Jacksonville Jaguars announce new broadcast partners

The Jacksonville Jaguars have reached agreements with new flagship radio and TV broadcast partners for carriage of their on-air programming in and around the Jacksonville area. For the first time, Jaguars games and official team radio programming will be heard on 1010XL AM and 92.5 FM, the team’s flagship radio partner. In addition, the games will be simulcast on a network of radio stations around the Southeast, including 99.9 Gator Country.

The TV programming, which includes preseason game broadcasts, will return after 11 years to WJXT-TV Channel 4, and in addition the preseason games will air in the Orlando market on Channel 4’s partner station, WKMG Local 6. WJXT was previously the Jaguars’ local television partner in 2001-02.

“We’re very proud to team with all of these partners and we look forward to expanding our radio and TV programming with them,” Jaguars President Mark Lamping said in making the announcement. “Given
the size of the Jacksonville market, it is critical that we reach all current and potential Jaguars fans. Our new partners will help us do that in Jacksonville as well as the surrounding region, including the important market of Orlando.

“1010XL brings a broad audience of loyal listeners and avid sports fans  and no TV station is more focused on Jacksonville and the local market than Channel 4,” Lamping added.

The partnerships are multiyear agreements and terms are undisclosed.

“The Jaguars are the most important sports franchise in our city’s history, and we are honored to become the flagship station and to be part of the team,” said 1010XL General Manager Steve Griffin. “Everyone is impressed with the team’s new regime, their dedication to the city and the fans, and the positive momentum coming from EverBank Field. We are excited about using our resources to help the cause and to grow together in the years to come.”

“There’s a lot of anticipation building in and around the Jaguars family as we embark on our 20th season,” Lamping added, “and these new broadcast partners will help deliver that to longtime fans and new audiences throughout the Southeast region. We’re working hard to grow our fan base, and we are confident that our new partners will help us achieve that goal.”

This blog posting is brought to you by....Movember

Have you heard about Movember?  It is an official global charity that focuses its efforts to have an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health. During November each year, Movember is responsible for the sprouting of millions of moustaches on men's faces around the world. Through the power of the Mo, vital funds and awareness are raised to combat prostate and testicular cancer and mental health challenges.

HOW IT WORKS
Movember encourages men to join the movement by growing a moustache for the 30-days of November.  After REGISTERING on Movember.com, these generous Mo Bros start the month clean-shaven, then grow and groom their Mo (slang for moustache), asking friends and family to donate to their efforts. With their new moustaches, these Mo Bros bring much needed awareness to men’s health issues by prompting conversations wherever they go.

At the end of the month, Mo Bros celebrate their Movember journey by throwing their own Movember EVENTS or attending one of the official GALA PARTÉS held around the world.

The Movember Effect
Globally, the funds raised by our Mo Bros support world-class men’s health programs that combat prostate and testicular cancer and mental health challenges. These programs, directed by the Movember Foundation, are focused on awareness and education, living with and beyond cancer, staying mentally healthy, living with and beyond mental illness and research to achieve our vision of an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health.

Movember - a global movement
Since its humble beginnings in 2003 in Melbourne, Australia, Movember has grown to become a truly global movement inspiring more than 3 Million Mo Bros to participate across 21 countries worldwide.  

In 2012, over 1.1 million Mo Bros around the world joined the movement, raising  $147 million. In the US, over 209,000 Mo’s raised $21 million.

What a great reason to grow a moustache.

More men taking the reins of the shopping cart

There seems to be a universal understanding in the grocery world that the household food shopping is done solely by women. Supermarkets and manufacturers are under this belief as well, as their advertising campaigns have been crafted to attract women, an perhaps children who can then tell their mom's what they would like them to purchase.  But is this belief actually correct?  Are these successful multi-million dollar companies actually losing money by continuing this advertising trend?

One only needs to look around the supermarket when they do their shopping to know that answer.  Who is it you see in the checkout line next to you?  Who is that you see taking advantage of that week's Buy One Get One Free selections? Men.  They are all over the store.  Selecting produce; ordering from the meat counter; choosing the cereal.  There are more and more men shopping every day.  They are not just shopping, they are couponing as well.  They are also scanning their store card for additional discounts.  There are a significant amount of single, divorced and widowed men in this country, and they are visiting supermarkets multiple times a week. 

According to the United States Census Bureau, in a data report released in 2012, there were 103 million unmarried people in America 18 and older. This group made up 44.1 percent of all U.S. residents 18 and older.  46.4 percent of these individuals were men.  That equates to almost 48 million Americans who are not being directly marketing to - that is if you ignore the beer and Beef Jerky commercials.

According to consumer-research firm GfK MRI and an ESPN report, 31 percent of men nationwide were the primary household grocery shoppers in 2011, up from 14 percent in 1985. Some estimates are higher. A nationwide survey of 1,000 fathers conducted by Yahoo and market research firm DB5 released early this year said 51 percent were the primary grocery shoppers in their household. Of that group, 60 percent said they were the primary decision-makers regarding consumer package goods, which includes packaged food.

