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MARK RAMSEY MEDIA

Radio is Afraid of Change

Nov 2, 2013

Radio is Afraid of Change

There’s no doubt about it: Consistency matched to consumer expectations is a big reason why listeners keep coming back to the brands they love. But what happens when new choices and the novelty packed into them abound? And not just “radio” choices, but attention-getting distractions which occupy the same block of time that otherwise would have been devoted to “radio”? It was legendary ad-man David Ogilvy who famously said “Encourage innovation. Change is our life blood, stagn

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“The Number One Station is Pandora”

Oct 16, 2013

“The Number One Station is Pandora”

For that reason, one of the questions I ask is this: “Considering AM, FM, Satellite, and Internet Radio, what one radio station or service would you say is your favorite for music specifically? In one recent study in a large market among women who listen to Hit radio stations and are aged 15-34, the answer to this question was clear: The number one choice was Pandora. And it was ahead of #2 by no small amount. Notably, when you remove the phrase “for music specifically” and a

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What’s REALLY Happening To Radio Listening? Read This…

Sep 25, 2013

What’s REALLY Happening To Radio Listening? Read This…

In order to rally and fight a problem, we must begin by recognizing its existence. The realities of changing consumer usage have certainly provoked action for my clients in what used to be called “newspapers,” I can tell you. But radio has been slower to action not only because the trends have been less dire, but also because so few are willing to stand up and tell the Emperor that he has no clothes. Indeed, some refute the trends altogether. So it is when we hear that radio

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Once Upon a Time in the Land of PPM

Jul 11, 2013

Once Upon a Time in the Land of PPM

Are you sick of this yet? PPM market. After many months of consistent and strong ratings performance, things nosedive. All at once. No explanation. No calls to the station. No sudden change in market or station variables. No mass exodus of fans to another market closer to the beach. No seasonally expected change caused by, say, sports or Christmas. No sudden turn in music trends. No staff changes. Nothing. Yet there it was, suddenly and consistently bad ratings. Until now. Be

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Does Radio “Need a New Story”?

Jul 2, 2013

Does Radio “Need a New Story”?

Sometimes I just want to scream. Like when I read a piece in Radio Ink titled “Consumers do not know about the Power of Radio.” That’s right. With five radios in every household and radio presumably being a part of virtually everyone’s daily habit, we consumers “do not know about the power of radio.” We consumers must be stupid or something. As a result, say Radio Ink’s 40 “Power Players,” “Radio needs to tell a better story.” Yes, the clichés are flying like monkey dung. Wat

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Your PPM Strategy is Wrong: Word-of-Mouth Still Matters

May 14, 2013

Your PPM Strategy is Wrong: Word-of-Mouth Still Matters

It is almost impossible to count the ways in which playing to Arbitron’s PPM measurement methodology may provide short term gains for radio ratings, but very much at the expense of the health of radio brands long-term. And here’s yet another one. It is accepted wisdom that, since PPM supposedly measures behaviors rather than recall of behaviors, then so-called top-of-mind recall is irrelevant. After all, why remind folks that you’re there when they no longer need to remember

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Dear Arbitron, What about Asian Americans?

Apr 23, 2013

Dear Arbitron, What about Asian Americans?

Arbitron makes no distinction between Asian Americans and any other group of non-Hispanic, non-African Americans in their sample. That means Asian Americans fall into the vast category called “other,” a category without sub-categories and the sample goals those sub-categories might deserve. In any given market there is no way to know whether Arbitron is properly representing the Asian American population or not. That means odds are overwhelming that they are not. In many mark

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Radio has only Two Paths – and “Local” isn’t One

Mar 5, 2013

Radio has only Two Paths – and “Local” isn’t One

Today Seth Godin talks “Local.” Says Seth: Local media was an essential business for a century, largely for three reasons: 1. Broadcast signals and newspaper trucks could only travel so far, so ‘local’ was the natural category. 2. Commerce (and thus advertising) was local. 3. Interests tended to align locally as well. Today, of course, the signal travels around the world, so newspapers, radio stations and TV have no incentive to limit themselves. And finally, we’re discoverin

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Radio asks the Wrong Questions

Feb 27, 2013

Radio asks the Wrong Questions

“What’s the future of radio?” “How does radio compete against Pandora et. al.?” “How can we get FM on mobile devices?” “How do we stay in a prominent place on the car dashboard?” These are typical of the questions I hear. And what makes them all similar is that they are asked from the inside-out. That is, the implicit assumption is that radio’s past must be sustained into the future, and with a few tweaks here and there we can dial up our relevance (pun intended) and dial dow

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Nielsen buys Arbitron…What it REALLY Means to You

Dec 21, 2012

Nielsen buys Arbitron…What it REALLY Means to You

It’s not just the Mayan apocalypse that passed uneventfully, it’s also the announcement of another transition – the one that may transform Arbitron into Nielsen. Much has been written about this announcement over the previous days, most of it anticipating (or at least hoping for) new benefits to radio. Call me crazy, but I don’t see those benefits. Not at all. PPM Sample Size The most pressing matter for broadcasters is PPM sample size. And while broadcasters may be footing

