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Fish Where the Fish Are

By David Kidd, BPR

We’ve all heard the saying “If you want to catch fish, fish where the fish are.” This quote directly applies to radio programming strategies.

Which format? There are broad formats that appeal to a large cross section of the market and there are niche formats. A “niche” format caters for a small but profitable segment of a market. Niches are identified by strategic market research that uncovers programming wants/needs that are not being catered for by competitors and by offering a carefully crafted format that satisfies them. There’s no point in targeting a segment of the listening market that is so small that even if you win the category outright your overall ratings remain miniscule.

Which day part? Find out which day part has the highest number of listeners per quarter hour (or hour depending on your ratings currency). In many markets, they rank like this:

Monday to Friday:

Early Morning: 6-9am

Late Morning: 9am-12pm

Late Afternoon: 3-6pm

Afternoon: 12-3pm

Evening: 6pm-12am – a distant last.

However, your market may be very different. For example, in the United Arab Emirates, a vibrant market of nine million people aged 10+ and 52 radio stations, the day part with the most listeners per quarter hour is 6-9pm! Next in importance is Morning: 6-9am, Late Morning: 9am-12pm, Evening: 9pm-12am, Late Afternoon: 3-6pm and lastly, Afternoon: 12-3pm.

Deploy your resources accordingly…..fish where the fish are.