FALL, 1994
Think about it. What we're talking about is brown-colored carbonated water, a bit of flavoring, plus additives like phosphoric acid. The product differences between Coke and Pepsi (even an avowed Coke aficionado like myself must admit) are minimal. Yet Pepsi advertising has successfully positioned these competing products to represent an entire generational divide!
Radio's version of Pepsi's approach is Young Country, the most brilliant radio positioning in years. What's brilliant? Not the format...it's the name. "Young Country" repositions the competition as old, even if the competition is playing the very same songs. That's the way the mind works..."if this station is Young Country, that station must be OLD Country." And in our society, no one wants to be old (even if they are).
We're going to see more of this kind of positioning in radio. As programming distinctions get increasingly blurred, the old product sells like "the biggest variety," "the most music," etc. become less and less relevant. Positioning stations to target listeners' psychology, self-image and lifestyle will become more and more essential.
This approach necessitates data on how the mind of the consumer works...what we call psychographic research.
One classic implementation of psychographic research was the Schlitz beer campaign of the 60's. Schlitz is no longer a player in the beer wars. But in the 60's, a brilliant campaign put Schlitz right in the thick of the Bud-Miller battle.
Schlitz's research focused on "heavy users" of beer -- the 20% of the market that drinks 80% of the beer...mainly blue-collar guys who polished off a six-pack or more a night. They may have had unglamorous lives, but Schlitz discovered that they had rich fantasy lives. They dreamt of adventures in exotic locales.
The implementation of these findings in Schlitz's TV ads was brilliant. Its role models were macho men involved in heavy-duty male bonding aboard ships severely shaken by stormy seas. The salt was heavy in the air as Schlitz's rugged heroes challenged raw nature with guts and bare hands. "YOU ONLY GO AROUND ONCE IN LIFE," the copy read, "SO YOU'VE GOT TO GRAB ALL THE GUSTO YOU CAN!" Once victorious, the adventurers guzzled Schlitz. Gorgeous women looked on admiringly.
Now, THERE's a fantasy "Joe Six-pack" could identity with! And to this day, many beer ads continue the same themes.
What can radio learn from this? That the more you know about what your target listener thinks, feels and even dreams about, the better-equipped you are to nurture the bond that makes him or her a "P1" listener. It's not just about programming anymore, especially when three or more stations play shades of the same music you do.
So what is the mindset of your target listener? Here comes the pitch for psychographic research. This isn't something you do as part of a format search...its something you do when you've got your on-air product on target and want to move to the next level.
But you can start with a better understanding of the role radio (and especially your station) plays in the lives of your target listeners.
FOCUS GROUPS can be helpful in this regard. We use a PROJECTIVE FOCUS TECHNIQUE to explore a station's role in listeners' lives. We ask them how they perceive the station AS A PERSON, including its relationship to them...Friend? Teacher? Brother? Sister? You might be amazed how close the relationship can be.
SURVEY RESEARCH can probe listeners' motivations for listening. Of course, they listen for music, information, personalities, etc. But by "motivations," I really mean the psychological BENEFITS listeners seek from radio. By understanding these benefits, we can develop positioning strategies based on benefits rather than programming attributes alone.
Any great sales person can tell you benefits are far more powerful than attributes alone A superstar car salesman sells a convertible by selling "the wind in your hair," adventure and sex appeal, NOT the top mechanism! Cosmetics czar Charles Revlon once said that Revlon doesn't sell cosmetics, it sells hope.
And radio also delivers psychological benefits to its consumers. After conducting hundreds of focus groups and survey research projects for both radio and TV, I've come to believe that listeners' bond with radio is actually stronger. TV is something you "watch," something external. Radio is part of the environment, like the air listeners breathe.
Different formats' listeners seek and receive different benefits from radio. Of course, each situation is unique, but here are some broad generalities we have discovered...
All News P1's desire social superiority...to know more than the average dummy (their attitude, not mine!) who listens to music. Conversely, there is the fear of NOT knowing, being "left behind."
(Some years ago, WINZ in Miami used a TV spot that targeted this psychology brilliantly. Its' "anti-hero" looked like a total buffoon at the office cooler and in the board room, because he didn't listen to WINZ.)
All Talk P1's share the thirst for knowledge, but their overriding radio psychology is the desire for companionship and a sense of "belonging." The driving force behind Rush Limbaugh's "dittoheads" isn't entirely ideology...it's also about acceptance.
Urban P1's are the musical equivalent of News core listeners. But what they know is MUSIC...knowing what's new, what's hot and what's not is important to them.
Urban P1's have many other motivations as well. More than any other format's core, they are "radio junkies" who love radio and strongly identify with their station.
CHR P1's use radio as a social "lubricant" and energizer. Unlike News P1's, they don't want to stand out from the crowd...they want to be part of it!
That's why I think CHR is the one format where it makes sense to advertise that you're Number One. Most listeners don't care; these do.
CHR P1's use radio to add fun to their social situations...a motivation seldom addressed in the stations' advertising. CHRs could take a page from beverage marketers' "beaches and babes" approach to advertising, capitalizing on (rather than denying) their youthful appeal.
Country P1's have taken on some of these CHR characteristics...for younger "country converts," the format is a party/peer phenomenon every bit as much as CHR. But older country partisans are different; their keyword is companionship. They identify strongly with the music and personalities on Country radio...both keep them company when they're feeling alone.
AOR P1's are like their CHR brethren in that they seek energy from radio. Unlike them, however, they want a more unpredictable, anti- authority, "rock the boat" approach. AOR P1's wear their radio station like a badge that expresses their own feelings of rebellion and desire for individuality.
A/C is tough to generalize, because it covers so much ground...
Soft A/C P1's have the fewest psychological motivations of any group. Radio is an "appliance" for these listeners, so product pitches ("most music," "biggest variety," etc.) continue to work best on them.
Hot A/C P1's, on the other hand, listen largely for escapism...radio helps them forget about their daily hassles and helps them "feel good." For that reason, they should not be challenged by a Hot A/C's music or personalities. Both should simply be fun...period.
Though they prefer different music, Oldies P1's seek similar benefits...they want radio to be up and fun. The misconception about Oldies fans is that they listen mainly for nostalgia...they don't! Their main motivation for loving oldies is simply that they love oldies, NOT that oldies bring back good old memories. (Therefore, any Oldies station that bases its advertising or programming on nostalgia should plan on a short run.)
Again, these are generalities. And what I've given you here is just the "tip of the iceberg" when it comes to listeners' psychographics.
Even so, most stations have not even gone this far in understanding the psychology and motivations of their target listeners...
WHY do they listen? Aside from programming elements, WHAT BENEFITS do they seek from your station? WHAT ROLE does your station play in their lives? How do they THINK and FEEL? What are their lives like? What do they WANT out of life, anyway?
If you know the answers, Congratulations! If not, now may be the time to look beyond the "nuts and bolts" of programming and advertising and move your station to the next level of listener understanding.