Radio & Records/AC Section

Talking to Women in Stages - Not Ages

The "stage of life" marketing concept came to me after putting my two children (8 & 11 years) on the bus. Before I could walk back to my quiet, empty home to begin work, my neighbor invited me in for coffee. Though she is about my same age (42), she has four children under the age of six and is pregnant with her fifth. After 30 minutes of continuous interruptions and blaring cartoons, she handed me a cup of coffee and her 6 month-old baby. As the very noisy home got louder, I excused myself to go home and get to work. I realized that I was "so over" that stage of my life. My wheels started spinning and my research began. I immediately pulled out my database of moms whom I had spoken to over the past six years. The ages of the mothers of the preschoolers ranged from 23 - 46, but all attended the same workshop and had the same needs. They were at the same "life stage". Then I remembered a party and how my 45-year old single friend hit it off with my single 28-year old cousin. It was odd, but I understand the connection. As an entrepreneur, I often find myself connecting with other inventive and creative individuals regardless of age. I crave that interaction and if I found a radio station that spoke to ambitious women about success strategies, starting businesses, getting published, etc., I would rarely tune out.

Women need to make connections

You'll win women by making connections, and you make connections by being able to relate on a personal level. If you really want to relate to a certain "type" of woman, you have to look beyond age and look to their stage in life. Stations that try to target everyone (women ages 18-34 or 25-54) are really targeting no one "well". When I say "well", I mean making long lasting connections that keep listeners from tuning out. Talk radio does this by targeting a certain audience: liberal, conservative, people who smoke cigars, consumer issues, etc. They also have specifically targeted advertisers who will pay a premium for that audience. Shouldn't music radio be able to do the same? With the perfect music mix, information, and image (sound, look, and feel), radio can connect and retain women. When you know the person you are talking to you can even make commercials feel like shopping - now that's connecting!

Women are complicated and very diverse and you could divide them into 100 different groups. I understand the need to reach as many people as possible and get them to write down your name, but is this really working for you? I challenge you to let some of them go and really connect with the others.

The Six Life Stages Of Women

The Single Woman These independent women are consumed with careers, appearance, and finding partners (consciously or subconsciously).
Radio can connect her to popular trends, information that effects her, and offer a complete social calendar. These women are not just going to singles bars. They are buying homes, managing large sums of money, and planning for exciting futures. Lauren, 26, Product Marketing Specialist in Chicago says, "I like to listen to AC with my mom (not embarrassing), but it's embarrassing to me when the DJ's try to act young. I would like more information about the latest health issues, or interviews with 'real women' and success." Turn offs: Single women can't relate to anything that deals with parenting, kids, or school, weather she is 21 or 41.

The Married Women with No Children
These working women have disposable income, drive new cars, travel, and are buying their first homes. Radio can offer social calendars to married women but could expand the reach to the spouse (whoever has the dial in the relationship). Kathy, 36, Real Estate Agent, "I'm always in my car and find radio really doesn't speak to me. The top-40 stations feel too young and the AC music hasn't changed in years and only speaks to moms. I wish they would speak more to career women. I think mornings should give me the news and discuss any important stories from the night, but I like my drive home to be more fun and lighter." Turn offs: With friends having children and moving to the next stage, many women are not ready and will rebuff any station that makes her feel like she needs to be a "mommy".

The New Mom / Toddler Stage
This is one of the most targeted stages, but also the stage when women are least engaged in radio. It's hard to hear, but it's true. Having a baby is "all consuming" and interest in music, celebrities, and shopping for big-ticket items take a backseat. Radio will turn to background noise as mom is consumed with her new life. Words such as parenting, babies, and family will break through the clutter to catch an ear. This is true for working and stay at home moms; however, I've found that stay at home moms rarely listen to the radio (maybe 15 minutes for carpool) and are appropriately targeted by TV morning shows. Radio would be safe to speak to the 76% of the moms who work outside the home during morning drive.

The growing number of pregnant celebrities has made motherhood sexy and glamorous, and your listeners are no exception. In the beginning, it's all about the baby, but when the
newness wears off, working moms feel guilty, and stay-at-home moms are "stir crazy." Radio can inform desperate parents of free family-friendly weekend activities and adult only opportunities for fun. Mom's who have focused on the family are desperate for a "girls night out" or a date with their husbands. Tell her it's OK, and give it to her!
Turn offs: Because kids tend to repeat everything, moms become conscious of bad words and blue humor. This busy mom is not interested in hearing too much about the party escapades of the single traffic girl (a little is fine, but watch it).

The School Years
Working moms no longer feel as guilty, and stay at home mom's wonder what to do with themselves. Radio will be back for personal enjoyment and entertainment. The need for "adult talk" instead of Barney may revert some back to stations of their younger years. Many women become ambitious and look for ways to improve themselves and their families. They are dealing with real issues facing their kids such as: peer pressure, schoolwork, choosing colleges, healthy eating, and just relating to their kids on a daily basis. Lindsey, 38, a teacher from Atlanta, says "I would love to hear good music and get information from experts that could help me raise my older kids, especially in the afternoons, while I drive them kids to activities." Turn offs: This busy group of women is being bombarded with information. Get creative, find new sources, and dig up new information they have yet to hear.