"We're seeing more men doing grocery shopping and more young dads cooking with their kids as a way to bond with them at home," said Phil Lempert, a supermarket consultant. "It's very different from the whole metrosexual phenomenon of six, seven, eight years ago, but a much more down-to-earth (approach), not trying to show off, but trying to be part of the family."

Brad Harrington, executive director of the Center for Work and Family at Boston College, said "men on the homefront are where women in the workplace were 30 years ago," in terms of how they are portrayed on television and even in advertisements — namely, as disengaged or incompetent.  "If we portrayed women like that in the workplace, there would be an outcry," he said.

According to a 2012 survey conducted by Cone Communications new survey, 52 percent of fathers now identify themselves as the primary grocery shopper in their household, and while not all moms agree, about 35 percent say that over the past few years, dad has taken on more of the shopping.  "No doubt male shopping behavior is undergoing major change," says Tod Marks, Consumer Reports senior editor and resident shopping expert. "Back in 1995, studies have shown that only 10 percent of men identified themselves as the family's main grocery shopper. That number has been rising steadily."

The survey included 1,000 parents of kids 17 and under. Other findings showed that 63 percent  of dads make a detailed shopping list and 56 percent  collect coupons or read store circulars.  Additionally, dads are more likely to plan meals for the week ahead of time (52 percent vs. 46 percent of moms), and even more inclined to research grocery products (24 percent vs. 11 percent of moms).

But change appears to be under way.  Kraft scored with men in 2011 by way of its Philadelphia Cooking Creme, which was attributed in part to displaying it near chicken.  Guys impulsively bought that product, thinking that it was a way to try a different way of making chicken. Sales volumes of Philly Cooking Creme were 20 percent above expectations in 2011, the company said, after a $35 million investment in advertising, in-store promotions, coupons and product demonstrations.

The success of Philly Cooking Creme and other brands are case studies Kraft is presenting to the entire company, looking for other products where male-themed marketing makes sense.  Some local grocery chains are also looking for ways to get into the mix. A spokeswoman for Jewel said the chain is watching the trend toward more male shoppers but hasn't made any major changes. A Safeway spokeswoman said they have man-friendly marketing in the works but declined to provide specifics.

Other chains have seen a good share of men for some time. Maggie Bahler, executive marketing coordinator for Whole Foods Market's Midwest region, said the chain's shoppers are about half men, although the company hasn't been tracking shopping habits by gender over time.

Men have different shopping tendencies which are causing food-makers to look at a different set of opportunities, as men appear to be less hurried in stores and more prone to impulse purchases than women.

"The mindset has been that she shops, she really knows every inch of the store, she is really organized, has a list, is in a huge hurry," Calpino said. "We talk to a lot of these millennial guys about shopping, and the biggest headline is they're not as structured, not as hurried, much more experimental, more adventurous."

Stephen Hahn-Griffiths, chief strategy officer with Leo Burnett in Chicago, said men are slightly more inclined to shop around for the best prices than are women.

"Though men are very mission-driven, very grab-and-go, get-it-done, it's not at the expense of paying a price premium," he said. "They are very driven by finding best prices before making purchases, and they're not going to jettison quality either."

Abhi Hansoti, a 35-year-old management consultant, said that because he does most of his shopping at two stores, "I know prices at both places and I'll pick things based on the prices there."  Although Hansoti buys produce from Whole Foods because the quality is better "just from experience," he goes to Jewel for such items as bread and milk.

Hahn-Griffiths said men are less likely to ask for help finding an item but more likely to make a second sweep through the store, in case they've missed something.  "It's part of the hunter mindset," he said. "When you're a hunter, you're more likely to move from place to place and recircle areas you might have missed."  As a result, men might also be spending more time in stores than women.

Despite price sensitivity on shopping-list items, experts say, men are also prone to impulse buys.  Susan Viamari, editor of Times & Trends at SymphonyIRI Group, explained that they "have a little brighter outlook on the economy and their finances, and this is going to impact their purchase behavior and their openness to impulsive purchases, trying new products, things of that nature."

So.....what is my point.  I find it confusing that will all this research out there, why is it the that major supermarket chains for Jacksonville, Publix and Winn-Dixie do not market to the men of the First Coast.  It is true that they are the past and current sponsors of the Jacksonville Jaguars and they both run "tailgating" promotions in the fall, but they will not activate either of these ventures with our radio station that directly markets to men.  Our current advertisers are exceeding their marketing goals by running their commercials and participating in promotions on 1010XL.  Wouldn't it make sense that both Publix and Winn-Dixie would do the same?  If we have Carroll's Meat Shoppe selling out on the cuts they are advertising on our station, wouldn't the "Beef People" of Winn-Dixie succeed as well?  Wouldn't Jaguars sponsor Publix be a perfect participant for our own tailgating promotion?  Again, I find it confusing.

