Coleman Insights recently introduced the FACT360 Strategic Music Test. FACT360 is online music testing done right through the latest sampling techniques and data collection capabilities, and includes the same benefits that Coleman Insights has provided through its FACT Strategic Music Tests for more than 20 years. These benefits help radio stations build the most appealing and strategically on-target libraries possible.

In the spirit of our launch of FACT360, we present the final installment in a series of five blogs authored by Coleman Insights executives covering important considerations about music testing and music strategy. This blog is written by vice president John Boyne and covers how using Fit data can help you get maximum value out of a library test.

“Is this song too poppy for my Hip Hop station?  It tests really well…”

“Is this song too wimpy for my Rock station?  It tests really well…”

“Is this song too old for my CHR station?  It tests really well…”

As a researcher, I get this kind of question all the time. At issue is what to do with songs that are popular yet seem to push beyond the boundaries of what “fits” the radio station. Fit matters, of course, because listeners tune in to your station for a reason. Need traffic info? Go to the station that you know delivers it. Need a good laugh? Go to the station that you know delivers it. In the mood for Country?  Go to the station that you know delivers it. Wanna Rock out? Go to the station that you know delivers it. Up for hearing the latest hits? Go to the station that you know delivers it.

In this sense, ratings are generated through a combination of catering to listeners’ tastes and expectations. Great programming only gets a station so far if the people who would like what it is doing are not thinking of that station for what it is doing. This is why stations sometimes get in trouble when product evolution outpaces perceptual evolution. We probably all know examples of stations with well-intentioned, evolutionary changes that ended up alienating the people who had been listening without changing market perceptions enough to bring in new listeners.

This is why it is so important to understand listeners’ perceptions and consider them in light of market tastes, competitive opportunities and station resources. Sometimes the best path is to stay pretty close to listener expectations. Sometimes the best path is to aggressively try to change or evolve listener expectations. The key is to have the best information at hand so that you can develop the appropriate strategy. While strategic studies—such as the Plan Developer^SM and FLIP^SM studies used by many Coleman Insights clients—are ideal when mapping out where a station should go, music testing helps keep a station from veering off course along the way.

This is where Fit comes into play as a music testing measurement. In Coleman Insights’ FACT360 studies, listeners indicate which stations—if any—they expect would play each song. Fit is not a measure of whether your listeners think you should play a song; it is simply a measure of what your listeners expect. It is a highly valuable measure that is separate from our measure of how much listeners like or dislike a song. Just as smart programmers rely on more than just their gut instincts when assessing a song’s familiarity and popularity, it is wise to also get a read on how strongly listeners associate a song with your station and your closest competitors. Better data for better decisions.

Coleman Insights clients use FACT360 Fit data in a variety of ways. From a macro perspective, we are able to aggregate the Fit scores of different music genres and eras to help clients get a sense of how their station is being perceived and whether those perceptions are aligning with that station’s strategy. If, for example, a station is trying to develop a more contemporary identity, Fit data in library testing can help track the station’s progress and influence its on- and off-air marketing decisions.

From a micro perspective, we are able to show clients the Fit for every song tested. This gets back to the questions posed at the beginning of this article. What do you do with a popular song that has low Fit? Well, like many questions, the answer varies depending on the situation. If it is a low Fit song that aligns with your strategy and your vision, then it probably makes sense to play it—perhaps aggressively—and possibly even feature it in on-air imaging to help bring it into the perceptual wheelhouse of your station. But if it is a low Fit song that is also not particularly relevant to your strategy and your vision, then it is worth considering whether this song should be limited in exposure (perhaps to specialty programming or an “oh wow” category) or left off the station entirely.

Of course, these decisions are also influenced by a station’s format and brand strength. For example, a variety-imaged Adult Hits station is going to have more latitude to get away with and even benefit from surprising departures from core expectations than stations in many other formats. And a well-known station with a healthy base music image position is not going to need to be as closely aligned with core expectations as a weaker station that needs a lot of strategic focus to build its brand.

Music radio stations that enjoy sustained ratings success play the songs their target audiences love and expect to hear when they tune in—understanding that this sometimes requires evolving those expectations along the way. Using Fit data in a library test helps ensure that your station can do that as often as possible.

Coleman Insights recently introduced the FACT360 Strategic Music Test. FACT360 is online music testing done right through the latest sampling techniques and data collection capabilities, and includes the same benefits that Coleman Insights has provided through its FACT Strategic Music Tests for more than 20 years. These benefits help radio stations build the most appealing and strategically on-target libraries possible.

In the spirit of our launch of FACT360, we present the third in a series of five blogs authored by Coleman Insights executives covering important considerations about music testing and music strategy. This blog is written by vice president John Boyne and covers how to select songs for your next library test.

