blog.deanland.com

From Death to Life     



Last time around the topic (and the whole post) was Death To The Oldies Stations. 
The discussion was about WCBS-FM in New York and WJMK in Chicago
converting from the Oldies format to what is currently called The Jack
format.  As I said then and repeat now, this is not necessarily
anything so new and avant garde. To my ears, as an experienced
programmer, this is a standard fare, mid-decade emergent format. 
It features lesser played music with a strong degree of the "oh wow"factors -- artist recognition, appreciation, and the welcome return of
a seemingly missing old friend.  These are tunes primarily from
catalog artists with strong sales, just not strong recent-day hit radio
airplay.



The lesser played music, and the mix heard on Jack stations, has a
burnout factor similar to the Jammin' Oldies format, to the Buzz Rock
format, and to a variety of other "bring back those songs we didn't
play too much but that had some legs" tunes that don't fare especially
well in the sort of blinders-on research so popular and relied upon by
hordes of radio stations.  These days, as fewer companies operate
more stations, the lemmings factor in formats is a corporate decision
as opposed to a creative, local market-based strategy.



Stations love to conduct research that tells them how to "super serve
the core" audience.  This research tells them how good they are at
what they do, very appealing and great to deliver to upper management.



The end result: they drill down the playlist and format elements to
appeal to what their brand loyal listeners tell them is of the highest
appeal.  They tend to conduct music research using recognition and
familiarity analysis from a sample base of prequalified
listeners.  Most often those listeners are heavy users,
partisans.  The end result is too much narrow, inside information
----unecessary for marketing and growth.  In fact, data that is
counterproductive to growth and expansion, except among a narrow core
of heavy users.  And those heavy users already comprise the
high-end low turnover top tier listener segment.



The wiser market research and growth ploy would be to research the
partial users, the growth potential segment, those sitting on the fence
or making secondary/tertiary or non-partisan use.  Those who
select the station (or are stuck in an environment where they hear it
but not necessarily choose to do so) as an alternative or a second or
third choice . . . this is where opportunity may lie.  But in an
industry where "super serve the core"is a buzz phrase bordering on religious doctrine, not only do they
preach to the converted, they study them in order to end up being
preached to by the very committed and dependable choir.



The end result is a diminishing secondary user group, decreased
opportunity for growth, and the fine-tuning of an air product that
appeals to an increasingly smaller base.  The irony is how they
pride themselves on this "perceptual research" which eventually
backfires.  As corporate level programming and format decision
making increases in this day of megaglomerate chains, there is less and
less local input, creativity, and response to the needs and desires of
the listening public.



And then comes Jack and other such format change decisions.



This is not meant to damn or demean the Jack format. 



Jack and pseudo-Jack  formats ("Faux-Jack?"  Sounds like a tool in the trunk of a virtual car!)
would seem poised to enjoy a good run.  18 months or more,
attracting a good ratings-performer  audience, with long time-spent
listening and low turnover.  Then, in time as as the freshness withers and the
lack of additional playlist music inventory plays itself out, the
listeners will move on to their old choices or a fresh new format on the
dial. 



Or other sources.  Read on!



In New York and Chicago there is much hue and cry, even now two weeks
later, over the demise of the oldies stations.  Emotion runs high
among listeners who feel disenfranchised by the loss of a favored
format or station.  What they fail to realize (well, sure, they are neither marketers nor media professionals . .. they're "real people!!!")
is that management chose to make the change due to dwindling ratings
and ad revenues. 



Think of the line from Joni Mitchell's Big Yellow Taxi: 

Paradise in this case is the perception of a beloved radio station or
format.  The parking lot is Jack or any format taking its
place.  Once the old format is gone, its stock rises.  As a
memory it gains in value, the loss and mourning factor fuel the fire,
giving it eclat and benificence. Death, as the phrase goes, becomes it.



A New Life



After death comes life, a new life, a stab at capturing the wave of the
prominent memory.  Smaller stations, those outside the market or
with lesser signals, offer up a variation on the dearly departed
format.  Usually these experiments fade away in short order -- the
lack of research, professionalism, budget to promote or a signal that
sufficiently reaches the market combine to add up to a brief shot at
recapturing the limelight.  The format gets abandoned again, as these aso-rans look for the new secret sauce.



But we live in the day of new media.



Satellite radio services (both of them) already offer oldies formats (et al, lots of et al!).  AOL has offered an oldies/classsic rock music channel
for quite some time.  Infinity, the parent company that pulled the
trigger on both WCBS-FM and WJMK, offers online streaming versions of
the oldies formats of those stations.  Cable and satellite TV
services have been offering up oldies sans deejays for years.



The partisan oldies listeners --now feeling a fervor and zeal over the loss of
their beloved stations-- may be prompted by these recent events to make
the move to satellite radio.  Streaming online channels and
satellite services can capitalize on events such as terrestrial radio
abandoning a format.



Adding to the new life is the reality of the new equation: it doesn't
require as large or as comparitavely competitive an audience to justify
and perhaps provide sufficient  revenues to support these
alternatives to terrestrial radio.  Advertising across an array of
formats, or simply garnering a multiplicity of listeners/users of the
distribution system offers other opportunities for disseminating
messages or promotions. 



This is a new form of reach. 
Cross-media, cross-platform, cross distribution channels . . . all of these develop
a reach basis, a reputation and perception portal (ooh, shame on me, I typed it without a preceding buzzword alert!).



New life being breathed into new channels, while the old paradigm players repeat the same old same old. 



Already there are Jack channels available on line.  No commercials
on some of those.  The shift is occuring.  Moves are being
made.  Media is morphing.  "Real People" (see above) hue and cry feed the flame, provide support and rationale for those charting new ground.



There's some irony in the death of oldies prompting some oxygen into newthink.  Everything old
is not new again, but it is the seed for what is and will be new . . .again.