Week of April 30, 2007

Friday 05/04, 2007

The new way of measuring ratings was released last week in Philadelphia when Arbitron issued the first PPM based numbers. The headline? If stations do NOT market to their target, they may never score in the PPM based ratings. PPM doesn't require recall; it "hears" you punching the buttons 20 times in the car on the way to work. I was quite surprised at the number of stations that didn't make the book. In addition, I believe many "me too" formats will go by the wayside. If you don't make yourself unique, listeners will not listen long. Your cume may go way up. But unless you can give them a reason to spend another quarter hour with you, they will change the station. And the PPM will remember each time. Even if it's 20 times in 15 minutes. Radio, now more than ever, will have to re-define the way we sell, program, and market. There is a whole new game coming your way. New rules require new thinking. The time to start is.......Now!

Have a great weekend.

Thursday 05/03, 2007

Arbitron issued the first PPM numbers in Philly last week. Among the many changes I noticed were that the stations that did well had the following attributes. They were essential mainstream stations as in News (KYW), or big morning shows (WMMR), or stations with a long history of massive marketing. Legendary marketers like WBEB (B-101), Oldies WOGL, Country WXTU, or Classic Rock WMGK all spend on marketing. All did well. Urban, Spanish, start-ups, and youth stations did not. Now, remember, this is only the first book. We will learn more as the years go by. Tomorrow, we will bottom line what you may need to do to address the coming PPM ratings change in your market.

Wednesday 05/02, 2007

The new way of measuring ratings was released last week in Philadelphia when Arbitron issued the first PPM based numbers. This week we are looking at the overall initial impact from a GM point of view. Do you have a low powered or suburban signal? Prepare for a ratings drop or worse, not make the book. I noticed many stations that made the previous diary based book didn't make the PPM book. I guess it figures, and we know it already, listeners will NOT listen through noisy, "picket fence" sounding, fade in and out type of radio stations. Remember, this is NOT a recall game any more. If you do not have a good, no, GREAT signal, you may have a tough time scoring with PPM. By the way, at least HALF the number of AM stations that made the diary book DID NOT SHOW in this survey. Tomorrow, you may not score without marketing. BIG marketing!

Tuesday 05/01, 2007

Arbitron issued the first PPM numbers in Philly last week. What did I notice first? Non-Commercial stations are listed. Yep, WXPN-FM (an excellent and long time AAA from the University of Pennsylvania) and WHYY-FM, a non-commercial NPR affiliate have solid ratings in this survey. I have nothing against these stations personally, but, because they don't sell advertising, nor pay for the ratings, I am hard pressed to see why we need to include them. Now, if you are a PD paid a bonus on rank, you may want to re-negotiate your deal. If you are a GM, Sales manager, or corporate geek, this will cause advertisers to note the power of the non-com stations. To make matters worse, they can't sell advertising. Just siphon off overall listening. But wait, there's more! Tomorrow on allaccess.com.

Monday 04/30, 2007

The new way of measuring ratings was released last week in Philadelphia when Arbitron issued the first PPM based numbers. After an initial look, I can assure you that, the way we look at ratings, program our stations, and sell advertising, will change. How? Over the next few days, we will take a look. I'm a GM, not a statistical researcher. I don't know as much as I will over the next years. But, initially, there are a few things that scare the hell out of me. Our worst fears realized? Perhaps...but tomorrow, we will shoot the messenger.