It will not be out of place to say that; what pen is to a journalist is what audience data is to a broadcast marketer. If this assertion is rightly so, it will be pretty difficult for a broadcast marketing executive to excel or succeed without having access to audience information. How do we get audience data? Of course, there is no other approach than research.
There are two main types of research-qualitative and quantitative. Qualitative research involves the collection of information that explores the means and motives of the consumer. According to Ed Shane, author of Selling Electronic Media, “it measures the quality of the information rather than the number of people who feel or act a certain way”. The numbers side of research is qualitative. It measures quantity and is usually expressed in a ranking or rating order.
I tend to agree with Ed Shane who orates that qualitative data is more valuable than the quantitative because achieving the number one position in a market is not as important as knowing why the number one station became number one. Moreover, because of the proliferation of media offerings in the country, the audience whose attention is being sought is becoming increasingly fragmented; hence, the need to play down on numbers and probe deeper into specific demographic and psychographic factors that will help broadcasters and advertisers determine who is listening or viewing rather than just how many. James Fletcher in his Handbook of Radio and Television Broadcasting wrote: “….your client will demand more than ratings”.
Ed Shane corroborated this by asserting that “Being number one means nothing to the client if the audience that makes you number one does not buy the product your client sells”.
It should be clear though that achieving the number one position in a market, or attracting a mass market audience cannot be overlooked. This is why research agencies especially in the US, Canada, Europe and South Africa provide means for rating programmes and stations. Rating is the estimated percentage of the population that is listening to, or viewing an advertisement or a programme..
Two methods of rating have been in use for over two decades. The Nielsen Media Research Company in the United States provides television rating report by gathering information everyday from specified number of households, using an electronic Portable People Meter {PPM}. The PPM is a device installed on television sets of selected households, which instantaneously measures the viewing pattern of members of the households. It records who views, when, how and what programme is viewed.
The device is not however in use for collecting radio listening data. Arbitron Inc, a media and marketing research firm based in New York, USA, provides the radio equivalent of what Nielsen does for television. Rather than using the PPM, Arbitron utilizes the diary methodology to collect radio listening information. They send one diary to each member of selected households who are from 12 years of age. Respondents are expected to record in the diary among other things: station name, programme name, time of listening, where they listened; at home, in the car, at work or elsewhere.
In the US, Network stations develop qualitative audience research to arm their salespeople with data on the value of the audience to individual programmes. According to Ed Shane, some Radio and TV stations in local markets either conduct their own qualitative studies or subscribe to services like “Media Audit, Scarborough and Simmons to prove to clients that they have value beyond the ratings numbers.”
Qualitative research gives insight into the sociographic characteristics relating to income levels and social status; demographics, referring to age and gender; and psychographics, a measure of attitudes and lifestyle traits. If FRCN’s Network News audience consist of upper and medium income professionals, or high net-worth individuals as claimed in one of the station’s promos; it will not be proper for the producer or seller of cheap China laptops to advertise in the News because his message will be received by the wrong audience. This again underscores the significance of qualitative data as tool for selling electronic media.
The culture of gathering listening and viewing data with the use of Portable People Meter and the Diary is alien to Nigeria, at least for now. Presently, Radio and TV stations in the country rather subscribe to services like Media Planning Services, Research International, Research and Marketing Services, Zus Bureau et cetera. On quarterly basis, they provide application software which subscribers use in analyzing media audience and marketing information data. FRCN is a subscriber to the services of Media Planning Services.
The bottom line of this discourse is to stress the inevitability of audience research data in modern broadcast marketing endeavors, and also encourage stations that are skeptical about the quality of research in the country to shake off their doubts and integrate quickly into the advertising industry ethos by investing on subscription for media research data. I was once a cynic, but was awaken from my professional slumber by a long term friend, Tolu Ogunkoya; a media independent and CEO of Media Reach. He was a resource person at an APCON organized workshop I attended some years back. His words: “old boy the industry today believes so much in this stuff, you have no choice but to key in………..or you get kicked out”
I will like to conclude by quoting Steve Morris, Chairman, President and CEO of Arbitron Inc to reiterate the import of audience data as an essential tool for broadcast marketers. He inspired thus: “Our radio customers have been saying that, in order to develop targeted capability of selling our product, they {media} need to isolate not just the numbers and demographics, but to provide a more precise audience profile that they {media} can use as real sales tool”
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
SUCCESS FACTOR IN EFFECTIVE MEDIA PLANNING: REACH OR FREQUENCY
Media Planning is the process of identifying the media through which a perceived sponsor’s advert could be exposed to a target audience, with the ultimate aim of eliciting patronage or buying action.
