Tag: Millennials

Industry Views

The Evolution of Radio Station Stickers in the 21st Century

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

By Andy Gladding, EdD, CBT

Chief Engineer
Salem Media of New York
WRHU Radio, Hofstra University

imThe best thing about attending media conferences like TALKERS 2024: Radio and Beyond, which occurred last week on June 7, is the opportunity to hear diverse viewpoints from industry experts. Gatherings like these also provide the opportunity for attendees like me to “chew” on some of the great ideas presented by the expert panelists and think about solutions to some of the challenges raised during the discussions.

One of the many contemporary issues facing radio brought up during TALKERS 2024 was the evolution and need for vinyl bumper stickers in today’s branding environment. Bumper stickers have been a central component of radio station marketing over several decades, as they provide a low-cost visual aid for stations to get their logo and frequency out to the public, using a “listener-driven” mobile platform. However, as cars increase in price, value, and longevity, station owners are questioning the willingness of car owners to plaster their high-cost investment with third-party advertising. Therefore, the value of continuing to create and distribute vinyl stickers for radio stations has been called into question.

While cars may no longer be an attractive moving billboard destination for station listeners, a whole new field of organic advertising space has emerged, especially on the surface of laptop computers, tablets, and other mobile devices. Many consumers use the uniform blank space of their laptops and cellphones as a place for vinyl stickers. The idea behind this concept is that vinyl stickers allow the device owner to personalize their equipment for identity branding and theft protection. It is much easier to identify a personal device at a place like a coffee shop or airplane security line if you’ve placed a personalized vinyl sticker on it. Many Millennials and Gen-Z’ers are more willing to use the back of their electronic devices as a showcase for vinyl sticker advertising, as it helps attract attention to the user while in a public setting and lets others know “what they are about” with just a quick glance. Electronic devices are on display everywhere and are often carried around with the user in backpacks. When presented with a vinyl sticker, the recipient is usually willing to place the sticker on the device, simply because trying to store it elsewhere will usually result in the destruction of the vinyl sticker.

With this in mind, radio station marketing folks may want to rethink the footprint and layout of their vinyl stickers, choosing to migrate the wider “car bumper” format to a smaller, more concise mini-billboard that could live, display, and survive more effectively on the back of an electronic device.

Solutions like these can only happen when the listener is presented with a challenge by top industry minds. This TALKERS 2024 attendee is grateful for the chance to help provide a solution to a practical problem, made possible by the collaborative environment fostered by an in-person gathering.

Andy Gladding is the chief engineer for Salem Media of New York and WRHU, Hofstra University. He can be emailed at biggladman@aol.com

Industry News

Techsurvey 2024: Listeners’ Views on AI in Radio

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

Jacobs Media’s Techsurvey 2024 surveyed more than 31,000 core radio listeners to gather their opinions about the use of AI by radio stations. President Fred Jacobs says, “Many radio companies have jumped on the AI bandwagon but with little guidance from their audience. This exclusive data from Techsurvey 2024 provides valuable feedback from partisans of 10 popular radio formats about their hopes and for now at least, fears of AI.” Fifty-eight percent of those surveyed were familiar with AI and of those, nearly one in ten (9%) uses its applications for personal, work, or school. Gen Z and Millennialim respondents are most likely to say they use it at least weekly. There’s a strong feeling the government will need to step in to provide legal guard rails for AI use. Three in four (75%) are looking for some form of regulation. In fact, more than a third (36%) believe AI will need to be highly regulated. That perception may be fueled by the upcoming elections this November. About half (51%) say they’re very concerned about how AI might affect this fall’s political races. Members of the Greatest Generation and Boomers are most fearful of how the technology might influence upcoming elections. When it comes to three applications for radio – AI hosts, AI-voiced commercials, and AI-voiced station IDs – the biggest pushback predictably is directed at the idea of radio using cloned voices to take the place of live talent. Three in four (75%) raise the red flag over this AI application. Concern lessens when it comes to AI voice technology being used to read commercials. Still, nearly four in ten (39%) say they have big issues with radio stations they listen to using AI in ads. Respondents are most open to the idea of AI voices being utilized on station identification. Overall, about one-third (34%) have no problem, but a similar sized group (30%) expresses major concerns with this use case for AI. Jacobs Media general manager Paul Jacobs remarks, “It is still early days for AI in radio, but broadcasters need to respect the many concerns voiced by core fans of the medium. Up to now, many decisions have been made in a vacuum. Now the audience has a voice. We’ll be tracking their perceptions in Techsurveys in the coming years as the technology matures. The format level data for AI should provide welcome feedback for radio managers trying to get a handle on AI.”

