In memoriam Rob van Laar 1963 - 2009

Op de site www.delta-radio.com las ik het droevige bericht dat oud-Delta Radio en Radio Keizerstad disc-jockey Rob van Laar in Italië is overleden. Met Rob heb ik jarenlang heel plezierig samengewerkt bij bovengenoemde zenders. Ik wens zijn familie en vrienden veel sterkte.

Radio is “Less Relevant” to 18-24’s - Mark Ramsey

Here’s a new study (from MediaPost’s Research Brief - not posted at the moment) that hints at radio’s place in the new media pecking order (and I’ll assume for a moment that radio does not include a digital portfolio, even though every regular reader of this blog knows it does; I’ll also assume radio’s future is not online, as every regular reader of this blog knows it is).

According to this TargetCast study, “The biggest usage declines were found among men and young adults 18-34 in newspapers, magazines and radio.” 

Okay, no surprise there.

“60% of consumers say newspapers need to change the most to stay relevant, compared to 30% for magazines and nearly 20% for radio. Fewer than 10% feel that TV or the Internet needs to change to stay relevant.”

No surprise there, either.

The study shows the proportion of folks who say they listen more or less to radio than they used to, and those numbers are fairly similar, skewing slightly to the “less” side.  But I don’t make much of numbers like these since they are attitudinal rather than behavioral and subject to a host of biases.

Here’s another tidbit:  ”Adults ages 18-24 are more likely to say radio is not as relevant.”

Look, “usage” is one thing.  ”Relevance” is something else.

Indeed, given the wealth of choices these folks have across platforms, that’s no surprise - but it is a warning to us all to ramp up our digital strategies.  It also is a reminder that adding more Top 40 to a market is not the same as increasing relevance to 18-24’s.

And related to that point:  “Adults aged 18-34 are more likely than other consumer groups to consider advertising on the internet influential in their purchase decision.”

Says the report,

41% of [18-64's] surveyed indicate that radio is still relevant in today’s media environment. According to respondents, radio provides a great venue to discover new music that cannot be experienced elsewhere. And, respondents overall prefer to listen to music through the radio station vs. Internet stations or on their mp3 player.

Good news.

But also a snapshot in time, where the time is changing fast.  The ubiquity of radio and the relative scarcity of online audio content and relative usage barriers to that content are a dynamic equation.  The “radio experience” online will not be the same as the one over the air, but it is a growing experience, nonetheless.  So while it’s great to see such enthusiasm for radio in the short run, the writing is on the wall.

The report concludes:

Over the past 100 years radio has been a ubiquitous part of our daily lives. However, after surviving the challenges of broadcast TV, the emergence of cable and the launch of the Internet, radio is slowly being tuned out by a generation addicted to personal, programmable MP3 players, iPods, iPhones and other multi-media devices.

Bron: http://www.hear2.com/2009/10/radio-is-less-relevant-to-1824s.html

Luistercijfers augustus - september 2009

Bron: www.radio.nl

Bevestigt Christian Van Thillo het bestaan van surco-deals?

Happy man with the iCarRadio App from tunein.fm!

2 weeks ago i had to change my mobile phone. My old Nokia 6310i from 2003 was dying. I loved that phone, i had to charge the battery once a week and it was such a solid phone. But i have to admit that i liked the iPhone. Finally i bought this great phone and put my old 6310i in the cupboard. You’ll never know. I must say that i cannot imagine that i could live without a such a great phone in the last 42 years! What i really like is the iCareRadio app from tunein.fm. It is great to listen in my car while driving on the A50 from Zwolle to Arnhem and listen to Europe’s best morningshow “Arno and the Morning Crew” from Berlins 104.6 RTL, no i don’t miss my old Nokia.

New campaign for Bern’s Capital FM (Switzerland)

Bern’s Capital FM launched a campaign to comunicate it’s mix of classic hits from the 60-ties, 70-ties, 80-ties and the best hits of today. The commercials were filmed in the Kunstmuseum in Bern.

http://www.capitalfm.ch/page_41.html

CHR Format Crisis?

Do you have enough hits to sound different to AC?

CHR plays more Current Hits (= past 12 months) than other formats: sometimes up to 80%. The main problem: In 2009 many CHR hits (age 15+) can be heard parallel on your AC competitor (age 30+). And unfortunately no PD really knows today, how CHR might musically shift next year. Most hits for 2010 are not composed yet!