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I’m Going to Stage a Secret Radio Meeting

Sep 19, 2012

I’m Going to Stage a Secret Radio Meeting

…much like the one being staged in “secret” at the NAB Radio Show right now. And like that meeting, the purpose of mine is to plot radio’s digital future. Because, as we all know, the future of any industry is best mapped out by its leading executives, locked together in a private room with nary a consumer in sight. Consumers will do what they’re told, after all. The control is all ours! This is how General Motors did it for years! I will make sure only to invite folks who

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Radio’s Ridiculous Debate about Streaming – Part 1

Aug 29, 2012

Radio’s Ridiculous Debate about Streaming – Part 1

The debate-of-the-week in the radio business is: What do we do to monetize our stream? Do we simulcast what’s on the air and throw it in as added (non) value, or do we treat the stream as an additional component in our brand arsenal and monetize it as such? Look, there’s no magic in adding what amounts to a second distribution channel for the same content and running the same spots on it to sell it in bulk to agencies which like to buy in bulk and ratings companies that like

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Gamification can Transform Radio’s Digital Platforms

Aug 22, 2012

Gamification can Transform Radio’s Digital Platforms

Chris Bell is president of Triton Digital’s Applications and Services division. Triton is an innovator in bringing game mechanics to radio platforms. Indeed, gamification is a major emphasis for the company and I have been impressed by their investments in this area. So what is gamification, and why does it matter to radio? How does gamification dramatically improve the engagement between consumers and our radio brands, and how can this engagement be effectively monetized? C

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FM on Mobile Phones? Be Careful what you Wish For

Aug 9, 2012

FM on Mobile Phones? Be Careful what you Wish For

What’s the best way for radio to compete in a newly digital mobile environment? Is it to ensure that every mobile phone has an activated FM chip? Is it, in other words, to expand the limits of existing technology to cover new gadgets which are built fundamentally on newer and more interactive and personal technology? Is it to turn a mobile phone into the same kind of radio that sits on your nightstand? No, no, a thousand times, no. Wild projections flutter about the radio i

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Why Doesn’t Radio use “Add to Calendar”?

Jul 30, 2012

Why Doesn’t Radio use “Add to Calendar”?

I spend my day inviting others to meetings and accepting invitations from others. And I do it the same way you do, by sending or accepting those little “add to calendar” invitations. So here we are, radio broadcasters, driving tune-in to an appointment-based medium where appointments are clearly rewarded by Arbitron at ratings time. And I personally have never seen a broadcaster invite any listener to add anything to their calendars with the simplicity of a “click.” That does

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PPM and Agency: Crack meet Addict

Jul 2, 2012

PPM and Agency: Crack meet Addict

Recently I heard a story of a station in a large market whose ratings have skyrocketed recently. What sort of genius programming is responsible for this? The kind that lucks out with two PPM panelists in one household who are new to the ratings panel. Long may they live. But this can be monetized, to be sure. And in a world where much more than half of a station’s revenue comes from agency dollars earmarked for nothing smarter than the lowest cost-per-thousand, you can hear

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The Future of AM Radio

Apr 15, 2012

The Future of AM Radio

Radio Ink made a classic mistake last week when it celebrated the strength of AM radio by trumpeting the financial success of the top radio brands, many of which happen to be on AM. Why is this a mistake? Because it confuses the band with the brand. AM radio is not what makes stations like WFAN so successful. WFAN is what makes WFAN so successful. Indeed, the trajectory for AM radio in general is not pretty. We generally assume that AM, like FM, is universal simply because

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Is Radio Losing the “War for Attention”?

Apr 12, 2012

Is Radio Losing the “War for Attention”?

Put these pieces together: First, Arbitron/Edison’s Infinite Dial study shows 30% year-over–year growth in the online radio audience (a large number, but not at all surprising to anyone paying close attention). Attention spreading. Second, a small study reported in Ad Age indicated that young consumers switch media 27 times in an hour. “What they are looking for is engaging content, and they dismiss so much stuff,” said Dan Albert, senior VP-media director at Chicago’s MARC

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Which is Better? PPM or Diary?

Feb 27, 2012

Which is Better? PPM or Diary?

Now that’s a post title which speaks for itself. And by “which is better?” I don’t mean “which is more accurate?” I mean which is better for our clients? And the answer is not at all what we might assume. Watch: Prefer audio? Try this: Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser. Download mp3 (You can subscribe to all the MRM video and audio

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Arbitron’s Small Sample Problem – it’s Worse than you Think

Feb 10, 2012

Arbitron’s Small Sample Problem – it’s Worse than you Think

It’s not news that Arbitron has a problem with small samples in PPM markets. Every broadcaster in these markets has bumped into this problem at one time or another, usually with either delightful or devastating ratings consequences. Let’s look at this problem from a different perspective: Forget ratings and consider cancer rates in the US. Did you know that the lowest cancer rates occur in the the least populated communities? Aha, obviously it’s the quality of life in these

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