With that said, as we are about to turn the page to 2014....hey Publix and Winn-Dixie...have your people call my people.  I can give you a direct line to the Men of Jacksonville and help you increase your revenues....

What We Have Learned About The 1010XL Listener - And You Should Know Too

The last few months as 1010XL's Director of Sales and Marketing has been an incredible learning experience.  Since I had been with the station for over a year, I had seen the response our sponsors had been receiving from their commercial campaigns.  From conversations with them, from the fact that they had purchased additional campaigns and the extremely large percentage of continual advertisers, it had been apparent that 1010XL had been an extremely efficient marketing medium for reaching men and generating business in Jacksonville.

But it was important to learn more.  It was important to learn more about our listener.  Who are they ?  What role do they play at work?  What role do they play at home?  Are they fathers that have kids at home that they are still raising? There were a number of questions that we wanted answered.  So we launched a survey and asked our listeners to tell us who they are.

And we learned a great deal about the 1010XL listener.  Facts that we want to share so that the businesses of Jacksonville, planning for their upcoming marketing year, will have a better understanding and so they may reach this educated audience that has money to spend on themselves, their families and their businesses.

So here is what we learned:

56% have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

 

We have an educated audience.  We had already known that from the conversations we have with them as callers.

68% are Married, while 32% are single or divorced.

44% have children under the age of 16 living in the house.

These are family men and fathers who make big ticket financial decisions.  They are planning family trips, buying toys and gifts, taking the family out to events.

83% own a home.

48% are considering home improvement projects.

Which means that they have a "honey-do" list to accomplish on a regular basis.  And they are willing to pay for the right  companies to help them clear that list.

21% own their own business.

55% describe themselves as a decision maker for their business.

That is a large number of people.  One out of five of our listeners own their own business.  Businesses  should take notice of this and reach out to these men.  If you are looking to create new revenue for your business to business company, our listeners can help you do that.

63% plan to buy / lease vehicle in the next twelve months.

Car dealers, take note.  Our listeners are shopping for cars.  Constantly.  You would want to be in front of them to help with that decision.

Fast Food

44% eat fast food three times per week.

21% eat fast food once per week.

20% eat fast food once per month.

Our men are eating on the run.  We have a few fast food businesses on the air that have benefitted from this.  But options are good and reaching out to our listeners will help drive more sales in this market for you.

 Fine Dining Frequency

42% eat at a fine dining restaurant one per week.

33% eat at a fine dining restaurant one per month.

They are also taking clients and their significant other out to dinner.  On a regular basis.  A nice campaign from a local restaurant would create a strong result.

We are very proud to provide live and local sports information to our listeners and also to provide the opportunity for advertisers to reach them.  This should provide a strong blue print of who they are and how they can help your business.

We know the stories of our current advertisers success and we are developing case studies to help tell those stories to our prospects.  If you would like to learn more about how a similar business has fared or would like to see a proposal, please email me at howardw@1010XL.com.  We would like to be able to help you exceed your revenue budget this coming year.

 

Following Mo on my Phone

I grew up in New York, in a neighborhood that was located in the Bronx.  I was a big sports fan.   I followed all sports, but baseball was my first love.  I watched the great Yankee teams of the mid 70's and the painful Bronx Zoo teams of the early 80's.  I read magazines and baseball books.  I read the paper every day, starting with the sports section.  New York was a great place to grow up as a baseball fan.

When I got older, I had the opportunity to work in baseball, however it was for the New York Mets organization.   But that is a story for another time.  I also had the opportunity to watch the Yankees go to the playoffs every year.  From 1995 - 2007, they made the postseason and won four World Series Championships.  They missed in 2008, but won the World Series again on 2009 and made the playoff each year since until this year.   Considering the injuries, specifically to Derek Jeter and significant major components of their lineup,  they did remarkably well and came incredibly close.  A couple of games here and there they would've made the playoffs and possibly won the division.

The end the season brought to a close the careers of two great Yankees.   I had the opportunity to witness a lot of great Yankee baseball my lifetime and take attend a number of the games that they honored the team's legends.  I was in attendance when they paid tribute to Joe DiMaggio right after his death and the day they celebrated  Yogi Berra when he came back into the Yankee fold.  It was also the day the David Cone threw his Perfect Game.   The pomp and circumstance of what is Yankee baseball is truly an experience all its own.  The legends that played for the team line the walls of Hall of Fame and the team's own Monument Park.  The two men that retired at the end this year, rank among the team's best.   Andy Pettitte was one of the best left-handers to ever pitch for the team.   He holds a number of records with this remarkable team,  a remarkable post season performer, and, best of all, he was developed from the team's farm system.

 

 

Mariano Rivera was also developed in the Yankee system and became the greatest closer of all time. I had the privilege of watching his major-league debut on TV and being in attendance 60-70 games where the doors swung open, the sounds of Enter Sandman blared from the speakers and he took the mound to shut down the opponent.   He was truly remarkable, not only has a baseball player but as a human being and it was an honor to watch him play.

