The S.T.P. Strategy

• Story by Radio-Info.com: http://www.radio-info.com/about/guest-writers/kirk-tanter
• Article written by Kirk Tanter: http://www.radio-info.com/programming/newstalksports/the-st-p-strategy 

The News and Talk radio formats have proven to be highly successful formats with decades of evolution to its present form. Aside from National Public Radio and Voice of America being on the FM Public bandwidth between 88FM and 92FM, the commercial News and Talk formats have traditionally lived on the AM band. That’s all changed now.

The recent audience research change from paper to the digital Portable People Meter (PPM) by Arbitron has benefited the News and Talk formats with subsequent No. 1 rankings in major markets like Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, and Philadelphia. Because of the recent ratings success, broadcast owners such as Inner City with WXBT (100.1) in Columbia, S.C. and my employer, Radio One with KROI (92.1) in Houston Texas, have made the switch from music to the News/Talk format on FM, and they are not the first.

Aside from ratings, there are two other benefits the News/Talk format provides:
1.The News/Talk format has more commercial inventory per hour than music stations

2.News/Talk’s higher rating translates into higher rate cards

While an adult 25-54 music format may not be a direct competitor of News/Talk radio, its audience attracts the same age group, with many adults already listening to News-Talk as a secondary format choice.

Entering in the competitive world of FM radio, the content-minded News/Talk programmers must not sit on its up-trending ratings. The News/Talk programmer must now seriously think of promotions and marketing, as FM radio wars have usurped millions of promotional dollars to maintain rankings in the fierce FM radio wars, especially in major markets. Face-to-face marketing, as well as advertising on various media and billboard outlets, have been costly. And with a new competitor in each market, it will continue to be, if not greater. In order for the News/Talk Managers to combat the established FM music stations, it is imperative to add an S.T.P. strategy to its promotional engine.

S.T.P. or “See the People,” is a sales formula that rests on the concept of seeing ten people to get one person to buy your product. Multiply it and that will add to your bottom line.

To date, the News/Talk format has not been in the same promotional arena as the highly promoted FM music formats. But now, they will need to be—including AM News/Talk.

News and Talk formats are now enjoying higher rate cards and may be tempted to use the additional money to buy TV ads, Busboards, or the like. This can be expensive and does not guarantee ratings or cume results. S.T.P. in person works in a News/Talk format both on-the-air as well as with grassroots outreach in the community, simultaneously. Remote broadcasts are tailor-made for News/Talk formats and should be taken advantage of, especially in the coming 2012 election year.

Broadcast remotes for the coming primaries; local and national political debates; organizations having conventions; Occupy Wall Street locales; on the scene big news stories; voter registration drives; and so on … can separate News/Talk formats from music stations. News/Talk talent can be viewed as caring members of the community, more-so than a DJ will ever be.

A News/Talk station can either camp out all day with the live broadcast or rally around one air shift. The pre-promotion is on-air for days or weeks to get folks out to a location, and on-air only listeners hear the highly promoted program live without “music” interruptions.

The principal organizers of the event and their high profile guests can provide uplifting and insightful information that radio listener s anticipate throughout the program; Talent is viewed in action with photo opportunities with adoring fans and named guests. And more times than not, the promoted S.T.P. remote broadcast results in a ratings bump.

An S.T.P. event is also something that a music station cannot often do because of their over-emphasis on the music format- especially in a PPM world. Without grassroots S.T.P. promotional broadcast competition from music stations, News/Talk stations can take advantage of becoming the brand in the market known to be out in the community, and thus add tremendously to both the database and its ratings success.