{TAP} {TAP} IS THIS THING ON???

[LITTLEBOYBLUE]

Not seeing much interesting news or discussion lately ... so in "Linda Richman" fashion, here's a topic:

Is it better to focus on music sweeps and lengthy stopsets or shorter music sweeps with more frequent stopsets (but shorter ones that put you back to music).  Certainly stations in this market are trying both approaches.  Which way do you vote??


Discuss.

[e-menace]

Heres an idea; shorter live read commercials sprinkled through out like jingles (instead of stupid "K1033333333333!" With digital read outs, we know the channel rocket scientists!)

Drop the commercial blocks!

[LITTLEBOYBLUE]

Heres an idea; shorter live read commercials sprinkled through out like jingles...

Not sure if you're aware, but Clear Channel announced "BLINKS" this week.  Drop-ins they would include as segues, etc.  Intended to be tight and nothing more than reminder of a brand ... not building one.

Anyone see the experiment Macy's did a year or two ago -- where they bought a 1 second spot.  Showed something like a blender and the macy's logo.  Made some headlines but not much splash as I recall.

[Jackson Dell Weaver]

Maybe - radio programmers would be smart to think of an hour of programming like an hour in church. Really.

A good church service has a variety of content - announcements, music, prayers and the sermon.  We don't walk in to church expecting another "...48 minute sermon sweep..." - nor do we have a "...power prayer hour...".  Instead the audience/congregation rides a wave of different content woven together cohesively. 

Until radio stops managing it's little ------ and returns to focusing on producing a better product for the audience we're going to continue to have the correct discussions about the wrong topics.

LBB - good topic!  Thanks for bringing it up!
 

[70radio]

Simple....Jackson...you were at KJR after its true heyday...KJR in the 60's and early to mid 70's had a mix of music, commercials and PERSONALITY!!!  They didn't air spots in 7-10 minute blocks, then 50+ minutes of music.  We didn't care.  Sure we loved the music, but didn't mind their stopping down for a bit by the personality with a couple of spots tossed in, then maybe a couple of songs and so on.  The personality was as important as the music and if the spots were clever, informative, entertaining, they went with the flow.  Note today's stations, AM or FM, music or talk...most take their stops sets at the same time.  We tried something different at the stn I programmed. Our spot sets were a little long at times, but at different times than our competitors.  It worked.
After a couple of minutes into a long spot set by our competition, the listener simply hit the button and my station was playing, hey, MUSIC, or airing perhaps an entertaining bit by the personality--no spots!  Sure the 'quarter hour' method of surveys supposedly dictates when to run that non stop music, but seems it didn't matter with KJR and similar stations.  12+ shares of 25 or more that KJR pulled down is proof enough.  Try it, your listener may like it.

[70radio]

I meant to add, JDW: GREAT analogy----an hour of church with an hour of programming!  Adding to my post above, yes, when our competitor(s) were playing music we, indeed, could be in a stop set.  However our stop sets were short and more frequent. Got my station the numbahs.  Back to KJR,  'The Clunk Letter of the Day' by Lar Lujuack was just a great as hearing "I Can't Help Myself" by the Four Tops!

[Jackson Dell Weaver]

70Radio - I think you're on the right track. 

Radio has been 'sweeping the quarter hour" with the thinking that if they hold a listener through the quarter hour, they'll have stronger numbers.  Much like KIRO does 11 at 11 to get the audience to stick around for an entire quarter hour of viewing.  The tail is wagging the dog here - and radio has been slave to it for 30 years.  Hence the LONG stop sets, all at the same time to minimize "tuneout damage".

I would have liked your station (share a little more...) - and yes that complete integration was one of KJR's (and many other good stations in the 60s-70s) advantages.

[70radio]

JDW...don't want to bore anyone, but, since you asked, my station was a 5KW AM oldies station with two FM oldies competitors in the market.  We were semi full service with 2-minute network news on the hour and local headlines on the half hour.  We stopped down for spot breaks (max 2.5 min) on the hour, at :10/:20/half hour/:40 and :50. Weather breaks were at :20 and :50—final segment of those stop sets.   Jocks--that should be personalities--were allowed to talk over intros as the music flowed between stops sets, do their bits either over the intros or at the beginning of the non-news stops.  Lots of contesting, listener phones, and community involvement.  This, by the way, was in the mid and late 1990's.  End result, in the 18-station market, our station easily beat the FM oldies stations, 25-54, 35-64 and 35+ and in one book beat the big AM talker, 35+.  A little counter programming and 1960’s style programming (we WERE an oldies station!) seemed to have done the job in the late 20th Century.

[Rob Stutson]

A little counter programming and 1960’s style programming (we WERE an oldies station!) seemed to have done the job in the late 20th Century.

So is that station still programming the same way 10 years later?

Remember that what worked in the late 20th century was before MP3, iPods, downloading music, satellite radio and cell phones that play music.  And the audience was 10 years younger then as well.

Here's the thing about jockless formats:  We already went through this once. In the 1970s. TM and Drake-Chenault automation formats. And what happened?  Personality radio returned in the '80s.

I bet in 5 to 10 years the same thing will happen again.

[70radio]

So is that station still programming the same way 10 years later?  Nope...it's long gone and I'm retired from on air radio. Remember that what worked in the late 20th century was before MP3, iPods, downloading music, satellite radio and cell phones that play music. 
Read my earlier post...PERSONALITIES were just as important as the muisc, so satellite, iPods, music downloads, etc are irrelevant.

I bet in 5 to 10 years the same thing will happen again. I hope so, Rob


[/quote]