Last week (9/4-7), I did a new study on HD Radio as a follow-up to my 2006 survey. Here’s what we learned, based on 688 telephone interviews with 18-64’s in the U.S…

• 67% of 18-64 year olds have heard of HD Radio. This represents a dramatic increase from ‘06, when only 38% had heard of HD Radio.

• Consumers’ understanding of HD Radio has also grown. Now, 21% indicate HD Radio delivers higher quality sound, versus 17% in 2006. Eight percent now volunteer that HD Radio delivers more stations or choices, versus only 1% two years ago.

• We also find continued misconceptions about HD Radio. Now, 7% indicate that HD radio is satellite radio, up from 3% in 2006. And 3% think they receive HD Radio even though they have not purchased an HD-capable receiver.

• 18-44’s, men (and, especially, 18-44 men) have the highest awareness and best understanding of HD Radio. But we do not find major demographic differences on these measures.

The “bottom line” is: HD Radio has made significant progress over the past two years. The biggest jump is in the percentage of consumers who have at least heard of HD Radio.

Of course, now, as in ‘06, not everyone who claims they’ve heard of HD Radio truly “gets it.” Nine percent tell us they’ve just heard of HD Radio and don’t know anything about it. And, no doubt, some of those who say that HD Radio means “higher quality sound” are simply inferring that from their knowledge of HDTV.

Still, the increase in awareness is so dramatic that it’s clear HD Radio is “on the map” in a way it wasn’t two years ago.

Also highly significant: the growth in consumers who tell us HD Radio means “more stations.” These are people who undoubtedly get it. The good news is that there are now more of them — 8% versus just 1% two years ago. But they still represent a “small sliver” of the population.

The consumers who confuse HD Radio with XM or Sirius is a similarly-small group. But they’re joined by another 2% who thing HD Radio is something you subscribe to. And then there are the folks who think they’re getting HD even though they don’t have an HD radio…seriously confused!

So, the industry still has a long way to go educating consumers about HD Radio. But at least most have heard of it, and that’s movement in the right direction.

As an NBA fan (go Pistons!), I know how important home court advantage can be. Playing at home is an edge in all sports, but especially “hoops.”

In its battle with satellite radio and iPods, home court advantage can be an edge for your local radio station as well…

The obvious edge is that it’s local. Too few stations fully exploit this advantage. Many times, friends who aren’t in radio have commented to me that stations they hear in their travels sound pretty much like the ones here in the Detroit metro. Consolidation, syndication, consultants and (yes) even researchers have contributed to this homogenization of radio.

But this article isn’t about that. It’s about creating and exploiting an edge by shifting the home court.

Here’s an example from the world of politics: In 2004, George Bush had a perceived edge on terrorism and national security; John Kerry had a perceived edge on health care and the environment. If the biggest issues in the minds of Americans were health care and the environment, it would be “President Kerry” today. But the Bush campaign, aided by the powers of incumbency, kept voters’ focus on terrorism, and you know the rest.

For most radio stations, “home court” is music…better music, more music, etc. Sure, music consistently tests as the most important programming element for listeners, as a group. But radio certainly can’t compete with satellite radio or iPods for most music. It can’t compete with satellite radio for music variety. And it can’t compete with iPods for best music…what could be better than music listeners choose for themselves?

For the most part, radio is doing a good job with music! But if music is “home court,” that gives satellite radio an iPods an edge. Radio needs to shift home field to a broader construct — local entertainment…

For one thing, satellite radio and (obviously) iPods can’t deliver appealing morning personalities who relate to your market. Unfortunately, many radio stations have a tough time delivering this as well, but yours can and should do it!

And local radio’s personality should go beyond mornings. Whatever happened to killer PM drive jocks? Or charismatic night jocks that have cult followings among younger listeners? I can tell you that it’s a rare occasion when a personality outside morning drive emerges as a top-of-mind favorite in my research.

Personalities aren’t the sole source of entertainment local stations can offer. Contests that capture the imagination and attention of a city take a station way beyond “jukebox” status.

But home court advantage can’t be achieved merely doing these things on the air!!! It’s also about advertising and promoting the elements of your station that competitors cannot deliver, and, in doing so, raising those elements to the level of crucial criteria on which listeners choose from their multiple sources of entertainment.

Of course, emphasizing “local entertainment” isn’t the right strategy for every station. But shifting home field advantage to your strengths (whatever they happen to be) is always the right strategy for your station. And it’s the right strategy for local radio as a whole.

So, I just spent the first two hours of my morning waiting in line for at a GameStop store. Word was, they were going to have Nintendo Wii for sale. Sure enough, there’s a line out the door when I get there.

What possesses adults to wait in line for a video game?  Their kids. My daughter has been after me for awhile to get her a Wii. (OK, I’ve got to admit that I’m kind of intrigued with it as well, but let’s blame it on the kid!)

They’re hard to find. The Ann Arbor Target store got 100 in last Sunday and they were gone an hour later. Stores I called all over town said they didn’t have it and didn’t know when they were going to get it. Until I called this one particular Gamestop.

So what’s the attraction? It’s not like Wii is the only game console out there. Wii was launched in ‘06, around the same time Sony’s Playstation 3 and Microsoft’s XBox 360, both with more powerful processors and more sophisticated graphics.

But Wii has a difference. As Forbes magazine reported it:

The feature that sets the Wii apart from both its competitors and its ancestors is the Wii remote, the device’s control pad….it’s equipped with an innovative motion sensor that detects movement and rotation in three dimensions….The Wii remote allows users to get up, move around the room and become part of the game. If you want your character on the screen to swing his sword, you wield the remote and make the thrusts and parries yourself. In a game of baseball, you hold the remote like a bat, and swing for the stands when you want your virtual player to do the same.

By giving players the ability to physically interact with a virtual world, Nintendo has significantly changed the experience of videogaming. It’s suddenly more immersive, more compelling and potentially more appealing to consumers who have never considered buying a videogame console before.

So, Sony and Microsoft gave consumers more of the same — more power, better graphics. They gave consumers MORE…Nitendo gave them something DIFFERENT. As one game developer stated it:

“The PS3 and the Xbox 360 feel like better versions of the last, but pretty much the same game with incremental improvement. But the Wii feels like a major jump.”

The result?  I’m waiting in a line at 7 in the morning. I didn’t see any lines for the Xbox or Playstation there.

In radio, we have to be open to change. We have to be willing to do something different…to be more compelling and exciting. There’s not a whole lot of innovation when it comes to programming. Instead, radio’s banking on a technical fix — HD radio — which is better delivery of the same thing — MORE (much like Playstation’s higher-resolution graphics).

Consolidation thwarted creativity in radio, because owners aren’t desperate anymore. Desperation fueled innovation. Back in the day, if  you owned one 1.0 share FM, you were willing to try something new and different. Now, if your 1.0 share FM is part of a cluster, you’re not going to go hungry.  But radio suffers from this complacency.

Some think that what I do — research — is thwarting innovation. It could, I know, but not if it’s used the right way! Research shouldn’t dictate anything…instead, it should give you insight into how listeners think, what they like and what they don’t. The best programmers can take that information to a higher level…to create fresh, compelling programming. They should be given the chance.

In radio, we needs hot new hits, like Wii. To get there, stop thinking more and open yourself up to DIFFERENT.
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