movies. The crew gets new uniforms and they’ll open a new hi-tech lounge in the Seattle airport.

Sounds like Alaska Airlines is becoming a lot like Virgin America.

It would have been very easy for Alaska Airlines to force Virgin to adopt their way of doing business. After all, they’ve been doing it successfully. But by listening to Virgin’s customers and employees, they found ways to adopt what was great about Virgin America to make their product better.

Time will tell if getting rid of the Virgin America brand was the right decision. However, this is an example of why soliciting feedback and staying on the pulse of your current (and potential) customers is so crucial. That includes your employees (your internal customers). Understanding strengths and weaknesses of where you stand in the market can help you make informed strategic decisions to constantly improve your brand. At Coleman Insights, we provide deep research analysis for media clients to help them make those decisions.

Whether you run a radio station, airline or any business, never forget to do one important thing.

Listen.

 

Jay Nachlis Adds Marketing Director Duties at Coleman Insights

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC, January 26, 2018

Coleman Insights announced today that Jay Nachlis has added the title of Marketing Director at the media research firm. Nachlis was hired as an Associate Consultant in July, 2017. The announcement was made by Warren Kurtzman, president at Coleman Insights.

“Companies succeed when they identify needs and then put people who have the talents and desire to fulfill those needs in place,” said Kurtzman. “Very shortly after Jay joined us last year it became very clear than in addition to the great work he was doing for our clients, his marketing orientation could also be put to great use by our company. That we are placing him in this unique dual role is a testament to what he brings to the table.”

“I’m thrilled to take on heading up marketing initiatives for Coleman Insights, you can visit their homepage and learn about our approach ” said Nachlis. “It’s such a unique opportunity. On the one hand, I get to work with clients and help maximize their success. At the same time, I get to tell the Coleman story and introduce our work to potential clients. That’s pretty special.”

Nachlis will have the newly created title of Associate Consultant/Marketing Director. He has more than two decades of programming and marketing experience, including on-air, music director and program director positions in San Francisco, Buffalo, Detroit, Syracuse, and Raleigh-Durham.

About Coleman Insights

Coleman Insights, headquartered in Research Triangle Park, NC, with offices in Philadelphia and Hamburg, Germany, is a firm that has helped media properties build strong brands and develop great content since 1978. Its clients include hundreds of media properties in North America, South America, Europe and Asia, including those owned by Emmis Communications, iHeartMedia, Entercom Communications Corporation, Univision, Bonneville International Corporation, Hubbard Radio, Newcap Radio, SummitMedia, Bauer Media, Salem Communications, Connoisseur Media, Corporación Radial del Perú, Neuhoff Media, Delmarva Broadcasting Company and Townsquare Media. Additional information about Coleman Insights is available at www.ColemanInsights.com.

 

Click here to download press release

Google My Radio Station

Tuesdays With Coleman

When it comes to building, managing, and protecting their brand identities, radio stations rightfully tend to focus on the most important thing—the on-air product. The reputation management services help one manage and get a peek into how many stations are represented in the digital space indicates some areas of opportunity, both in brand management and Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

One easy step stations can take is to simply search for variations of the station name in Google. Use the street name, call letters, and city.  Is the station represented the way it should be?

The title tag is the headline that grabs the attention of the user. Does the title tag show the correct name and the message you want to send? For example, does the title tag indicate your station plays rock music…when you’re a talk station?

A meta description is the text underneath the title tag that follows each search listing. Are you populating this with key features you want the user to remember (music, personalities, contesting), or are you allowing Google to populate this for you?

There are character limits for both the title tag and meta descriptions. Google generally displays the first 50-60 characters of the title tag, and they increased the meta description limit to 300 characters in December, 2017. Exceed the character limit, and you could fall victim to the dreaded “…” before the end of the sentence.

There are free tools available like the Title Tag Preview Tool on Moz.com.  The Yoast SEO plugin for WordPress is one of a number of tools that can help you easily navigate character limits, see previews on search engines, and assist with keyword optimization.

Is your station utilizing Google My Business (GMB)?

If not, you may be at the mercy of what Google shows in that expanded box to the right of the search results. Here, Google often pulls information from Wikipedia (which, as you know, is always correct) and Google Images – which can (and often does) show old station logos. These can include old positioning statements or even pre-format flip station names. Setting up a Google My Business account allows you to control that content, and can help you organically improve your SEO (read: free!). Radio stations have some distinct advantages that can be used to their advantage in GMB.

  • Images. Google likes when businesses upload lots of photos to their GMB page to “personalize” the company. Many businesses struggle with this. “How many photos can we upload of our boring office?”  Radio stations can give listeners a virtual behind-the-scenes tour.  How many pictures do you have of the lobby, studios, concerts, and remotes? How about highlighting pictures of important artists at the station or backstage standing in front of the logo?

These photos can be a great digital “teaser” to get more visitors to your landing page and can help your SEO efforts. 360 degree tours has even become a business in and of itself.

  • Reviews. When a listener utilizes Google Maps for directions to your station, they’ll see reviews from other listeners. How about encouraging listeners to write a review when you see them picking up a prize or when they stop by a remote?

Here’s an example of a florist in Raleigh, NC that is utilizing GMB. Notice how they’ve got reviews and photos to grab your attention, as well as business information. The box on the right is the length of about nine search listings. Many radio stations, without a proper GMB listing, get a brief description of about three or four listings.

Google My Business

Microsoft also has a free product available, called “Bing Places for Business”.   Here you can also set up a free account to better optimize your search results on Bing.

Radio stations are local businesses with large numbers of customers who utilize their product. If other local businesses are successfully using Google My Business, radio stations should as well.

We encourage our client stations to follow the tenets of the Image Pyramid – and to take great care that their brand is represented properly.

There’s no reason why that this shouldn’t be extended to all branding in the digital space.