Re: this week in review

[dan.strassberg@att.net]

That mindset is so typical of radio execs, but to me it 
seems patently absurd. Just because a format has failed 
in a market, you cannot assume that a similar format 
will also fail in that market--especially if it's on a 
different signal.

A format might have failed because of poor execution, 
lack of promotion, or because it was on a signal whose 
coverage didn't match the target demo(s). I think 
Greater Media has a prime example of the last of these 
three reasons in its own Boston cluster--and Don knows 
it.

Even though country had been on signals (96.9, 105.7) 
that nominally covered the market better, it is doing 
better on 99.5, which provides better coverage of areas 
to the north of Boston, albeit not of downtown Boston. 
The target audience seems to be most heavily 
concentrated in areas north of Boston--especially in 
southern NH.

Then there is the tendency of programmers and ad 
agencies to periodically "discover" certain demos. Why 
are young white males suddenly a "hot" demo? It's not as 
if they weren't around two years ago. Presumably, in 
their rush to focus on this group, the programmers are 
forsaking women in the same age group. Don't AAA and 
modern country target women? Why couldn't a format that 
leaned heavily on a mix of modern country, AAA, and soft 
AC do well with women? And if it did, would it matter? 
Seemingly the ad agencies, in their rush to capture the 
young white males, are in the throes of writing off the 
female audience. I think the decision makers are like 
lemmings, lining up to march off the same cliff and 
drown in an ocean of conformity.
--
dan.strassberg@att.net
617-558-4205
eFax 707-215-6367
 
> Any format that is not represented in a major market is 
> missing for a reason: 
>  it has been there and failed, or it shows little or no 
> audience potential.  
> Those are the facts.   
>  
>