subject: Should Radio Stations Play 24/7 Christmas Music? [print this page] Author: Dan ODay Author: Dan ODay
SHOULD RADIO STATIONS PLAY 24/7 CHRISTMAS MUSIC?
by Dan O'Day The question I've been asked is, "How do you feel when a radio station abandons its format for 24/7 Christmas programming?" Although this goes against what many people want to hear, it's a bad idea. With the possible exception of a Christian radio station, it damages your station's brand. Assuming we're talking about a mainstream, secular radio station, you are damaging your brand. People turn to your station expecting to get the same product every singe day -- whatever that product is. If you air 24/7 Christmas music programming for the two weeks surrounding Christmas, you'll receive a flurry of phone calls and emails from people thanking you from the bottoms of their hearts: "Thank you so much! This is so wonderful. It's such a pleasure. I can't hear this music anywhere else." Those remarks are sincere, but they do not necessarily represent your core audience. Some of those listeners may be among your P1s, but there's no reason to assume most of them are. And perhaps NONE of them is among your P1s. So you get a flurry of excitement and of goodwill, and maybe some of your advertisers say good things, but for that time period you are driving away your core audience. No matter how you like Christmas music, not everyone wants to hear it a lot. For some people, hearing "Little Drummer Boy" more than once per decade is too much. For fans of your radio station who tune in for a period of time but do not receive the promise your station makes to them, you're hurting your brand.About the Author:
Dan O'Day (http://danoday.com) is internationally known as the "radio advertising guru," having taught radio and advertising professionals in 36 different countries how to create radio advertising that works.
