Some years are better remembered than others and often it is because of personal or national events we can easily recall particular vintages of our lives.
Like the year we graduated, moved to a new city, got married, or became parents. Maybe the year the national football team won a big tournament or a certain news story about an event filled the headlines.
In 2020 the World united around a mutual challenge and the shared memory of a pandemic year, a year of troubles and rapid shifts. Of insecurity and even fear. A year none of us will ever forget.
Punch-Drunk Radio
This was no different for the radio industry, maybe even more so for men, women, and people of the airwaves.
Already preoccupied in a multi front battle with other products, shifting consumer habits and structural changes in advertising, the pandemic disruption was like a severe slap in the face for a business already partly groggy from taking a number of hard blows to the face in recent times.
Some took cover in the basement, shutting down almost completely in the hope they could wait out the storm and that there would be something left to try and rebuild once things returned to normal.
Others rose to the challenge and confronted it head-on. They stood up to it, put a steady hand on the shoulder of their listeners and regained the position of being the one media platform you can always trust to be there for you – rain or shine.
Do something, and do it now
I am happy to say that from the hundreds of conversations I have had in the past 10 months with clients and other friends in the industry, listeners rewarded the ones who didn’t shy away. The ones that didn’t stop being relevant but instead decided to become even more a pillar of everyday support; just when it was needed the most. On the other end of the sprectrum, listeners left the basement dwellers in large flocks, leaving them with an even bigger task when they start rebuilding later this year.
I’ve always lovingly referred to radio as “the cockroach of media”. Something very hard to kill and so light footed and fast that it could quickly adapt to new living conditions.
This is when we needed to prove that – and most radio stations did. They still live to fight another day, play another record, and befriend new listeners.
Still standing Tall
The reward from the listeners, unfortunately, was not paid out in cash. It paid out in higher loyalty, more listening minutes, and a tighter, more unbreakable bond. Meanwhile the advertisers were busy saving themselves – which leaves the brave radio stations with a mountain to climb in 2021 and neighboring years.
And they will. I don’t say that because I believe in Karma, I say that because a machine like modern-day society is not built to slow down – it is built to accelerate. Now that it has been at an almost complete halt for an extended period if time, the explosion in speed we are heading into will be almost unfathomable.
Nevertheless this means that tough times are still ahead, regardless of whether you hid in the basement or raised the ceiling in these times of trouble. Finances are not going to clear up at the snap of a finger, so now is the time to be smart, make the money last, and help each other first.
Here at RadioAnalyzer we have always said we love radio and are almost philanthropic in our way of looking at business.
Now we have the chance to prove it. And we will.
RadioAnalyzer 2021 promises
Therefore, here are our promises from RadioAnalyzer 2021 to radio:
- We will lend a big hand to all our current clients with another round of free reports. Moreover, these will contain individualized advice on how to program their radio in order to improve. We did that in 2020 too.
- RadioAnalyzer will help new clients. Even the ones short on cash – join the successful family of radio stations who are using our methods. We will do so with large pandemic discounts and special “join now, pay later” models. We already did it in 2020. The models are so client friendly that we basically only cover our costs right now in exchange for a long standing relationship with new family members.
Without you there is no us. Furthermore, without us you will keep spending too much money on Lonestar consultants, 1980’s data collection, and analytics styles more than 50 years old. Money you do not have. The alternative: make decisions blindfolded with no data to navigate by. However. you can’t really afford to do that either.
Take us up on our promises. Even better, test them. Test RadioAnalyzer 2021. And let’s make 2021 a year we will never forget either. But in a much better way.
Stay safe!
CEO & CO-FOUNDER OF RADIOANALYZER
Alumni of DJH (Danish School of Journalism) and eternally devoted to improve mass communication. Has excelled as Journalist, Columnist, Commentator, DJ, News Director, Sports Editor, Sub Chief Editor, Innovation Director and Radio Manager. Started in radio at age 14 and isn’t planning to quit anytime soon.