In the previous entry in this blog series, my colleague Sam Milkman wrote about the importance of using the “right” sample when you test your music library. Equally important is testing the “right” songs, which I will address in some detail here. There are important parallels between these concepts.

Much like how it should drive the design of your music testing sample, strategic research—such as the Plan Developer^SM and FLIP^SM studies Coleman Insights provides to many of its clients—should drive what you test. You should walk away from a strategic research project with clear direction on your station’s music strategy, specifically, which styles of music should be at the core of that strategy, which should comprise secondary and “spice” roles and which should be avoided altogether.

These insights should then drive what you test, as the composition of your test list should generally mirror the music strategy that emerges from your strategic research. For example, if you program a 70s- and 80s-based Classic Hits station that features 80s Pop Rock, 70s Pop Rock and 70s Corporate Rock as its core sounds, you should be exhaustive in testing titles from those three genres, making sure that they are well-represented in your test list. Meanwhile, if your strategic research advises being cautious about your Classic Hits station going too far into Classic Rock territory, you would be wise to limit your testing of titles from sounds like 70s Classic Rock, 80s AOR and 80s Hair to just the very biggest hits. In other words, be more adventurous and try to go as deep as possible in testing songs from the genres at the core of your strategy; be more cautious and try to stick to the more “tried and true” titles for sounds that are on the fringes of your strategy.

Taking this point further, I urge extra caution about going on what we like to call a “fishing expedition.” This is when a programmer tries to use a music test to assess whether or not their station should get into sounds that it currently does not play. For example, going back to Classic Hits, this could involve testing a lot of 90s and 00s titles in an effort to see whether the station should evolve. As tempting as it can sometimes be to explore new territory, music tests are not the tool for making this assessment. Such questions should be answered by a strategic study, which takes into account your larger competitive landscape. Thus, strategic research should drive your station’s music strategy and music testing should be looked to as a tool for executing that strategy. We have seen far too often stations get off track because they let their music testing drive their strategy instead of vice versa.

At Coleman Insights, we also encourage stations to test every title in their libraries. This even includes those titles that you see test well repeatedly and have no question about the frequency with which you play them. Why? First, to gain insights into how your target audience feels about each song, you need songs to be rated relative to those songs that you know are popular. Second, and perhaps more importantly, testing your full library is necessary to learn about the relationships that exist between the appetites for every music genre you play. High quality music testing gives you these insights (for example, our FACT360 Strategic Music Tests do so through a measure called Compatibility, which will be the subject of our next blog in this series), but can only do so comprehensively if your entire active library is represented in your test list. Moreover, even if your station is fortunate enough to conduct new music research on a regular basis and you use that as the primary tool for deciding which Currents to play, including your Currents in a library test is a good idea because it allows you to learn more about the Compatibility between the newer and the older sounds you play.

Sam’s previous blog talked about “garbage in, garbage out” and how testing your music with the wrong sample could produce results that send your station in the wrong direction. The same is true with constructing the list of titles in your library test. I encourage you to avoid getting garbage results by testing titles that conform to your station’s music strategy as closely as possible.

Last month, Jon Coleman wrote on article entitled “Misreading PPM and What Drives Ratings.”  In it, he talked about the tension between in-the-moment performance and brand value.  Jon expressed concern that radio programmers and management are sometimes so overly focused on preventing in-the-moment tune-out that they don’t do the big bold things that drive loyalty (and regular tune-in) to the brand.  Sometimes the very things that cause short-term pain result in long-term gain.

We have been talking with our clients about this “in-the-moment/brand” tension for many years, particularly since the advent of PPM, and we have drawn parallels to industries outside of radio.  A few weeks ago, another great example made the news:  CVS/pharmacy will stop selling cigarettes and tobacco products in its more than 7,600 U.S. stores.

Short-term pain?  Yes.  It is estimated that CVS/pharmacy will lose $2 billion annually from tobacco shoppers.

Long-term gain?  I’d bet on it.  While there is certainly a moral case to be made for this move, the company is surely also hoping that the change sends a strong positive message to consumers about the CVS/pharmacy brand.  In explaining the move, it says:

“The sale of tobacco products is inconsistent with our purpose – helping people on their path to better health…By removing tobacco products from our retail shelves; we will better serve our patients, clients and health care providers while positioning CVS Caremark for future growth as a health care company.  Cigarettes and tobacco products have no place in a setting where health care is delivered.  This is the right thing to do.”

It’s the right thing to do, and it’s the right thing to do for business.  Short-term pain, long-term gain.  Is there a lesson for your station to take away from this?