The reason I bring this all out is because of how I participated in his ceremony at Yankee Stadium on September 22nd. If I still lived in New York, I would have been in attendance.   However as a father of three that now lives in Jacksonville, FL, I spent those moments at The Bolles School football field watching my two sons play in their soccer league games.   So I was unable to even watch the ceremony live.  Using the technology in front of me, I used my smart phone and the DirecTV app to record anything and everything I could have been able to watch.   That would be great for later, but I wanted to feel it live.  So I logged on to Twitter and became a part of the ceremony.   

The people in the ballpark tweeted.  The news media tweeted.  Those involved in baseball who have a love and reverence for Mariano Rivera tweeted.  Not only did they tweet, but they provided pictures and video.  They provided live commentary of this amazing event going on so I was able to see the activity and feel like I was part of it.  Even though I was in Jacksonville, FL.   

Twitter, and social media in general, have become tools that are necessities to my daily activity, that of 1010XL and the daily activity of companies around the country.  It is also an important distribution vehicle for sports information to be generated.   Whether it's the news reporter tweeting out information teasing his upcoming broadcast, or an announcement of a player injury.  Whether it's commentary from people watching games and giving their analysis or  used by teams to sell tickets and merchandise.  Whether it's just for branding and marketing purposes, teams, media outlets, fans are tweeting about games and major sports activity minute by minute.

Hashtags are set up for specific games and events.  Athletes tweet their feelings and thoughts and interact with the fans.  You get raw exposure.  Real personality.  Some very funny and behind the scenes pictures. 

At 1010XL we use Twitter on a daily basis and will tweet out information about guest that are coming on the show, big stories that we put on to our website and fun observations to have our listeners respond to.  Our on air hosts have their own twitter handles and tweet throughout the day.  And the station will then retweet them and interact with them.   We also use Twitter as a marketing tool to extend the relationship we have with our partners and for them to get additional exposure through our 4000+ followers.

What is more remarkable is the amount to Twitter activity that takes place during a major sports event.  A playoff game, a championship game.   Sports Illustrated just published this list of the five most tweeted sports events of 2013.  They are:

Super Bowl - 26,131,270

NBA Finals Game 6 - 7,796,860

NCAA Final Four - 4,592,598

BCS Championship - 3,989,642

Stanley Cup Finals Game 6 - 1,075,234

yes, those numbers are in the millions...

So...are you tweeting?  Are you following me or our station?  I am @hwolpoff and the station is @1010XL. 

 

 

 

Time to Rethink Your Message: Now the Cart Belongs to Daddy

Here is a powerful article that ran in Ad Age by Jack Neff.  If you had not already noticed, Men are becoming the primary food shopper for the family....and are not being advertised to properly...

 

Survey Finds 51% of Men Are Primary Grocery Shoppers, but Few Believe Advertising Speaks to Them

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Mom is losing ground to Dad in the grocery aisle, with more than half of men now supposedly believing they control the shopping cart. The implications for many marketers may be as disruptive as many of the changes they're facing in media.

Through decades of media fragmentation, marketers of packaged goods and many other brands could take solace in one thing -- at least they could count on their core consumers being moms and reach them through often narrowly targeted cable TV, print and digital media.

But a study by Yahoo based on interviews last year of 2,400 U.S. men ages 18 to 64 finds more than half now identify themselves as the primary grocery shoppers in their households. Dads in particular are taking up the shopping cart, with about six in 10 identifying themselves as their household's decision maker on packaged goods, health, pet and clothing purchases. Not surprisingly, given that such ads long have been crafted for women, only 22% to 24% of men felt advertising in packaged goods, pet supplies or clothing speaks to them, according to the Yahoo survey.

The Great Recession has thrown millions of men in construction, manufacturing and other traditionally male occupations out of work and by extension into more domestic duties. At the same time, gender roles were already changing anyway, with Gen X and millennial men in particular more likely to take an active role in parenting and household duties.

Of course, in the survey, men could be overestimating their own role in shopping for the family. Lauren Weinberg, director-research and insights for Yahoo, acknowledges that could be possible -- and that women don't see them making as much progress on that front. But she said the fact that so many men now see themselves as masters of the shopping cart not only reflects real shifts but also means any stigma once attached to men as shoppers is fading fast.

Yahoo's interest in the subject is obvious: The portal has a lot of inventory geared toward men, such as page after page of fantasy-sports content, that could use more advertisers. But its research on men nonetheless seems to describe a new and disruptive reality.

Behavioral research of shoppers shows a number more like 35% of grocery and mass-merchandise shoppers are now men, said Mariana Sanchez, chief strategy officer for Publicis Groupe's Saatchi & Saatchi X. That number has been growing thanks to the economy and changing gender roles, she said.