In 2007 best-testing CHR hits were dominantly “R&B”: Timbaland, Justin Timberlake, Nelly Furtado, Kanye West, Rihanna, 50 Cent, Pussycat Dolls.

In 2008 CHR listeners additionally voted on more “PopRock & Rhythmic”: Leona Lewis, Madonna, Rihanna, Britney Spears, FloRida, Duffy, Linkin Park, Katy Perry.

In 2009 listeners finally pushed Pop-Dance/Electro & PopRock: Black Eyed Peas, Lady GaGa, P!nk, Beyoncé, Kelly Clarkson, Mando Diao, Killers, David Guetta.

 My advice for CHR in 2010:

Make sure you keep your identity: it’s not a problem to hear the same song on several formats: what makes the true difference is what you will NOT play after such a “cross-format” song. The “perfect music mix” and innovative Sound Imaging makes all the difference, even if you have to play the same hits being played all over!

- Check how many CHR hits you also SHARE with AC formats in your market: you   might be shocked how many songs you already share!
- Package these “cross-format” songs uniquely for your younger target!-.) Don’t worry about each song you share with AC: but check each 20-min.-sweep and ask yourself: is this “my format” I want to be?
- Avoid “4 songs in-a-row” your AC-competitor plays as well: even if each of the songs tests great with CHR, “sloppy music scheduling” easily kills your own format image!

About the Author: 

Mario Colantonio (41), located in Berlin, working in radio for the past 22 years:

- specialised on Music & Programming Research

- re-focussing troubled Music Formats effectively against the competition

- actively supporting Station Managers to re-shape their market identity

Originally published on September Sound Bytes Issue (SOB Audio Imaging) by Mario Colantino.

New Studio for Austria’s Hitradio Ö3

Austria’s Hitradio Ö3 in Vienna has this week inaugurated a new studio, a state of the art broadcast studio that is fully adapted to the needs of 2009.

The studio is ergonomically designed and the presenter has continuous access to facebook, Skype, Twitter and Facebook.It makes the program more personal and flexible.

Pictures: www.radioszene.de

Q-Music TV Commercial

Mooi gemaakte spot! (Ik mis in de spot alleen een link met de huidige on-air Major Promotion `Het Geluid` die gelijktijdig loopt met deze TV Commercial. Hoe mooi zou het zijn geweest om in deze spot aandacht te besteden aan deze Major Promotion om de kijker te bewegen tot direct inschakelen…)

Dutch ratings

Luistercijfers: juli - augustus ‘09 [juni - juli '09] (juli - augst ‘08)

01. Radio 538 - 10.4% [11.1%] en (10.7%)
02. Radio 2 - 10.2% [10.4%] en (9.4%)
03. Skyradio - 8.7% [9.1%] en (9.4%)
04. Radio 3FM - 8.5% [9.1%] en (7.2%)
05. Radio 1 - 8.1% [7.7%] en (8.1%)
06. Q-Music - 6.8% [7.3%] en (7.5%)
07. Veronica - 5.7% [5.6%] en (5.8%)
08. 100%NL - 4.7% [4.3%] en (2.7%)
09. Radio 5 - 2.8% [2.5%] en (2.4%)
10. Radio 10 Gold - 2.3% [2.2%] en (2.7%)
11. Classic FM - 2.1% [2.1%] en (2.3%)
12. Slam FM - 2.0% [2.1%] en (2.2%)
13. Radio 4 - 1.6% [1.5%] en (2.1%)
14. Arrow Classic Rock - 1.2% [1.3%] en (2.3%)
15. BNR nieuwsradio - 0.9% [0.8%] en (0.7%)
16. TMF Hitradio - 0.5% [0.4%] en (0.3%)
17. Arrow Jazz FM - 0.4% [0.4%] en (0.8%)
18. Kink FM - 0.3% [0.4%] en (0.3%)
19. Radio 6 - 0.2% - [0.2%] en (0.3%)

–. ORN - 12.4 [12.0] en (13.6%)
–. Overige zenders - 5.5 [5.1] en (6.2%)
–. CRN/E Power - 4.9 [4.7] en (3.9%)

www.radio.nl