Moneyball: A Butterfly Flaps its Wings, And…
• We’re showing off programming and marketing micro-tactics from NuVoodoo Ratings Prospects Study 23 in a second season of Moneyball for Radio. You can find new videos every Thursday at nuvoodoo.com/webinars. We’re focusing on the radio version of “the butterfly effect,” the incremental things you can do that can add up to the additional tenth of a rating point that is the goal for stations in rated markets.
At NuVoodoo we’re preaching the tremendous value of building first-party data with listeners. The cost of contacting them drops to nearly zero and you open the door to potent remarketing capabilities. Plus, aggregated digital engagements also allow stations to model for other people who “look like” your listeners and reach them across every major platform and via programmatic media. It’s like being able to steal listener databases from your competition.
Contest entries are a great way to build listener databases. It’s a case where you’re starting a relationship — don’t expect too much on the first date. NuVoodoo’s best practice is to ask for email address or mobile number and a check box to attest that they’re of whatever is the minimum age to participate in the contest. Every additional piece of information you require reduces the number of listeners who feel comfortable giving up their information.
From the 3,208 14-54s nationwide in Ratings Prospects Study 23 we learned that while nearly half our sample haven’t shared their email address or mobile number to enter a contest, better than two-thirds of the subset of the sample most likely to participate in the ratings have shared an email address or mobile number (labeled “RPS Yes” in the chart below).
No contest budget available? What about getting listeners to subscribe to a station newsletter? While only 29% of our total sample seemed likely to give up personal information to get a newsletter, the number better than doubles to 60% among the “RPS Yes” group — those most likely to participate in the study that gives radio programming its report card.
Of course, not all formats are equal when it comes to subscribing to a newsletter. Among the ratings-likely format constituencies broken out in the chart above, few of the ratings-likely Hard Rock P1s (RPS: Hard Rock P1) said they’d give up their email address for a newsletter. Yet 87% of the ratings-likely Alternative P1s (RPS: Alt P1) said they’d comply, as would 79% of the ratings-likely Hip Hop P1s and 74% of the ratings-likely Classic Rock P1s. We aggregated the ratings-likely Classic Hits and Adult Hits P1s, labeled RPS: Cl+Ad Hits P1, and found 60% interested in newsletters.
Just after the first of the year we opted into databases for a dozen radio stations in a top ten market, always allowing them to send us email and/or sign us up for their newsletters. Last week we got the first email from any of the dozen stations — nearly three months later. The subject line was nicely personalized and was compelling, but how many opportunities had this station given up to make a connection over the past three months? What’s happening at the other eleven stations?
The first week of the book is ending as the last of the February monthlies are rolling out. If a bad surprise causes you to rethink your spring book readiness, the NuVoodoo research, marketing, and digital teams are at the ready. Efficiently targeted digital marketing campaigns can be spun up in just over a week. Many library music tests can be turned around in less than 4 weeks. A profitable station merch store can be added to your website quickly. An email to tellmemore@nuvoodoo.com will get you the help you need.
