Fresh off seeing Garth Brooks and The Who play shows in Cincinnati this weekend with crowds totaling 100,000 people, it was a great early kick-off to summer. Weekend ticket sales alone for these concerts totaled $10 million.
Radio’s core audience of employed consumers with money to spend led the way, which will continue with the warmer weather and the unrestricted return of concerts, festivals and live events. It’s a summer that promises to be unlike any other.
How much can Americans fit into 100 days of summer? We’re about to find out! Radio stations are uniquely positioned to help listeners and advertisers make the most of it.
In fact, with a strategic focus on first-party audience data for radio, we have identified several important trends that you can leverage heading into summer.
P1s Are Telling Their Friends and Co-Workers about their Favorite Station.
Across demos and formats, audience acquisition and engagement are essential components to radio’s success. “When it comes to generating awareness that converts to daily cume, Word of Mouth marketing by your station’s Super-Fans and Amplifiers beats a computer algorithm every time. Not only do these efforts increase listening, but each time a listener invites someone new to your station, it deepens their own connection to your brand,” says Tony Bannon, VP of Marketing Strategy with DMR/Interactive.
Heavy Listeners Are Ready to Win the Day.
According to contest entry data from both group and local contests, morning appointment listening times as early as 7am are consistently the most popular choice and regularly generate the most entries. “It’s hard to have a bad day at work when you start the day winning money with your favorite station,” says Bannon. Despite the challenges that can accompany leaving the house on-time, especially on school mornings, this insight reflects the ongoing importance of both the commute and employed listening.
Households With Kids Are Underrepresented in PPM Samples.
With the ongoing challenges faced by parents, getting a 6 year old boy or a 13 year old girl to wear a meter to school, not to mention turning in their homework on-time, is more than many moms and dads want to deal with. As a result, households with kids are being weighted up across markets, which creates opportunities to strategically incorporate this important audience segment. Long term, the move to PPM Wearables and the companion App should help with the recruitment and retention of households with kids. It’s just one of the many PPM insights and trends we’ll be studying and incorporating in the months to come.
Discipline is Critical to Executing OTT and Digital Ad Campaigns.
Just like a baseball player waiting for his pitch, getting results with OTT and digital ad campaigns requires a disciplined and selective approach. Any batter can look good in batting practice where hitters swing freely at any pitch and there’s no pressure to perform. However, when it comes to placing OTT and digital campaigns, the impressions, clicks and video views that you don’t bid on are as important as the ones that you win.
There are any number of ways to inadvertently water down your targeting and misallocate campaign budgets, especially in pursuit of greater reach, lower CPMs or a mythical magic bullet. Don’t confuse the ability to reach any audience with the importance of engaging the right audience. OTT and digital ad campaigns are powerful cume building platforms that we use to Protect, Grow and Acquire new listening from the employed heavy listeners who matter most to your ratings and revenue.
TikTok is Helping Connect a New Generation to Radio.
Air talent are becoming TikTok influencers and they are sharing the power of radio with Gen Z and beyond. Reimagine your request line with key words, take people behind the scenes at your station to showcase the magic of radio and most importantly have fun. Not sure where to begin with TikTok? Email TikTok@dmrinteractive.com and let’s discuss specific insights according to the current familiarity and comfort level of your team, whether they are beginners, influencers or somewhere in between.
Local radio serves the community and provides the soundtrack of summer along the way. 2022 promises to be no exception, so let’s make the most of it.
Andrew Curran
President & CEO, DMR/Interactive
DMR/Interactive is the leading strategic marketing partner for the broadcast industry. DMR/Interactive provides radio stations with integrated marketing strategies that include precision-targeted, multi-contact personalized campaigns across mobile, digital, social, telephony, direct mail, e-mail, word-of-mouth and database marketing services. DMR/Interactive also provides data analytics and business intelligence services to clients. For more information, visit www.dmrinteractive.com
Life 102.5 has a heart for Madison! For the 4
Spirit 92.9 continued its commitment of blessing the central Minnesota community through intentional service projects. As the pandemic affected another year, station listeners rose to the challenge of uplifting and encouraging those feeling loss, loneliness, or burnout. Thanks to the help of generous listeners and business partners, Spirit 92.9 raised more than $8,000 in an online tip jar that blessed the staff at 19 local restaurants returning to work full time with huge tips during the Big Tip promotion. The restaurant workers were grateful for the visibility and appreciation. Numerous area teachers nominated by their students and families received special honor at the end of the school year with flowers and $500 VISA gift cards as part of “Thank A Teacher” organized by Spirit 92.9. In the fall, Spirit 92.9 partnered with two local ministries and provided free holiday meals to the community. During the ‘More Than A Meal’ event, the station worked with community members who donated enough to provide 6,000 meals and give help to people in need. Station team members also prepared and served meals together at the local homeless mission. At Christmastime, 11 community members wrote Spirit 92.9 and shared the story of someone they believed deserved some extra joy due to personal hardships. The individuals received $1000 to bless that person during Spirit 92.9’s Share The Joy promotion. Phone calls were made to hundreds of listeners to offer prayer and encouragement. Prayer support and a personal response is offered all year long.
