If the phrase “Talk Radio” brings to mind the AM dial and Rush Limbaugh, then you probably haven’t heard about how Talk is connecting with women over the FM waves these days.  Minneapolis’s FM 107 is one station that is giving its mainly female audience something to hear, interact with, and talk about. 

In “Talk Radio Is Not A Format” in the December 2002 issue of Radio Ink magazine, industry expert Walter Sabo described Talk Radio as a miracle of thousands of hours of original programming, hosted by passionate people with gifts for drawing in the phone calls of listeners.  He continued by noting that what he calls “not-music” radio is, in fact, “No. 1 in billing and audience in 28 of the top 50 markets.” 

Interestingly, the first station to successfully program predominantly Talk, was WOR New York, which began in 1922 (and was number one until 1983).  Staffed by accomplished women hosts with programs that appealed to, you guessed it, women, the programs offered by WOR “gained dominant shares by presenting top-of-mind topics through their strong opinions.”

Transparently Appealing

Fade to 2003, and FM107 is committed to reaching women in a similar way – with a broad spectrum of programming that covers topics from theology to consumer affairs (both hosted by men) to the all out girl-chat of The Lori and Julia Show. What is crucial to point out, however, is, as the station’s program director Todd Fisher puts it: “We don’t do a sort of Lifetime radio for women.  Our focus groups found early on that women absolutely do not want to be targeted.”

So, how do the women in the St. Paul/Minneapolis market know that FM107 is for them?  There is no pink in the station's logo and their promotional ads don’t include a blatant “for women” appeal. Furthermore, Fisher also avoided developing a line-up of solely female-hosted shows on health, beauty and relationships (although you’ll find those topics covered somewhere in the typical weekday).  In marketing to women terms, FM107’s efforts to give women the mix they want, without painting it pink, would be called a transparent approach, or one that doesn’t “call out” women.  Here are examples of how their approach fits into some common transparent campaign guidelines:

• Go where women are already: Women already gravitate to the FM dial for their music, so why make them switch to AM to find your Talk station?

• Deliver a “by women, for women” experience: FM107’s regular promotional announcer, or the voice between shows and in ad segments, is a woman whose copy is written to sound like she’s a listener just sharing what’s coming up next.  Also, the majority of listeners who call in to the various shows are women, so that’s an additional subtle clue. However, as I previously mentioned, the program hosts are not all women, as that would likely patronize female listeners.
  
  

• Reflect the different interests of women: The women’s market is not a big mass market of every female alive, as you all know.  Rather, the market is full of segments and sub-segments of women with diverse interests and passions. Some of them will tune in to FM107 to hear Ian Punnett with his theological perspective when they are driving to work, others will tune in to hear Dr. Joy Browne, the radio psychologist, on their way home, and still others will specifically turn on the hilarity of The Lori and Julia Show as they are winding down their workday.  There is a little something for everyone, indeed.

Talk Is Cheap, But Effective

From a marketing perspective, and for those of us who are unfamiliar with the industry, it may seem like radio is a dying media buy.  In fact, radio reaches 77 percent of consumers daily and 95 percent of consumers weekly.  Talk Radio, in particular, also presents an incredible way to give voice to consumers.  And, what could be more powerful than that, especially for reaching women?

When compared to music radio, Talk Radio may offer the most opportunity for reaching consumers.  Talk listeners are simply more engaged with what the host is saying or where a conversation with call-in listeners is going. As Sabo put it in his Radio Ink article, “Talk listeners are active listeners.  It is impossible to listen to Talk in the background. Every listener is paying attention.  If the host is good, every listener is emotionally involved.”

And we all know that emotional involvement of some sort is key to drawing women into a connection with your brand.

Perfect Harmony? Online and Radio Integration

If, as the Radio Advertising Bureau studies suggest, listeners can be moved from radio online, how then does the Internet channel fit into Talk Radio’s ways of interacting with an audience?  FM107’s Fisher thinks that spending time and money on a fancy, branded station web site, and coming up with ways to get listeners to visit that URL, might just dilute the power of the programs themselves. So, the FM107 site provides simple schedule information and basic links to a particular program’s web site, if it exists.

On the other hand, since people may often be on their computers and online while they are listening to the radio, there may be some opportunity to create a stronger listener interaction via a web site. In that case, the producers of the programs themselves, and not the station management, might be in charge of developing an appropriate and effective companion web site to stimulate further interaction with listeners.  A particular program's web site should take its cue from, and match, the show's format and tone. For example: if the radio program is light and funny, the companion site might include friendly copy, energetic colors and easy ways to post feedback and topic ideas.

One of more renowned women-focused Talk programs, The Satellite Sisters (which is included in FM107’s weekend line up, by the way), provides a great example of how a program’s site can enhance the enjoyment and interactivity of audience members.  Just take a look at the “Letters We Love” section on their site to see the passionate comments of listeners who have bothered to go online. The "Sisters Listeners" are a consumer segment for which to strive!

It Makes Good Auditory Sense

In lean times, radio’s reach can be significant, and for comparatively less money than most other channels.  But, it is only cost effective if you can find a way for your station or programs to be heard by your core customers, and not just huge numbers of average Jolenes.

Though Talk Radio, in particular, is not a new concept, it may deserve renewed consideration these days.  It seems like an incredible opportunity to tap into the daily flow of a woman’s life to me. 

As people take back their time a bit by filtering their television and Internet exposure, radio may transition from simply providing background sound to giving women a collective voice.  “Non-music” radio might just tune up to become the interactive, engaging media channel it was in the old days of WOR.  I know I’m going to be listening…

Links: 

Radio Ink Magazine
http://www.radioink.com

FM107 (you can link to The Lori and Julia Show from here as well)
http://www.fm107.fm

Radio Advertising Bureau
http://www.rab.com/

Satellite Sisters
http://www.satellitesisters.com

The idea to look into Talk Radio for women came from my longtime friend Erin, a busy, working mother of two who lives in the Minneapolis area.  She found herself laughing out loud in the car to The Lori and Julia Show, and made sure to let me know about it when we had our bi-monthly catch-up call.

Since I won't be in that neck of the woods anytime soon, I'll just have to hope for the day when the show is broadcast over the web.  Sigh.

Enjoy your first lawn mowings and bike rides this spring!  I know I have been. Perhaps that's why this issue didn't quite make it out in April?  Anyway...

Take care until next time, 

Andrea

P.S. Yes!  Write me with your ideas, comments, or questions at: andrea@reachwomen.com