Ten Things Secular Radio Is Doing Wrong (And Ten Opportunities That Creates For Your Stations)

Many of you know that Audience Development Group, some years ago, was the first full-service cluster programming resource to begin helping Contemporary Christian stations AND begin endorsing the format as a legitimate competitive option for broad market operators.

Because of our special history with these formats alongside our secular work, we are often called upon to speak and facilitate presentations on these, some of the fastest-growing formats in radio today.

I enjoyed one such opportunity last week at APEX '06 just outside of Chicago.

I wanted to share some bullet points from the discussion.

Primarily, because if they have not yet already started, these stations will begin working hard to attract your listeners, and you should be familiar with their approach before it's too late.

Warning!

This presentation is pretty direct, as one called: "Shock and Awe!" If you're not a Christian broadcaster, remember that the wildfire growth of these formats is coming primarily from Christians who are listening to secular radio today, but are being underserved.

I hope this frank discussion may help you find protection points and growth opportunities for your property!

1. Too Dirty.

Lately you can hear sex conversations frequently even on Oldies radio.

It's becoming a frustration point for many secular radio listeners, and the values promise (and performance) presents the golden egg of opportunity for radio stations for Christians.

2. Projecting.

Many secular stations are projecting the attributes that the stations want their listeners to have, on their listeners, instead of just getting to know them.

For example, a lot of Top 40 stations act like all of their listeners live, or want to live, a "Hip-Hop lifestyle".

It's simply not true, and this misconception creates a legitimate connection opportunity for those who want to assess listener needs (not their own) and properly serve them.

3. Female-Targeted Secular Stations Can Often Be Demeaning To Women.

You can hear the word "bitch" on a daily basis on Mainstream top 40 and Hot AC stations nationwide.

Attention radio guys: try calling your wife, fiance, girlfriend, sister, mother, or grandmother that some day.

How do you think that will go over?

Are your listeners any different?

4. Continued Reliance On Childish Pranks.

Scaring, shocking, and harassing listeners was a function of mirroring different lifestyles of the 1980's and 1990's.

Different content areas more in line with 2006 expectations will win over this material every single time.

5. Don't Comprehend "Service".

The food drive around Thanksgiving and toy drive before Christmas do not constitute a "total emotional investment in your community" anymore.

Radio listeners always reward the great stations that have these bases covered 365 days a year.

6. Recklessly Follow Fads.

Many of the same stations that packaged themselves as "iPods" recently dropped that in favor of packaging themselves in the language of Myspace.

Unfortunately, they probably missed all of last week's national media attention about Myspace "not being cool anymore" because of all the creeps, liars, and pervs.

Each of our stations is its own entertainment machine and needs to innovate its own material.

Which hopefully becomes "fashion."

7. Try To Dictate Tastes.

It's hard to lead when you're following (see #6 above).

There is a great premium at secular Radio on trying to push and force things on the end consumer.

The better play is always to service your current and potential future listeners' actual needs.

8. Worship Of Other Stations.

Especially underperforming ones.

We use the illustration a over and over:

If you're going to cheat, don't copy off of a D student.

Better play: do your own homework and your own work.

Especially when today's world places a premium on differentiation.

9. Don't Do Research.

Or worse, ignore the research by "projecting" (see above).

Many of us are already in budget time.

Are we working to protect this valuable asset?

Coming up with ways to increase this for 2007?

Planes don't fly well in the dark or through storms with no navigational aids.

10. Don't Do Marketing.

Sure, you can choose to not do any Marketing, just as you can choose to not be successful.

History has already shown us that this is as important to a radio station as a transmitter.

So what good reason do we have to not market exceptionally?

I hope you don't take this as all negative.

It isn't, really, because coming up with ways that we might better serve people through radio is a positive process.

Thanks again to the APEX family for hosting me this week.

I look forward to seeing all of them again, and maybe even you, at their next event, August 23-25, 2007, in Nashville.