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What is a Quarter-Hour?
September 26, 2024
We usually keep this blog focused on things like ratings and data and numbers. However, this time I want to opine about a radio “axiom” that seems to still be in vogue.
We’ve all heard the line: Your radio station should showcase the format in every quarter-hour.
This was for us clock-making nerds. We were supposed to construct our clocks so that every quarter-hour was a true picture of our station’s format.
But what is a quarter-hour? According to the axiom, quarter-hours follow the Nielsen pattern: :00-:15, :15-:30, etc.
Do you know anyone who lives their life by those rigid standards? Let’s take the stereotypical listener who works a 9-to-5 job. They likely walk into their place of employment a few minutes before the start of the workday. Depending on where they parked, they probably turned their car radio off around the :49-:51 range. Which means you lost them in quarter-hour #4. If they listen to you at work, they do not start that process at precisely 9AM.
So, what quarter-hour of programming did they listen to?
Take us to the end of the workday. They are in their car at, say, 5:09. Their first quarter-hour of listening is, in this scenario, :09 to :24.
Where’s that perfect quarter-hour set up fit in? (Hint: there is no perfect quarter-hour.)
We are graded by Nielsen so we want to make sure we get all the listening credit we can grab. That means smart stop-set placement. But songs? You could be playing your best testing song right now and if your P1 is not in the mood for it then it doesn’t matter.
How do you showcase your station’s format at any given moment? By connecting with your fan base on some emotional level. They are not listening to you because you play the best variety of hits from a chosen time frame. They are listening to you because of how you make them feel.
What is your emotional hook? Are you fun, uplifting, informative, interesting, good company? I’m sure you can come up with an even bigger list.
The days of owning the music hill are rapidly diminishing. My Spotify playlist is perfect (and so is your audience’s).
The power of radio lies in our ability to connect. To fulfill a need in our listeners’ lives.
What does your station stand for?
(And this is where the programming cognoscenti will challenge my clock agnosticism. Send me an email if you want to discuss.)
-Steve Allan, Programming Research Consultant
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