Part 16: Research Basics

This month the MPRs of Programming  returns with a basic look at the first “R” on the list of MPR’s…Research. We’ll explore the basic types of research available to radio stations and look at the most efficient ways to use research wisely.

In review, the MPR’s of Programming are set up to help a radio station analyze it’s Music, Morning Show, Marketing, Management/Morale, Promotions, Production, Positioning, Personalities, Research, Ratings, and Revenue.

Most initial programming decisions should come from gut level instincts. Research is important because it offers a gauge of tangible listener opinions to confirm if your initial decisions are working with your audience. Research allows you to test your listeners to see what music they like or don’t like, as well as what they think of your radio station and the rest of the market.

There are two basic forms of radio research….music and perceptual. Current music is best tested by weekly callout and library music by auditorium or living room music tests. Perceptual research tests a station’s image and programming elements beyond the music. The two basic forms of perceptual research are focus groups and perceptual studies.

Despite a station’s best efforts, doing the right research and effectively implementing the results is an art form in itself. How effective are your station’s research efforts? Are you doing the right forms of research? Do you consistently work with the same research companies or do you seek out new opinions?

MUSIC  RESEARCH

Probably the most effective and widely used form of radio research involves the music. In year’s past, after a radio programmer and music director made the initial decisions about what music to add to their play list, their confirmation about the success of their music choices came in the form of listener requests and music sales.

The problem with this type of listener feedback is it only accounts for the small percentage of “active” radio station listeners. While this information is valuable, it doesn’t account for the large majority of radio listeners who will never call a radio station or purchase music. Therefore, the truly effective forms of music research are the ones where opinions of these “non-active” listeners are tabulated.

The two major forms of music research available to gauge opinions of these non-active listeners are callout and auditorium or library research. Here is a general overview of the setup and execution of these different types of music research:

Callout Research:

The basic purpose of callout research is to test a small universe of current (or library) music on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. The first step in the setup is to qualify listeners in advance over the phone either locally or via a national research company.

The Program Director usually decides on the target demo and competing radio station listeners that the research company needs to qualify. These parameters are the foundation for the research. Once the listeners are qualified, they’re called back to participate in the music test. Respondents shouldn’t be available to take a music test more than three or four times to insure fresh and honest responses.

A typical callout music test consists of the researchers playing ten second hooks of 30 to 35 songs over the phone to about 80 to 100 respondents. Listeners typically rate the familiarity, appeal, and burn of the songs by various criteria which includes whether they like it, it’s one of their favorites, they don’t like it, are tired of it, or are not familiar with the song.

It’s critically important that the proper song hooks are tested or the results may seriously effect the outcome of a particular song’s music scores.

It’s also important to wait till a song has had a sufficient amount of spins before you test it. A typically good starting point to test a song is around 120 spins, or roughly the equivalent of 20 spins a week for five weeks. This criteria will vary based on the amount of airplay a song may get from other competing radio stations in the market.

Once the results are in, it’s the job of the Program Director and Music Director to pour over the data and decide the proper rotations to play the music. This implementation process is the most critical factor in the music research process. It’s important to give music research it’s just due but also view it as the tool that it is.

A heavy reliance on purely implementing test results “by the numbers” without any accounting for gut level instincts is a mistake. Conversely, a continuous reliance on these gut decisions over the music research results can also negatively effect the music research process.

Auditorium or Living Room Research:

While callout research is typically used to test current music, Auditorium or Living Room music tests are usually used to test a large universe of library material all at once. While callout music tests are done weekly or bi-weekly, library tests are typically done at least once a year or more depending on a radio station’s market size and competitive situation.

Similar to callout, the Program Director sets up the target demo and competing radio stations that the research company needs to qualify listeners.

Once the respondents are qualified, they’re invited to participate in person at an auditorium (Auditorium) or sent a survey package (Living Room) of music hooks to listen to and rate similar to the callout criteria mentioned above.

A typical library music test consists of 400 to 600 song hooks played for a respondent base of 80 to 100 target listeners. The test usually takes a total of three hours to complete. Respondents are normally paid a respondent fee for their time, especially those that participate in the Auditorium Music tests.

Once the results of this comprehensive library music test are available, the Program Director and Music Director  need to implement the results. The implementation process for an Auditorium or Living Room Music test is much more time consuming because it involves a station’s entire music library. It typically can take up to a week to implement and massage the music categories and clocks.

PERCEPTUAL RESEARCH

While the proper implementation of music research is a critical factor in the success of a radio station, perceptual research is important because it test’s a station’s image and programming elements beyond the music. In many cases, the perceptual research findings may be the catalyst to changing or re-defining a station’s music position overall.

There are two kinds of perceptual research…..focus groups and perceptual studies. Each of these forms of perceptual research are set up to accomplish different things. Focus groups are a great way to delve into the minds of your station’s core listeners and core listeners of your competition.

Perceptual studies are a great way to get a general perspective of listener impressions of radio stations and personalities in a market overall as well as  investigate format holes in the market. Here is a general overview of the setup and execution of these different types of perceptual research:

Focus groups:

Focus groups are one of the oldest and best known forms of perceptual research. They are normally setup to “focus” on the perceptual elements of a service or product. In the case of a radio station, focus groups are a great way to take the temperature of your radio station’s image and programming elements directly from your core listener’s and those of your competition.

Similar to the music research criteria mentioned above, the Program Director decides on the target demo and  competing radio stations the research company needs to qualify listener’s for the focus group. Typically, ten respondents qualify and are paid a premium for their participation in a two hour focus group moderated by an impartial outside research person.

It’s critically important that the moderator ask as many open-ended questions without any knowledge or editorial comment about the market or radio station’s in question. This is an opportunity for the core listener’s to speak out about their favorite radio station and it’s competition. Some of the top of mind description’s I’ve heard listener’s use in focus groups to describe a radio station’s music and programming elements can become an invaluable source for the proper imaging and positioning of a radio station.

While most focus groups are video and audio taped, they’re also available for viewing in person by station management. I’ve always found it incredibly useful for programmers and GM’s to witness the focus groups in person to experience the listener’s knowledge and passion of your product. Their body language alone can tell you an awful lot about what they think of your radio station.

b)  Perceptual studies:

While focus groups are a great way to get inside the mind’s of your core listener’s, perceptual studies are very useful in gaining a broad stroke perspective of listener opinions about the image and programming elements of all of the station’s in a market.

The Program Director set’s up the listener qualification criteria for the research company as the foundation for the test. Armed with this information, a perceptual study usually consists of researchers conducting a 20 to 30 minute telephone survey with as many as 300 to 500 qualified listeners over several weeks.

The test results of a perceptual study are valuable in gaining perspective of the strength of the music, marketing, and personalities of all of the stations in a market, as well as searching out for any available format holes.

The number one rule of thumb in doing any kind of music or perceptual research is understanding that while the research in itself is a valuable tool, it’s only as good as the programming instincts and implementation process used by the radio station’s programming and research departments.

Next month, the “MPR’s” of Programming continues with another look at the first “R” on the list…Research….beyond the basics. We’ll delve into the nuances of doing effective research from programming and research experts.