It is important to note that targeting is the only effective way to approach today’s fragmented audiences. This underscores the imperative of understanding the concepts of reach and frequency as tools for planning media campaigns, especially on radio.
Reach is the total number of people who are exposed to a station, while frequency is the measure of how many times an average listener to a station is exposed to the message. I am a proponent of frequency as an important factor in advertising effectively, because I believe that reach could be deceptive. For example, if Kapital FM has a reach of one million people, and an advert is broadcast on the station once in a week with the assumption that all of them heard it once, that single spot is not enough for them to assimilate, understand or even recall the message when the need arises.
The advertising world has long believed in frequency of three theory : that three exposures to a message achieved better result. Steve Mark and Pierre Bouvard, revered broadcast marketing professionals in the United States; describe frequency as the basis of effective advert scheduling. Based on empirical evidence, the two scholars arrived at 3.29 as a constant to their Optimum Effective Scheduling {OES} formula. According to them, the target audience of a station must listen to a message 3.29 times in a week to recall the advert at the point of purchase. The OES achieved for 7am Network News in the last quarter of 2007 is shown thus:
OES = Audience Turnover {T/O} x 3.29
T/O = Cumulative Audience ÷ Average Quarterly Hour
= 13, 295, 357.00 ÷ 10, 962, 247.00 = 2
OES Number = 2 x 3.29 = 7
What this means is that seven spots of a particular commercial were needed to be exposed in a week to effectively reach those who listened to the 7am News and create a success story for the advertiser. It is therefore important for broadcast marketing professionals to have the OES of their stations on the tip of their fingers, to be in a good stead to advice clients and help them realize good returns on their ad spend. Comments please!
It is important to note that targeting is the only effective way to approach today’s fragmented audiences. This underscores the imperative of understanding the concepts of reach and frequency as tools for planning media campaigns, especially on radio.
Reach is the total number of people who are exposed to a station, while frequency is the measure of how many times an average listener to a station is exposed to the message. I am a proponent of frequency as an important factor in advertising effectively, because I believe that reach could be deceptive. For example, if Kapital FM has a reach of one million people, and an advert is broadcast on the station once in a week with the assumption that all of them heard it once, that single spot is not enough for them to assimilate, understand or even recall the message when the need arises.
The advertising world has long believed in frequency of three theory : that three exposures to a message achieved better result. Steve Mark and Pierre Bouvard, revered broadcast marketing professionals in the United States; describe frequency as the basis of effective advert scheduling. Based on empirical evidence, the two scholars arrived at 3.29 as a constant to their Optimum Effective Scheduling {OES} formula. According to them, the target audience of a station must listen to a message 3.29 times in a week to recall the advert at the point of purchase. The OES achieved for 7am Network News in the last quarter of 2007 is shown thus:
OES = Audience Turnover {T/O} x 3.29
T/O = Cumulative Audience ÷ Average Quarterly Hour
= 13, 295, 357.00 ÷ 10, 962, 247.00 = 2
OES Number = 2 x 3.29 = 7
What this means is that seven spots of a particular commercial were needed to be exposed in a week to effectively reach those who listened to the 7am News and create a success story for the advertiser. It is therefore important for broadcast marketing professionals to have the OES of their stations on the tip of their fingers, to be in a good stead to advice clients and help them realize good returns on their ad spend. Comments please!
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
HOW GOVT'S FM STATIONS CAN SURVIVE COMPETITION:THE CASE OF FED. RADIO CORPORATION OF NIGERIA
The Federal Radio Coporation of Nigeria {FRCN} has at least 21 FM stations that are up and running across the country. It is envisaged that more functional stations will be added to the stable of the corporation to add up to 32 as conceived by the originators of the project.
The essence of this write up is to assess how our FM stations have fared, and generate reactions that can help to position them to deal with future challenges. This is not a solution clinic, but an interactive contribution that seeks to find solutions to whatever perceived difficulties the stations may be going through.
At this point, it is important to ask this question: are the FM stations doing well? From the hindsight of research data available to stakeholders in the advertising industry, our FM stations are not just living up to expectation. Media Planning Services report for January/February, 2008 indicates that FRCN FM stations are just average in terms of regional ratings. Even more worrisome is the fact that none of them came tops during the period. This may explain why they are not attractive to high net worth ad spenders.