And while that figure may be far from a majority , the fact that a third of a brand's shoppers are male is an awful lot to ignore. As a result, shopper-marketing efforts are increasingly gender-neutral rather than targeted for female shoppers, Ms. Sanchez said.

A subtle case in point came during the latest Procter & Gamble Co.-Walmart collaboration on "Family Movie Night" Jan. 8 on Fox. The program itself, "Change of Plans," did show a new dad more domestically impaired than a mom when unexpectedly thrust into adoptive parenthood. But in the commercial pod "story within a story" via Martin Agency, Richmond, the dad made a shopping trip to Walmart to load up on P&G and private-label Great Value products.

Such scenes could be a wave of the future for more categories as consumer packaged brands must elbow their way past car insurers, pickup trucks and erectile-dysfunction drugs into one of the surest and most-DVR-proof forums for reaching men: football.

P&G's Head & Shoulders and Prilosec already have become deeply involved in NFL marketing. But most P&G brands still primarily target moms, and it's not always easy to please both. While last year's tear-jerking "Behind Every Olympic Athlete is an Olympic Mom" Winter Olympics ads for P&G from Wieden & Kennedy were generally well received, the Twitter stream about them included an undercurrent of resentment from dads, who still make up the vast majority of volunteer coaches for youth sports.

The shift toward male shoppers, of course, didn't happen overnight, and that may also help explain why some brand managers for years have privately said more broadly focused network prime-time programming delivered better for their brands than more female-focused cable buys, regardless of the cost and what media optimizers indicated.

Perhaps favorably for marketers, Yahoo research finds men are more brand-loyal and less focused on promotions than women shoppers, Ms. Weinberg said. In advertising, they do more product research in packaged-goods categories than women, she said, and, because they're often newer to the categories, prefer ads with more information.

John Badalament, author of "The Modern Dad's Dilemma" and operator of ModernDads.net, does see more ads that speak to men, including recent ads for P&G's Old Spice and Kimberly-Clark Corp.'s Huggies. But many ads featuring men still portray them as hapless domestically, which he doesn't believe helps marketers. He likens such ads to the once laughable, now anachronistic grocery scene from 1983's "Mr. Mom."

"Men," he said, "need to be something other than invisible or buffoons in advertising."

As the Jaguars Go, So Do The Men of Jacksonville

So as a fan of the Jaguars, I attended Sunday's season opener.   In all honesty, it was one of the most painful games I have ever sat through.  While the team's management did a great job in getting the stadium ready, making improvements and adding amenities, providing more staff than I have ever seen to offer help and directions, the game itself was brutal.  2 points...That's right, a safety on a blocked punt early in the first quarter..that's it.  11 Punts.  A new team record.  The Jaguars only crossed midfield twice, and not until the middle of the 3rd quarter.  Starting quarterback Blaine Gabbert was ineffective and went out in the 4th quarter with a hand injury, after coming back from another hand injury to even play in this game. 

 

It was not the way the team wanted to start the season. 

 

And the fans were angry, disappointed, concerned, frustrated...all of the above.  And they had their opinions about the game and the challenges yet to come this season.  So what did they do?  They turned to 1010XL on Monday to hear our analysis.  Were you aware that the combined years of providing sports news and information of the on air talent on 1010XL exceeded 165 years?  Our own Sports Authorities have been talking sports in Jacksonville for the equivalent of over 16 decades! 

Not some listeners, not just more than a usual Monday...an abundance of listeners. A Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena full.   How do we know?  Aside from the high demand of calls from people trying to share their opinion on air, and from the activity that we had on our Facebook and Twitter feeds, we set a station record for online streaming.  We did not just break our daily record, we shattered it. 

 

On Monday (September 9^th ) we recorded the most-listened to day in the history of our web streams with 18,596 combined listening sessions on the AM and FM streams combined.  The previous record was on January 10^th, 2013 with 14,673 (Jaguars GM David Caldwell’s introductory press conference).  For reference, the previous Tuesday (the previous Monday was Labor Day) totaled 11,106 combined listening sessions.  That’s a strong number, a number driven by the opening weekend of college football and it falls far short of this Monday’s. 

This Tuesday, we had 12,164 combined listening sessions as our Googans, our name for our passionate listeners, continued to be interested in the story.  All the numbers aren’t in, but it’s almost certain this will be the most listened to WEEK on the streams as well. 

 

And this is just the online stream.  It does not take into effect those listening in their homes, cars and offices on the radio. 

This provides me with additional confirmation, and hopefully tells you as well, that we have a passionate audience that lives for football and wants to listen to and participate in the conversation.  And this is just week one.  Wouldn't you want to be in front of an audience this passionate and large?

There are great ways to participate in the conversation - Like us on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/1010xl), follow us on Twitter (https://twitter.com/1010XL), or follow us on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/user/1010XLVideo).  You can also listen to us on 1010 AM or 92.5 FM or on one of our live streams that can be found on our website (www.1010XL.com).