After Kids
Many of the "soccer moms" you've been speaking to over the past 20 years are now trading their minivans for convertibles or maybe a Lexus, or as Martha Barletta, author of Marketing to Women, puts it "any car not available for carpool." She labels this new generation "PrimeTime Women" and they are smart, healthy, and ready to live life to the fullest (many for the first time). Fabulous and 40 or 50, they have confidence, money and the time to spend it. This is a whole new stage to explore for advertisers and entertainers. In the US, the new median adult age is 45, and by the year 2010, 43% of the population will be at least 50 years old. That's a very big group. Some are starting new careers, others are changing directions, and others are winding down. Ellen, 45, Marketing Manager, Atlanta says, "when discussing TV, I would like more about what it's doing to society and less about who's having Jennifer's baby". Turn offs: This group doesn't want to be categorized as old and will do everything they can to stop the aging process. They want more about real people doing great things and less about celebrities.

Grandkids
While the younger generations are clipping coupons, this group is beginning to spend. They have saved for a rainy day and now that their kids and grandkids are self-sufficient they are looking for pleasurable ways to spend their golden years. In his latest book, Trends, Tom Peters reports from the Census Bureau and Federal Reserve, that as of 2001, Americans aged 50 and older held 69% of the total net worth held in the U.S. That is just crazy, because their homes are probably paid for too! This group wants travel information, health and fitness tips, good understandable information about investments, Medicare and health insurance. Turn offs: They are older, not dead. Don't talk down to them or disrespect them, but give them the tools to live life to the fullest. Give Granny her own show and she'll listen, but don't mix it up with the latest J-Lo Booty report.

There are opportunities for radio to be an important part of people's lives. They'll listen longer, listen more, and spend money with advertisers who want them "specifically". It's a new way of thinking for music radio. Since companies own several stations in each market, it's possible to connect with women in a different way on each station. You need personalities that understand the audience and can relate their own life experiences with humor and empathy. It's impossible to make an engaging connection with everyone. Stations can continue pleasing everyone a little (like wallpaper) or you can reach into the soul of a certain segment, satisfy them completely, they'll tell their friends (that's what women do), and they'll never let you down.

Recommended reading:

Trends: recognize, analyze, capitalize
By: Tom Peters & Martha Barletta

Marketing to Women
By: Martha Barletta

Marketing to Moms
By: Maria T. Bailey

Radio Ink - May 22, 2006
"Talking to Women"

Ask the average women if she likes talk radio and she'll likely answer, "I'm not interested in politics and sports, or I never listen to AM radio". With a few exceptions, such as Clark Howard or Dr. Laura, women have little reason to tune in. I wonder what these same women will call "Oprah and Friends" when she launches on XM in September. Will they refer to her show as "talk radio" or will they use the term, "Reality Radio", one that Oprah declared "her idea" when she made the announcement. Now, I'm Oprah's biggest fan, but many industry people have used the term "Reality Radio" over the past 10 years. But Oprah "has spoken", made it hers, and I'm not so sure we shouldn't jump on the bandwagon. Because many women view "talk radio" in such a negative light, should we call the same product by a different name when we target women? Will the same women who won't switch to the AM dial actually purchase a radio and subscribe to hear Oprah and Friends? Will PD's boldly go outside their comfort zones, disregard their music research, and look for interesting personalities who can talk to women on the FM dial? These questions offer exciting possibilities and new opportunities for creative, innovative people who want to re-invent talk radio.

Granted a large majority of music stations target and entertain women, so why do we need "Talk for Women" too? There are two reasons: first, because there is an enormous audience who wants it. Would Oprah, Ellen, Martha, and a boatload of other smart business people be doing it if it were not needed? A nationwide study conducted by ABC Radio Networks confirmed that only 3% of women 18-54 like what they hear on talk radio. The second reason is simple - money. Music radio just does not engage people the same way talk radio does. Matt Feinberg, senior VP of national radio for Zenith Media, told Mediaweek "It's a top 10 request from advertisers. We do our best to hit the targets, but there isn't a lot of programming to choose from."

The Early Pioneers

The recent commitments to talk for women by ABC Radio Networks, GreenStone Media, and Satellite Radio, leads us to believe that there very few talk radio stations for women, and this may be true, but there are several "shows" that have successfully been around for a while.

Dr. Laura has been on the air for 30 years, been syndicated since 1994 on over 7,000 U.S. Stations and continues to have a very loyal following.

Kathy and Judy, "Your Girlfriends", have been entertaining the people of Chicago for over 15 years on WGN 720 (yes, the station that carries the Cubs). In the new winter book, they were #1- 12+ and 35-64, and #1 with women 12+ and 35-64. Love to sell those numbers! Both women, (just over 60 years of age) just won the National AWRT Gracie Award for "Outstanding Talk Show Radio".