It is not in the purview of this piece to delve into the objectives of setting up the stations, even if understanding the objectives might provide clues to their dismal performance. However, the following factors might offer some illuminating insights:
i. Do any of the stations have clearly defined station format/target audience? A station’s format represents the type of programme combination it seeks to broadcast. Examples are Talk, News, Talk/Documentary, Music/Sports, Music/News et cetera. Target audience on the other hand is usually expressed in age groups e.g. 1-15, 16-24, and 24-40. The station format determines the audience, while the target audience defines the stations programme format. They are what I will call a Siamese pair. It is necessary to define the station format/target audience for better market positioning. A private station in Abuja is well known for playing latest contemporary music. This is reflected in its famous slogan, “more music less talk”. By this it has unequivocally defined its target audience and differentiated itself from the other offerings in Abuja. Kapital FM’s “station that rocks the nation” byline does not sell any distinct message to prospective audience. So, it might be that our FM stations are not given to niches. They are still broadcasting to everybody in an era where narrowcasting is the norm that guarantees better profit taking.
ii. Does the staff deployed to the FM stations have the core competency required to propel their stations to stardom? Well, this is arguable. For me, as staff {this includes the General Managers} with civil service orientation, they may not possess the zeal, drive and enthusiasm that their counterparts in the private stations have. To them, it might be business as usual. I sincerely believe that there is need for a reorientation of our business values.
iii. Is the workforce being trained and retrained to keep them abreast of innovations in their fields? Probably not so. Those who work in the FM stations need to be trained and retrained so that they will not be thrown out of reckoning like dry leaves falling off a boisterous tree.
iv. Are the stations responsive to technological innovations that will improve their effectiveness and put them in good stead to compete favorably with other stations? This may not be, going by industry performance results. New technologies will definitely give the stations the cutting edge over their competitors. They need to think new perspectives.
v. Do the General Managers see themselves as the Chief Marketing Officers of their stations? Of course, they are the CMOs of their stations. A good GM, just like a good Sales Manager must be flexible to adapt to the needs and challenges of his/her organization. Our GMs should be outgoing and should imbibe the marketing concept which surmises that client satisfaction is the magic wand that can raise the profit bar.
vi. Has management given the GMs a free hand to play out their talents? Executive fiat which compels the FM stations to hook on to network programmes that are at odds with their character can hamper the competitive capabilities of the stations. The GMs would need some level of space to be able to realize the full potential of their stations.
The foregoing is a cocktail of questions and probable answers which should give lots of energy to our resolve to hoist our FM stations to enviable heights.
FRCN as a corporate entity must think new perspectives in the ever changing, and increasingly complex and competitive global village. Interested readers should please make comments or send email suggesting other possible strategies my station can use to upturn competition. Thank you.
The essence of this write up is to assess how our FM stations have fared, and generate reactions that can help to position them to deal with future challenges. This is not a solution clinic, but an interactive contribution that seeks to find solutions to whatever perceived difficulties the stations may be going through.
At this point, it is important to ask this question: are the FM stations doing well? From the hindsight of research data available to stakeholders in the advertising industry, our FM stations are not just living up to expectation. Media Planning Services report for January/February, 2008 indicates that FRCN FM stations are just average in terms of regional ratings. Even more worrisome is the fact that none of them came tops during the period. This may explain why they are not attractive to high net worth ad spenders.
It is not in the purview of this piece to delve into the objectives of setting up the stations, even if understanding the objectives might provide clues to their dismal performance. However, the following factors might offer some illuminating insights:
i. Do any of the stations have clearly defined station format/target audience? A station’s format represents the type of programme combination it seeks to broadcast. Examples are Talk, News, Talk/Documentary, Music/Sports, Music/News et cetera. Target audience on the other hand is usually expressed in age groups e.g. 1-15, 16-24, and 24-40. The station format determines the audience, while the target audience defines the stations programme format. They are what I will call a Siamese pair. It is necessary to define the station format/target audience for better market positioning. A private station in Abuja is well known for playing latest contemporary music. This is reflected in its famous slogan, “more music less talk”. By this it has unequivocally defined its target audience and differentiated itself from the other offerings in Abuja. Kapital FM’s “station that rocks the nation” byline does not sell any distinct message to prospective audience. So, it might be that our FM stations are not given to niches. They are still broadcasting to everybody in an era where narrowcasting is the norm that guarantees better profit taking.