Or you can call (904-638-2103) or email me (howardw@1010XL.com)

Dads feel ignored by advertisers

This article, by Helen Leggett, addresses issues dads everywhere have been experiencing.  Advertisers have not realized the shift in the shopping and decision making in the family unit and the lack of targeted ads have begun to alienate men.

Advertisers aren't keeping up with the times. Despite playing a larger role in family decision-making over past years, Dads continue to be ignored in favor of the traditional family purse holder, finds new research.

Moms have long been a valuable target for advertisers. They have traditionally been seen as in charge of the household purse strings and major decision-makers in a family unit.

However, times have changed and Dads play an increasing role in the running of a household. Some fathers choose to stay home while their spouse works and some, perhaps caught up in the recession, have little choice but to do so.
Either way, more Dads now have a bigger say in the purchase of items such as household products, clothing, toys, baby products and consumer packaged goods, probably due to their increased exposure to and interaction with them. After all, why would you be interested in the ease-of-use of an oven-cleaner if you never had cause to use one?

Despite this change in family dynamics advertisers continue to focus on Moms. A recent survey from Yahoo found Dads feel invisible. For instance, despite 80% identifying themselves as the primary or shared decision-maker for baby and child care products, 57% felt ads in this category weren't targeted at them.

They're probably right. How many ads show a man powdering a freshly-changed baby's bottom (and I mean serious ads, not tongue-in-cheek, Three Men and a Baby-esque ads)?  It looks like change is on the horizon. Several brands have identified the growing importance of the "family man", most recently Proctor & Gamble. Following in-house research that revealed men turned to female-oriented websites for tips on topics such as cooking and homecare, the CPG company launched "Man fo the House".

The website contains the usual male-oriented content in the form of sex and gadget advice, but "Dad-ifies" it with articles covering subjects including cooking, cleaning and raising kids. Current topics include "What to do with Stale Bread", "The Art of Naming Kids", and "Must Have Vacuum Features".

"What we are trying to do is speak to the whole man," Jeannie Tharrington, P&G spokeswoman, told the New York Times. "Certainly, relationships and sex are part of an adult man's life...For us, it's part of it, but it's not the whole thing. What we try to do is be tasteful."

Featured Article - Why Package-Goods Companies Should Market to Men

From time to time, I will share some of the great articles that I come across that address the need for businesses to focus their marketing attention to men.  Today, I am sharing a great article by
Abigail Posner that was published in Advertising Age on February 9, 2009

A great societal shift is under way, and no one is taking advantage of it. Numerous trend reports, even the 2008 census, show conclusively that men are more and more involved in taking care of their children and homes. So you'd think package-goods marketers would jump at the chance to include them in their marketing mixes. But you'd be wrong.  "Men don't shop as much as women." "They don't enjoy shopping." "They're not interested in consumer-package-goods messages," many marketers say. Those are all valid points. It's understandable that with shrinking marketing budgets and a potentially deep recession, companies would tailor their innovation, communications and media strategies to the lowest-hanging fruit, women. But this female-only approach, logical as it may seem, causes us to miss a huge opportunity.

Changing consumer behavior

 True, men are still not the primary shoppers or shopping influencers of household goods. But that doesn't mean we can't alter their current consumer behaviors. Of course men are going to ignore products and messages that address women's concerns, attitudes and sensibilities. But if we developed products that suited men's needs, created communications that spoke to men's problems or desires, and designed the store experience to be more engaging to men, then they would have more interest in products that serve their families and homes and, thus, more desire to buy them. Take Wii. At a time when video-game equipment was squarely targeted at gamers and teens, Nintendo bucked the trend and went after families. The result: Wii sold more units in the first half of 2007 in the U.S. than Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 combined.  Another example: Spike (also known as Spike TV), the first TV network for men that went beyond just sports. At the outset, Spike President Kevin Kay told me, "We faced a lot of resistance. They would say, 'Men are always going to watch sports, but how are you going to create [other] programming for men?' Or, 'Men don't buy; only women buy.'" Spike thought otherwise. And it was right. Not only has the network grown its base of men 39%, but it appeals to a broad array of advertisers and is better recognized as a network for men by young males than ESPN.

New product ideas

 Tough economic times demand innovation to motivate people to buy. And bringing men into the marketing equation doesn't just give you a larger group of consumers; it means a new set of benefits, a new story to tell and even new product ideas.  When Spike decided to target men, new programming, such as "Manswers" (a guy trivia show), the "Scream Awards" and the sports reality show "The Ultimate Fighter," followed. So, too, Wii has continually developed video games that defy the typical kill-or-be killed options. Thanks to its broader target, Wii offers video games that range from "Dance Dance Revolution" to "Wii Sports," the most successful video game of all time.  We all know that as members of the media and marketing community we don't just reflect culture; we actually change it -- sometimes very quickly and tangibly. In the late 1970s, scientists found a link between a high-fiber diet and a reduced risk of cancer. Few people, however, changed what they ate. But when cereal companies a decade later advertised a relationship between high-fiber foods and protection against cancer, people woke up and actually began changing their diets.

