Never More Than Two Ads In A Row, #1 In Australia! Winning Strategy in Australia The Promise Rewards

Never More Than Two Ads In A Row, #1 In Australia!

Twenty years ago - eight ads an hour were common on American music radio stations. Many CHRs broke for commercials up to four times an hour and played only two ads in a row. In an attempt to differentiate their stations, some programmers began clustering spots into fewer breaks to play longer music sweeps, like 10-In-A- Row. While that was a good strategy for the 80's, the problem American radio and many other countries face today is commercial loads have increased 50% or more over the past decade. Today the typical hourly spot load on an American music station is between 12 and 16 minutes an hour. Yet most programmers continue to break only twice an hour for commercials. Do we truly believe that seven or eight minute commercial breaks are good for advertisers or listeners? Is it any wonder that Time Spent Listening continues to decline as advertising clutter increases? In Australia, DMG Radio challenged the establishment when it launched NOVA 96.9 in Sydney two and a half years ago. In today's MUST READ email, DMG Group Programmer, Dean Buchanan, shares with us the brilliance, simplicity and success of NOVA's "Never more than two ads in a row!" strategy Down Under.

Winning Strategy in Australia

How did you develop the "Never more than 2 Ads in a row" strategy? Was it created as a result of market research? Did you see it as an offensive attack against the heritage CHR? We asked listeners what they loved, and didn't like about commercial radio. One of the overwhelming pieces of feedback we got from listeners was that "commercial radio plays too many commercials". The trouble was, all traditional radio stations play high spot loads... that's what commercial radio does....Especially in Sydney! We have watched the decline of at-home" and at-work listening in the USA, and the loss of listening especially among the 18- 24 demo. "Too many commercials" has been a theme in the US for some time. The feedback from listeners was so loud and such a road block to listening that we decided to attempt to do something about it.

The Promise

What's the maximum number of breaks/commercial units you will play in an hour? Five breaks an hour, never more than two ads in a row. Nova plays less than half the inventory than any other stations, and only ever two ads in a row. Most spots are 30 seconds long (some 10, 15 or 20) which means most breaks are 60 seconds in duration or less. At times we play the odd 45 second ad, but that's rare. How does this compare to your competitors? Most stations play up to eleven spots in a break, two breaks an hour. Some stations are playing three breaks an hour up to ten spots in a break. What are the pros and cons of this strategy? Listeners love it. Educating clients has been hard work. What would happen if you broke your promise to the audience? The station would fail - overnight we reckon. What has been the reaction from advertisers? Can you command a premium for your spots? We have been able to demonstrate that not only is this strategy a huge benefit for listeners, but an effective new weapon for advertisers. In simple terms, listeners recall more advertising in the low clutter "Nova environment" compared to the traditional "high clutter" environment. That is - the ads get heard and work - "effectiveness and impact" is a new advertising currency and language in Australia. The quality of the Nova environment, its uniqueness (we're the only ones in the world doing this) and its effectiveness, means that we are able to charge a premium for advertising... and that's how it works. At this year's NAB in Philly, Rush Limbaugh asked, "Why can't radio stations play less ads and charge more?" Listeners agree - so do we! Mind you - we are not governed by Wall Street - just by our listeners and clients. What should potential copy cats know about executing this strategy? To this point, the only copy cat has also been a start-up, new station. We not have seen any incumbent stations attempt this strategy.

Rewards

What are the rewards? Ratings and Revenue success - raving fans (listeners, clients, people you work with on the station, and of course the share holders!) Are big breakfast shows and marketing budgets also required? Of course! So too is great music, fresh and ground breaking promotions, and non-traditional on-air positioning. I could tell you how we put the jigsaw together, but we'd have to kill you! In all seriousness it's an easy formula; Ask listeners what they want and give it to them! Have the courage to be DIFFERENT. (Nova's positioning is "Sounds Different") Suffice to say, the sum is greater than the individual parts, and "never more than two ads in a row." What should competitors do to defend against such an attack? We concentrate on people - people who listen to us, our clients and the people we work with. It has NEVER been about our competitors. If the consequence of this approach is that they fall by the wayside, so be it, but that has never been our objective. We attacked the opportunity, not our competitors. How long did it take Nova 96.9 in Sydney to hit #1? How is the strategy working in Melbourne and Perth? 2 and a half years in Sydney. Melbourne's Nova 100 is number 1 under 40 after 23 months and Nova 937 in Perth is the leading station under 35 after 11 months. Reach Dean Buchanan at dbuchanan@dmgradio.com.au Visit DMG Radio Listen to NOVA 96.9 in Sydney online! »