Radio Direct Response: Direct Response Radio Advertising Agency | Blog Zone

Radio’s “prime time” ends as 9-to-5 commuters arrive home and join their families for dinner. Then, the evening’s entertainment medium of choice shifts to television. This creates lower demand for nighttime advertising. In turn, this results in better marketing value (lower CPMs and, in some cases, higher ROI) from commercials aired after dark.

Running opposite to the lower general use of radio from 7 PM – Midnight, listenership under 25 spikes higher. This is attributable to the fact that students, busy with schoolwork during the daytime hours, are now available to listen to their music after dark.

Younger-skewing formats such as Urban Contemporary and CHR (Contemporary Hit Radio) often lead their market competitors in audience share from Monday-Friday from 7PM-Midnght.

For direct response advertisers, these higher listening levels among younger consumers do not necessarily translate to greater opportunity. Persons aged 6 to 24 are not those most likely to have a credit card – or the credit – needed to make a DR purchase.

During baseball season, flagship MLB radio stations (like WPHT/Philadelphia) can see their audience size quadruple with play-by-play coverage of their hometown teams. Naturally, advertising rates increase proportionately, usually with a premium added on top to offset licensing fees.

Here are a few stations that shine after dark:

With their legendary market leading status, WTOP, D.C.’s dominant News station, leads the field with a 16.2 share (besting WASH’s 15.5).

In Boston, Top 40 KISS 108/WXKS-FM rules the nighttime airwaves with a 21.2 share. KISS’ closest competitor and sister-station WJMN-FM (JAM’n 94.5) along with WODS-FM are tied for 2nd each with a 12 share.

In the Lexington-Fayette market, Country is king. WBUL, one of three country outlets, holds the top spot with an 18.8 share. The next closet competitor is Top 40 WLKT with a 15 share.

In Little Rock, Urban KIPR owns the streets after dark with a 14.4 share. The next closest competitor is Top 40 station KLAL with a 12.3 share.

In San Antonio, perennial Top 40 giant KXXM sweeps up with their monster 22.7 share. Their next closest competitor is country outlet KCYY with a 17.2 share.

Danny Ocean, Vice President/Director of Operations

Much like Morning Drive, a great deal of PM Drive listening occurs in the work place and during the listener’s commute to/from work. Energy levels, on-air, are up. Information about the day has come into focus, so current events, along with traffic updates, are part of the programming mix.

Personalities play a more foreground role than during Middays, often interacting with news, traffic and weather reporters. PM Drive is radio’s final third of its “prime time dayparts,” so audience levels are large, with the exception of the final 6PM-7PM hour, when commuters arrive home and begin family time or switch to TV as their medium of choice.

PM Drive is an excellent choice for marketers that wish to make an impact as the workday commuter returns to their non-work lifestyle. Is there a food or beverage item they need to pick up at the store? A retail sale that might lure them in for a nighttime purchase? A home project in need of supplies?

Some of America’s top-rated PM Drive radio personalities include:

• Gary Nolan on KOSI-FM, Denver. As Program Director and PM Drive Host of this Adult Contemporary station, Gary scores a 20.1 share of the Denver audience, far ahead of the #2 station in town.
• Mike O’Brien on KCMO, Kansas City. Mike’s a 25-year veteran of the KC market, where his 17.8 audience share keeps him atop the market on this Oldies station.
• Eddie Fingers & Tracy Jones on WLW, Cincinnati. Former major league baseball player Tracy Jones pairs with Queen City talker Eddie Fingers for an 18.4 audience share on this powerhouse AM talk station.
• Marc Sherman on KODA, Houston. Sunny 99.1 FM in Houston is one of America’s heritage Adult Contemporary stations. Marc Sherman has been a fixture on KODA since 1991, where his PM Drive show currently captures a 23.2 market share.

Danny Ocean, Vice President/Director of Operations

Middays are part of radio’s prime time, falling between Morning and Afternoon Drive time, typically defined as Monday-Friday from 10 AM – 3 PM. “At work” listening comprises a majority of the listener base, with others tuned in from their cars or other locations where radio keeps them company during the day.

The Midday shift attracts primarily adult listeners, as most school-age children are in school, be it K-12 or college. (During the summer months, the midday listener base widens to include usage by students on summer break.)

Music stations focus on the music with little (if any) of the foreground features that may air on these stations during drive times. The most common exception is the Noon hour, where stations may program a special block of music (e.g. the “All Request” Lunch Hour), to put a little fancy packaging on essentially the same music mix.

Foreground stations, especially Talk and Sports, fare well in the Midday hours. Many break the daypart down into two programming segments to keep a single host from having to host a five-hour shift. Well-known personalities like Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura and Glenn Beck capture and hold their audiences for long stretches of listening during their three-hour shows.

Here are a few “Monsters of the Midday.”

Atlanta News/Talk station WSB-AM dominates the midday hours with the 8:30AM-1PM program hosted by Neal Boortz. Neal’s show just finished first for the 47th consecutive ratings period.

In Charlotte, Urban AC formatted WBAV-FM reels in the ratings with Chirl Girl, delivering the latest in celebrity interviews and entertainment news, live and direct from the Queen City.

Adult Contemporary station WLTW-FM (Lite-FM) in New York’s captures huge midday ratings with the right mix of music for the workplace.

With the advent of Arbitron’s PPM ratings system, statistics now show that Midday is radio’s #1 daypart for reaching the largest segment of radio listeners, surpassing Morning and Afternoon Drive. Yet, old buying habits and the high-profile perception of drive time, keeps drive time rates higher than Midday, making this oft-overlooked daypart one of radio’s strongest for direct response advertisers and deserving of a fresh test for your next campaign.

Danny Ocean, Vice President/Director of Operations

Radio is a lot like New York City…it never sleeps. Nearly every station is on 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Whenever you turn it on…it’s there. Radio delivers a service to people whether they are listening at home (either over the air or via the Internet), in their cars or at the office. However, what comes out of the speakers is often very different depending on the time of day. There are five primary day parts that comprise a daily station’s schedule. The shifts are Morning Drive usually 6-10AM, Middays 10AM-3PM, Afternoon Drive 3PM-7PM, Evenings 7pm - Midnight and Overnights usually Midnight to 6AM. Variations on these shifts exist and often used to separate stations from their competition or to accommodate nationally syndicated programming. This is the first in a series of postings on radio dayparts.

MORNINGS
Morning Drive is the most coveted day part in radio. For many stations, it has the most listeners tuning in at any one time. It often features programming designed to deliver lots of information in a short period of time. Music stations usually combine features like news, traffic and weather with what are called benchmark features, contesting and pop culture oriented content that is well known and very relatable. Some stations often have programs that recycle and repeat information as listeners are coming and going to the program every 15-20 minutes throughout the show. Morning drive is usually the most- sought after and most expensive day part for advertisers. Since their goal is to reach as many listeners as possible, mornings delivers on that promise daily. Morning drive listeners can include a combination of adults and their children as people prepare for their day. Parents are getting their kids ready for school and or preparing to go to work at their job. Listening in the car is the most popular time that people listen to Morning Drive radio during their commutes to work. The average person drives between 20 and 45 minutes every day to and from their morning destination. Since mornings are the most expensive day part the way to reach the most listeners is to air spots in the highest frequency possible. Other day parts can afford to have spots spread out across the shift but do to the turnover in AM drive, the more spots air, the better chance the client’s message will be heard.

Typically, “All News” or “News/Talk” stations perform especially well in Morning Drive, as listeners tap into to their favorite information station to get the news, weather, sports and traffic information they need to prepare for their day.

Danny Ocean, Vice President/Director of Operations