Features

How News/Talk Radio Should Adapt to Attract and Retain a Younger Audience

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

By Bill Bartholomew
Talk Host/Podcaster/Journalist/Musician

imFolks in the Gen Z and millennial demographics are heavily engaged in political issues, care about news in their communities and the world, and are constantly bombarded with content.  So why are they less likely to tune into and interact with news/talk radio than older demographics?

Talk radio has historically skewed older, and from an ad portfolio standpoint, is often targeted at the coveted 35-54 and 55+ demographics.  However, in a world where social media influencers and podcasters supply information to millions of young consumers, news/talk radio should be able to effectively compete for the ears of younger generations in a comparable, if not expanded way.

For all of the anecdotal and hard evidence that terrestrial radio may be trending in a downward direction, the format continues to have a vast reach.  It is convenient to engage with it in automobiles, and occasionally in home or office settings.  Yet, while younger generations listen to radio, news/talk is not the format that they turn to by and large.

Unlike many digital-first content producers, radio retains a unique quality: authority.  By virtue of editorial standards, FCC regulation and brand – things that social media and podcasts often lack – radio has the unique ability to deliver credible, vetted, nuanced and universally trustworthy content that can instantaneously adapt to meet the needs of the moment.  This is true in everything from natural disasters to rapidly evolving breaking news stories, providing a channel for immediate, reactionary insight and analysis.

There are several steps that news/talk radio should pursue in earnest to adapt to the current climate of content consumption, particularly by younger listeners, that can reach, and most importantly, retain broader, younger, more diverse and more engaged audiences.

  1. Introduce younger people into the conversation.

Too often, Gen Z and millennials are skewered by older hosts, mocked for their perceived naivety, unchecked optimism and me-first approach.  While some of these qualities can be accurate, that approach reflects a disconnect between older generations and the experience of younger ones.  Millennials and Gen Z have grown up in a post-9/11 world replete with “endless wars”, the fallout from the 2008 financial crisis, runaway student debt, a massive housing crisis, the mental health stressors of social media, Covid19’s impact on traditional youth experiences, climate change, a deeply bifurcated political environment and a constantly evolving quest for social justice.  Through these experiences, younger generations offer an important perspective that should be assigned the same news value as experts from older generations.

Are you discussing shifts towards electric vehicles?  Bring on someone from Gen Z to share their perspective on why steps towards carbon neutrality are important to them.  Engaging a conversation on the president’s approval rating?  Perhaps younger conservative and leftist voices should be included in the conversation.  Discussing immigration?  How about the perspective of a younger member of a Latino organization?

By giving younger generations and more diverse guests a platform, stations can simultaneously expand their content and reach.  With consistency, the station’s brand will become more familiar to younger potential listeners who may be inclined to tune in to hear someone who shares their identity and perspective on – here’s that word again – a platform of authority.  Let the guest do the work of establishing the credibility and importance of your station or talk show to younger audiences by posting about their appearance on social media, sharing audio clips and mentioning to their peers.  It will build familiarity and trust among those generations, who in turn, will begin to tune in on a more regular basis.

Stations should also consider bringing more younger, competent voices into on-air roles, whether that be through reporting, segments, fill-in hosts, weekend shows or full-time hosts.

  1. Meet the audience where they are: their phones. 

As mentioned above, the convenience of simply turning on AM/FM radio is highly appealing in automobiles, though as Apple Carplay continues to adapt and evolve, digital-first content is likely to become as simple and convenient in the near future.

Talk radio needs to make consuming their product on smartphones as simple and direct as turning on a traditional radio.  This means no clunky websites, no lengthy pre-roll spots, a reliable stream connection and a “one touch” means of turning on and off the station.  This should also mean expanding talk shows to high-quality video livestreams, following in the footsteps of the top YouTube and Twitch performers; developing unique content for TikTok and Instagram; building podcasts that are focused on specific issues, and; providing interaction via text and chat.

Radio has the ability to be the ultimate livestreamer, social media influencer and podcaster, but rarely harnesses these platforms in a meaningful way.

It is not enough to simply strive to “expand a digital presence”; stations and shows must engage in the hard work of building platform-specific content with their brands.

