The Power of Radio Part II

August 29, 2024

A couple weeks ago, we touted The Power of Radio here in Hot Topics. Of course, this implies that we ever take a break from touting radio, but I digress.

We were encouraged by the positive responses we received. Despite radio’s perceived beleaguered status, there are still a lot of people who remain passionate about our industry.

One of the most compelling responses we received was from Andrew Curran at DMR/Interactive. And I quote:

Everyone in radio should have three points on the tip of their tongue touting when people say, “Do people still listen to that?” There’s no reason to be caught flat-footed or off guard.

He opened with this:

I like starting with this one – Did you know that (name any local station) has made more money this month than Spotify has made all-time? People are always shocked to hear that.

Besides being, ahem, spot on – Andrew takes this discussion in a different direction. We have all the usual bromides to proffer about the power of radio.

Almost 90% of people over the age of 12 listen to the radio every week. That’s a nice stat but it’s meaningless when you are confronting a person who thinks radio is dead and doesn’t listen.

Radio is still free … except for those eight-minute/20-unit stop sets.

Radio is live and local. Except when it isn’t.

Radio has personalities. Sometimes. How aggressively do we tout that connection? The next time you’re in Walmart, listen to what they are playing. Walmart radio promotes their personalities all the time (“Home of the Bo Show!”).

Are these features or benefits? Which talking point is so compelling that it would change someone’s mind about radio? What is the emotional connection?

We need to develop a new line of attack when promoting the power of radio. Something that resonates with people and gets them to think of our industry in a new (and better) way. What is it? I have no idea.

But here’s a thought. Let’s set up a Zoom brainstorming session. Do it in small groups so we can actually accomplish something. Or gather your cluster together and devote an hour discussing this concept.

There are a lot of smart, creative people in this industry. If we got together and started bouncing ideas off the wall, some of them might actually stick.

Collectively – we have the power to do this.

I’ll give Andrew the final word:

The only thing I’d add is that it’s important to be an ambassador for radio and not turn into an attack dog trying to prove someone wrong. Although perceptions may vary about radio, the facts are on our side.

-Steve Allan, Programming Research Consultant

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