The Satellite Sisters are now on 90 stations on the weekend and are quickly gaining affiliates for their daily show live noon to 3p (ET). When I asked Corny Koehl, Director of Women's Talk Programming for ABC Radio Networks, what makes the Satellite Sister's show different from other talk radio stations, she shared a personal story. "I was driving into work following Hurricane Katrina, listening to four different talk radio shows. Each station was discussing who was at fault; FIMA, the President, the local government, as well as the political ramifications from the disaster. When I got to work, the Satellite Sisters were reading a story from the LA Times about a Houston School District who released all their busses to help people evacuate. Both topical, but one was the "same old thing" of placing political blame and the other was uplifting and positive - that's the difference."

The first and most successful FM talk station for women is The LINK, with Bob & Sheri in the morning and Matt & Ramona in the afternoon. They are the #2 billing station in Charlotte even though they are ranked number 10. Rick Jackson, Senior VP/General Manager, explains that talk radio has the opportunity for billing to way out perform the numbers. "With talk, people care about getting business in the door, and when you have a captive audience listening to people they trust, you have a huge advantage and you can bring in the business" says Jackson.

The Next Generation Of Talk Radio For Women

GreenStone Media was launched in March and now has a full line-up including: The Radio Ritas, Lisa Birnbach, and Women Alloud. This celebrity funded venture (Billie Jean King, Jane Fonda, Gloria Steinem, and Rosie O'Donnell, to name a few), aims at syndicating "talk for women, by women" on the FM dial. Jim LaMarca, Vice President Of Operations says, "the reason many stations have held off on talk for women is they feel there is not enough product the fill a station, so we hope that by offering entertaining, informative, and inspiring programming, we can fill that void."

ABC Radio Networks, lead by Corny Koehl and The Satellite Sisters, are carried daily on: FM107 - real life conversations in St. Paul, MN; AM820 Utah's First Voice For Women; and The Connection 1590am in Ventura CA, just to name a few. ABCRN will continue to add new and exciting programming.

Challenges Facing

This is a good start, but we still have a long way to go. Several years ago, while on hiatus from radio, I was hosting motivational workshops, researching and writing books for women. I really didn't think I would come back to radio. It didn't excite or challenge me. I felt the industry founded on people making intimate personal connections through the radio had become replaced by computer programs and research. Then a friend called and said he bought a small AM in Charlotte and wanted to make it entertaining talk. My husband (who is also in radio), and I packed our bags, put our house on the market in Cincinnati, pulled the kids out of school, and with no company health insurance, moved to Charlotte.
Stupid or just really hopeful to be a part of something we were passionate about. Well, the station was sold after we were there for only 2 months (who can blame the woo of a fat checkbook) and turned Spanish. Was it a bad idea? Absolutely not. Were the challenges surrounding "The Conversation Station" too big for a small station owner? Probably, but I learned a few things from my mistakes.

We desperately need to be on the FM Dial! I've found that many women have never tuned to AM for any reason and they believe that the only programming is political, sports or classic country. These same women said they would like to hear programming about investments, money management, real estate, and gardening and many others that are already offered on AM. Clark Howard and Dave Ramsey both draw a large number of women on the AM, but many women will not go there.

Will it work with AM? We would love for each market to have an FM talk for women, but the realization is many pioneers will be AM. If your station is a known name with an established listener base, you'll have less of a problem than an unknown. Then, you must confront the AM image problem and make it fashionable for women to try you.
IDEA: stations should host promotions and giveaway free food, money, and prizes, to people who let you, physically set their car radio to your station.

Do we choose a direction? Shock jocks, and politics are just two ways to go with male talk, and women are no different. Though there could be 100 different segments, two very broad formats seem to be taking shape: issue oriented and funny and entertaining. Most of the shows being offered are trying a little of both. Most of my research shows that most women lean heavily to one side or the other. The women who want issues are currently listening to NPR and do not like traditional morning radio, and the other group prefers typical morning radio and are not interested in anything too deep. Maybe they will love a mixture of both. Once they have access to it.

What Will Happen If You Don't Give Us The Talk We Want

We'll keep the TV talk shows on as we do things around the house, we'll continue to listen to NPR, we'll breakdown and get Satellite Radio (we'll be heavily recruited in the fall), and we'll continue to sample great programming geared toward women on the internet. Many women I know are going to Hay House Radio in droves while at work. The book publisher offers many very popular and entertaining authors over the intranet, such as: Debbie Ford, Cheryl Richardson, Marianne Williamson, and Dr. Wayne Dyer just to name a few. We should all count our blessings that Oprah is going to Satellite and not the FREE 24 hour intranet radio route.

Quotes: "We need to find PD's who understand people as much as they do music"

"We need programmers of the 4th rated country, or 5th rated AC station,
to step up, take a risk and become the #1 rated Talk Station for Women"