  1. Music, cultural references and themes for the modern age.

A few weeks ago on a seemingly benign episode of the TV show FOX NFL Sunday, panelists Jimmy Johnson and Terry Bradshaw offered an example of the type of cultural adaptation that sophisticated writers and producers provide their brands.  While describing a fight between two football players, Mr. Johnson said something to the effect of “when it comes to these two, what’s that Taylor Swift song?”, and then in synch with Mr. Bradshaw, “bad blood!”.  It is highly unlikely that these two 70+ men listen to Taylor Swift’s music with any regularity or would simultaneously pull the “Bad Blood” reference.  Yet, with excellent preparation that played into the greater cultural moment as well as the specific, current Taylor Swift/NFL overlap, in a six-second span, FOX NFL Sunday was able to give the illusion that their panelists are contemporary, hip and plugged into “what is going on”.  Is your station or show plugged into what’s going on?  Do you use contemporary music for bumps?  Are your images – including headshots and social content – modern, interesting and engaging or are they more akin to a miscellaneous real estate agent?  You are a performer in an entertainment business that, while certainly paying homage to the past and lineage of the industry, must be contemporary in aural and visual presentation.  This goes for everything from wardrobe on video and in photo to fonts on graphic design.

How often do you or your producer read Pitchfork to learn about new music that is breaking this week?  How often do you or your producer read Variety to understand major trends that are happening in the broader entertainment industry?  What live events are you broadcasting from, covering and building partnerships with?  You should strive to be cutting edge.

  1. We need a friend now more than ever.

This is something that goes for all audiences, but particularly for younger ones.  It’s OK, in fact, great to be yourself, present yourself from your generation and retain the authoritative stance that has built your brand.  Take a look at the success that sports talker Mike Francesa enjoyed by leaning into his persona – and in turn – developing legions of younger listeners that fell in love with his dad-like delivery and frequent meltdowns.

Few things are as uncomfortable to see as a 40+ person dressing or acting like a teenager.  Younger listeners want that senior, experienced, trusted friend to entertain them, inform them, and at times, tell them that everything is going to be OK.  You can help make sense of the world for younger audiences, something that is absolutely essential in the modern era.

Through attracting younger listeners by including them in the conversation, effectively delivering content on smartphones, presenting a cutting-edge entertainment product and continuing to serve as a trusted friend, news/talk radio can greatly expand its reach, relevance and revenue.

To that point, some younger listeners who discover a radio station or show via any of the above entry points will likely work backwards to the traditional AM/FM dial.  Like the resurgence of vinyl records, AM radio in particular has the opportunity to become a hip delivery format for discerning younger listeners.

The big question is: are radio companies, stations and hosts prepared to do the hard work of reimaging their product?

 

Bill Bartholomew is a talk radio and podcast host/producer, journalist and musician based in Providence, Rhode Island. Email him at: william.f.bartholomew@gmail.com. 
Industry Views

Pending Business: A Little Change Can Do You Good

By TALKERS | by TALKERS

By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President

imLast week, with little time left on the clock, Disney and Charter Communications made a deal so that Charter customers could continue to watch Disney programming. Phew! Just in time for 15 million Charter cable customers to have access to that 53-year-old American institution called “Monday Night Football.”

It’s amazing how the two sides came together just in time to preserve the TV viewing habits of millions of football fans and all those millions of ad dollars sold into the broadcasts. Although both Disney and Charter lobbed streaming options at viewers to help ease the temporary pain, in the end, cooler heads prevailed, and a deal was struck.

Not so fast, somebody buried a headline.

Just before Labor Day, the Charter guys were claiming the current cable TV bundling model ain’t what it used to be, in effect acknowledging the nearly 5 million people a year who cut the cable. The cable bundle value proposition is changing before our blurry gameday eyes, and more options are becoming accessible every day. Does any of this “I can get this somewhere else” ring familiar?

Try this at home. Ask any Gen Z people you know how often they listen to the radio. (Gen Z are roughly between nine and 26 years old.) Now ask the Millennials you know (roughly 27 to 42 years old). The results will frighten you as you realize the greatest freebie electronic entertainment ever invented is losing the future faster than cord cutters on steroids.

If you have been in the terrestrial radio business for longer than five years, you are aware of the melting ice cube future of radio. Even our friends in the newspaper business are changing with the times, looking for writers who will report specifically on Taylor Swift and Beyonce. They tour the world generating crazy numbers in ticket and music sales. Their appearances and social media impact everything from fashion to politics. How is that for changing a future value proposition?

Sports fan or not, are you in touch with the Coach Prime phenomenon happening at the University of Colorado? The story was featured on the soon-to-be 56-year-old “60 Minutes.”

Deon Sanders is changing college football in Boulder as fans gobble up seats at over $500 a piece.

The point of this column is simple. From cable to pop culture to Coach Prime, leadership is innovating, finding new ways to re-invent and re-package a premise as old as song and sport, a premise much older than the terrestrial radio business. Maybe we can all learn from what we sell.

Steve Lapa is the president of Lapcom Communications Corp. based in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Lapcom is a media sales, marketing, and development consultancy. Contact Steve Lapa via email at: Steve@Lapcomventures.com.