Men as caretakers and shoppers

 Given this power of communications, there's no reason we can't appeal to an otherwise unattainable consumer group and maybe, just maybe, affect that group not just as consumers but as people. Marketing to men and portraying them as caretakers of and shoppers for the family can attract additional consumers to a brand while encouraging men to become greater participants in the maintenance of their families and homes. And the more men are accepted and accept themselves in that role, the more they'll be interested in brands that solve the needs or enhance the enjoyment of home and family care. And, of course, the more they'll shop for those products.  Basing strategies for tomorrow on current marketing data, sensible as it may seem, is shortsighted, even dangerous. If the American automobile industry teaches us anything, it's that stubbornly clinging to practices that have worked in the past but don't address a changing environment can have disastrous financial -- even societal -- consequences.  Reaching out to a seemingly less lucrative, smaller target market such as men isn't quixotic but rather a strategy to attract more consumers, encourage greater innovation, and even affect the roles men and women shape for themselves, now and in the future. Instead of emulating those Detroit execs who ignored or resisted change, why don't we embrace, guide and, ultimately, benefit from it?
Abigail Posner, Advertising Age. February 9, 2009

A key question for any business - Why should you advertise?

You've succeeded.  You have broken out of the rat race and launched your own business.  Got the store front, found a good location, developing a nice client base.  Things are moving in the right direction. 

Now, could they be moving faster?  How can a small business keep growing?  How can I let people know how great the business is and how much I can improve their life/provide them with great service/sell them the product they are looking for/bigger/better/cheaper.

The way to do that is to advertise.  Now many businesses will be afraid to do this, primarily because they have not budgeted for the expense.  That is one of the first mistakes that a business will make.  First, it is not an expense, it is an investment into their business.  Second, you absolutely need to be budgeting a percentage of revenues each month into a marketing fund.  Whether you are printing signs for the store, flyers to pass around the neighborhood or buying a media program from a radio station or newspaper, the funds to cover those costs need to be available and need to be documented and tracked.  You will need to make the correct decisions on what to spend those dollars on, and that is a challenge and a question for another blog post, but it will be important to make this investment to grow your business.

So back to the question, why?  well, there are many strong answers.

Advertising will allow you to reach new customers.  Some may not know your business exists.  Some may have just moved into the area.  Others may have changed their lifestyle and habits and may now have an interest in what you are selling. 

Advertising will allow you to remain in the mind of the shopper during their buying process. While many people make an instant decision, others may postpone their decision to buy for many reasons.  They may look at different stores for the same product.  They may analyze price, quality and shopping experience.  Your marketing message must continue to be top of mind over your competition.

Advertising allows you to remain connected to current customers. Consumers are not as loyal to one store or brand as they once were.  Advertising will allow you to keep pace with both your local and national/big box competition.  

Advertising pays off over a long period. When you are consistent with your advertising campaigns, you have an advantage over your competition when they cut back or cancel advertising. Advertisers who maintain or expand their ad investment over a five year period see their sales increase an average of 100%. Companies who cut advertising over the same period, see average sales decreases of 45%. Advertising is definitely an investment and not an expense.

Advertising allows you to make more sales. Businesses that succeed are usually strong, steady advertisers. The key to creating a great return on an advertising investment is consistency, which drives sales.  

Advertising will create store traffic, which is necessary to grow your customer base and increase revenues.   The more traffic you create the better chance of selling more than what specifically attracted a customer to you. The National Retail Merchants Association states that for every 100 items a shopper plans to buy, they make 30 unanticipated "in the store" purchases.

Advertising allows you to keep pace with your competition, who is also advertising. There are only so many consumers in the market who are ready to buy at any given moment in time. You need to advertise to keep regular customers engaged and to counterbalance competitive advertising. Consistent advertising allows you to maintain or grow your share of customers rather than potentially losing them to more aggressive competitors. If you're not advertising, you're not in the game.

Advertising is a key component to a successful business.  Whether in Jacksonville, or in any other market, you need to make sure you are getting your message out to the public.  You also need to make sure it is the right message.  The integrated marketing experts at 1010XL can help you tailor your message so that your offering or branding will be correctly heard by our engaged listening audience.  And we can do that in many different ways. 

If you have additional questions on why you should be advertising and/or how 1010XL can help you drive more awareness, more customers and, ultimately, more sales, please email me at howardw@1010xl.com.

Sports Marketing and the Role Radio Plays in Engaging the Sports Fan

Sports Marketing is a form of marketing in which brands use sports entities to connect with both a broad and/or targeted group of consumers. Countless companies and/or brands have used sports marketing to build positive brand awareness, support retail and sales promotions and gain an overall advantage in their market. Common examples of sports marketing include athlete endorsements, event marketing and in-stadium advertising.  However, the key ingredient is that these companies are connecting themselves to activity and/or programming that are drawing participation.