ii. Does the staff deployed to the FM stations have the core competency required to propel their stations to stardom? Well, this is arguable. For me, as staff {this includes the General Managers} with civil service orientation, they may not possess the zeal, drive and enthusiasm that their counterparts in the private stations have. To them, it might be business as usual. I sincerely believe that there is need for a reorientation of our business values.
iii. Is the workforce being trained and retrained to keep them abreast of innovations in their fields? Probably not so. Those who work in the FM stations need to be trained and retrained so that they will not be thrown out of reckoning like dry leaves falling off a boisterous tree.
iv. Are the stations responsive to technological innovations that will improve their effectiveness and put them in good stead to compete favorably with other stations? This may not be, going by industry performance results. New technologies will definitely give the stations the cutting edge over their competitors. They need to think new perspectives.
v. Do the General Managers see themselves as the Chief Marketing Officers of their stations? Of course, they are the CMOs of their stations. A good GM, just like a good Sales Manager must be flexible to adapt to the needs and challenges of his/her organization. Our GMs should be outgoing and should imbibe the marketing concept which surmises that client satisfaction is the magic wand that can raise the profit bar.
vi. Has management given the GMs a free hand to play out their talents? Executive fiat which compels the FM stations to hook on to network programmes that are at odds with their character can hamper the competitive capabilities of the stations. The GMs would need some level of space to be able to realize the full potential of their stations.
The foregoing is a cocktail of questions and probable answers which should give lots of energy to our resolve to hoist our FM stations to enviable heights.
FRCN as a corporate entity must think new perspectives in the ever changing, and increasingly complex and competitive global village. Interested readers should please make comments or send email suggesting other possible strategies my station can use to upturn competition. Thank you.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Postcard
Below
is Radio House in Abuja
Above is the Network Studio of Radio Nigeria
on the 12th floor of Radio House. How prepared
for Digitization?
Just below is the Network Newsroom.
Is it modern enough to face the challenges
of prompt and express delivery of latest
news in the information superhighway?
is Radio House in Abuja
Above is the Network Studio of Radio Nigeria
on the 12th floor of Radio House. How prepared
for Digitization?
Just below is the Network Newsroom.
Is it modern enough to face the challenges
of prompt and express delivery of latest
news in the information superhighway?
Sunday, May 4, 2008
Audience Research Data-The Nigerian Experience
I am an employee of government's federal radio in Nigeria. I have been exposed to several seminal discourse on the role of audience data in media planning and buying. At the beginning, I was sceptical and suspicious of research data being churned out by research agencies about the media in Nigeria. This perception melted away when I met a long term friend and one of the resource persons at an APCON organised workshop in person of Tolu Ogunkoya, a media independent and chief executive officer of Media Reach. In his words " old boy the industry today believes so much in this stuff, you have no choice but to key in............or you get kicked out" It was a day of reckoning for me when the realities of the situation began to take a logical form in my mind. Awaken from my inadvertent professional slumber, I started preaching the gospel of media research and the need for my station to subscribe to the services of one of the credible media research agencies in the country. Today, after much ado about the issue, my station is now in a collaboration with Media Planning Services, a research agency based in Lagos. The question I want to ask is: are media research data being properly harnessed by media {especially electronic} organisations? If I may answer the question, my answer will be NO, relying on my interaction with some of my colleagues both within and outside my station. I need comments and suggestions to this topic. But meanwhile, reaseach has gone to an unprcedented level in countries like the United States of America. For further insight you can log on to www.arbitron.com Thanks for staying on till now.
Friday, May 2, 2008
Challenges of Multi Broadcast Network in Nigeria
The Federal Government of Nigeria has thrown up a challenge bout in the broadcast industry in Nigeria. Thanks to the Networking licence issued to Daar Communications Plc, owners of Ray Power FM radio station, and AIT, the television arm of the conglomerate. If we cast our minds back to early 90s when broadcasting was deregulated in Nigeria, and make a cursory assessment of developments since then; one can say that the audience have had a wide range of choice over the period. The scenerio will become even more interesting with the advent of Daar Communications into the Netwoking arena. You may wish to take a drive into the website of Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria on www.radionigeria.net and Daar Communications Plc on www.daargroup.com to keep abreast of the competitive outlook of Nigeria's broadcast battleground in the next few years.
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