Jim Campbell, Founder & Network President of Radio Training Network, Inc. began his radio career in commercial radio in Tennessee in 1964. In 1966 he moved his family to Lakeland, Florida to attend college, and upon graduation he joined the staff at First Assembly of God Church where he and the church launched in the mid 1970s the first Contemporary Christian Radio Station in the nation, WCIE-FM. The station grew in both market impression and influence not just in Lakeland, but around the country inspiring others to follow Jim’s lead. In 1989 Jim left the church and founded Radio Training Network, Inc. (RTN) and over the next 30+ years, he oversaw the acquisition and development of 40+ stations plus translators. With 130 team members, RTN stations serve the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Missouri. These stations are well recognized in their respective markets thanks to the servant leadership of the staff, aggressive marketing, and a commitment to a strong emphasis on Jesus first. At present RTN has some two million listeners each week on air and approximately the same number online.
Andrea Kleid is a 24-year veteran of radio and records. She began her career working in Christian radio at WNLT in Cincinnati, and then moved onto WAY-FM in West Palm Beach working in programming and promotions. Her next stop took her to JOY-FM in Tampa where she served as the Promotions Director. In 2004, Andrea moved to Nashville to begin her music industry career in radio promotion under Grant Hubbard at Capitol CMG. In 2008, Andrea became the Vice President of Promotion at Word Label Group where she led one of the most successful and influential radio promotion teams in the Christian music industry. Through her signature brand of honesty, passion for Christian music, and focus on relationships, Andrea developed a reputation for successfully launching new artists’ careers including for KING and COUNTRY, NEEDTOBREATHE and Francesca Battistelli. This year, Andrea celebrates her fifth year as the President of her own company, Boxer Poet. An advocate for both radio and artists, Andrea continues to zealously host conversations around further representation for women and people of color on Christian radio.
Jason Sharp has a rich history with CCM radio and leadership. His early years at WONU/Chicagoland and The Bridge/Delaware gave flight to his passion for great programming and innovative promotions. As Program Director of WCQR/Johnson City and eventually the network PD for Positive Alternative Radio, Jason’s influence grew across the industry. In 2007, Jason joined the team at Northwestern Media as Program Director and then Station Manager of KTIS, Minneapolis/St Paul. In 2015, Jason furthered his formal education and earned his master’s degree in organizational leadership. Applying his leadership knowledge and skills to work, he now serves as Senior Vice President of Broadcasting at Northwestern Media’s 23 stations in 14 markets across ten states that service 1.5 million listeners each week. Jason also served Christian Music Broadcasters, first as a charter member and eventually as the lead of CMB’s educational track at Momentum for more than ten years. He then served as the organization’s board chairman from 2017-2020. Jason continues to inspire others within Christian media toward excellence and compassion through a Christ-centered attitude, education, and practical application.
In 1972, while serving in the U.S. Air Force in Orlando, Johnny Stone dreamt of a second kind of “air force,” that of radio. He took an overnight position at WDIZ-FM, the station where Z88.3 now stands. In the past 50 years of his career, Johnny’s work and personality raised the bar for other programmers in markets ranging from New York City, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, San Diego, Tampa, Atlanta, Tucson, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. During his stint as Program Director and Morning Show host at Star 99.1 New York, his team won the NAB Crystal Radio Award and CMB Station of the Year. Presently, Johnny serves as afternoon host with his wife, Stacey, at 91.9 WGTS in Washington D.C. winner of the 2021 NAB Marconi Award for Religious Station of the Year. Owner of StoneStudios, LLC. and as a 22-year veteran in Christian media, Johnny mentored several on-air talents. Today, along with his on-air role at WGTS, he mentors college students at CMBU, teaching and modeling the belief that “you have to win in the hallways to win on the airwaves.”
Lisa Williams was called to Christian radio while praying in 1990. She walked into KCVO in Camdenton, Missouri and started on the air that same week. Over the past 32 years, Lisa served in various roles in on-air, programming, fundraising, and station management at radio stations and networks including K-LOVE, Z88.3, Star 99.1, KCVO, and KCWN. As an on-air personality, Lisa earned several number one ratings in several markets and was the recipient of three industry awards. Lisa now serves as the Network Talent Coach for Northwestern Media, owner of 23 stations in 14 markets across ten states that service 1.5 million listeners each week. While at Northwestern, Lisa hosted the nationally syndicated show Life with Lisa Williams from 2016-2021. She stepped away from the show to focus on coaching more than 90 on-air talents, encouraging and nurturing them to shine the light of Christ through excellent radio. When she’s not coaching talent, Lisa helps stations raise money for their operations. She also hosts a Facebook group for women on-air in Christian radio called GodsRadioGirls and helps facilitate their annual retreat.