In Jacksonville, there are some obvious sports marketing partners, which include the Jacksonville Jaguars and the Jacksonville Suns.  Also included in the professional sports team ranks are the Arena Football League's Jacksonville Sharks, the American Basketball Associations Jacksonville Giants and the Jacksonville Axemen rugby team.  Purchasing signage, creating in game promotions and placing  an ad in their game programs are all methods of sports marketing.

Another way, perhaps even more effective, is to advertise and participate in promotions on a sports radio station.  Sports radio is an interactive source for news and discussion about local and national sports teams and athletes.  In a local market, such as Jacksonville, the conversation all week will be about the local football team - what happened last week, and breaking news about injuries and analysis of the approaching game.  When you have local sports experts who discuss and debate the news issues, take calls from the listening audience and tweet out their additional observations, they become the opinions that the listening audience, the sports fan audience, wants to hear.  They also become the best endorsers of a product.  Their live commercials will bring a boost to a company's marketing campaign.  1010XL has a majority of our commercials voiced by our talent and producers.  Some are even voiced by our sales staff.  This also helps connect the advertiser with the station.  And from the results our advertisers have been receiving, it confirms the financial strength of our listening audience and the influence our stations programming and advertising has on them.

In his Talkers Magazine article of October 20, 2011, Michael Harrison shared the following about sports talk radio.

• Sports talk audiences are predominantly male –– 77%.

• Sports talk audiences are tremendously emotionally engaged and connected to their stations and hosts.  This alone makes them a qualitative goldmine.

• Sports talk radio audiences are, to a significant extent, consumers of ESPN’s television and online platforms.  They are also ardent local newspaper readers –– far more so than the listeners of news/talk stations.  Approximately 20% say that their favorite non-radio source of sports information is their local newspaper.

• Sports talk listeners love baseball, but their favorite sport is football.

• Sports talk listeners are culturally (and ethnically) diverse.  Caucasians constitute only slightly more than half the sports talk audience (51%) followed by African Americans (26%) and Hispanics (19%) making it one of the most multi-ethnic/racial buys in radio.  This is a crucially important aspect/asset of the sports talk audience that for the most part is lost on advertising agencies and radio sales departments which are still glued to selling demos as opposed to mindsets.  The ethnic diversity of sports talk radio’s listenership is a rare and valuable quality of the format that sets it apart from the rest of radio!

• Sports talk listeners are economically diverse.  The curve covering low, middle and high income segments is notably smooth.

• Almost one in five sports talk listeners cite news/talk radio as their second favorite radio format (followed by a tie between country and hip hop/R&B) –– however sports talk skews significantly younger than news/talk as a spoken-word format.

• Sixty-six per cent of the sports talk audience over 18 has attended, are attending, or have graduated from college.

His conclusion is that sports talk radio appeals to vibrant, involved radio listeners and is a powerful tool for advertisers to reach men of a variety of demographics, lifestyles and cultures.

According to Arbitron, the company that provides the ratings and additional statistical data to the radio industry,  41.8 million people listen to sports radio each week.  Arbitron provides a profile of sports radio listeners as follows:  They are 88% male and 12% female.  48% have annual incomes $75,000 and higher.  34% have some college and 48% are college graduates.  They have the male age breakout as

• Ages 12-to-34: 21%

• Ages 35-to-44: 24%

• Ages 45-to-49: 11%

• Ages 50-to-55: 9%

• Age 55 and older: 21%

Sports Business Journal estimates annual sports radio advertising revenues at

$2.2 billion.  Although audiences are dwarfed by market-leading rock stations, broadcast analysts say sports stations are a good vehicle for products aimed at the male audience. According to Interep, a radio sales representation firm, more than 65% of sports-radio listeners are men; 70% are ages 25-to-54. These listeners are 81% more likely than all radio listeners to be college graduates; 67% are more likely to have household income over $75,000.

Mark Fratrik, Vice President of the BIA Financial Network states that “Sports radio stations do better in revenue share than they do in audience share. You think that a station that gets 10% of the audience would get 10% of a market’s revenue. But sports talk does better than that because of the target demographic of 18-to-34 year-old males.  When you’re that young, you don’t really consume that much media, so the media you do consume is very attractive.”  (Sports Marketing 2011).

Radio is a very powerful medium.  An effective and engaging sports radio station is the perfect sports marketing partner and will allow you many opportunities to reach and interact with your prospects that you will not find in other entities.  Let 1010XL show you how you can drive sales, branding and awareness through our promotional and advertising opportunities.  We are always looking for great companies to join our team.  Are you next?

Is the marketing world correct when it comes to men?

 

 

It's amazing how the marketing world looks at men.  Are they viewed as the bread winners? The family decision makers? People of influence?  No.  They are seen as beer drinkers, doing goofy things with their buddies and not knowing which end of a baby to diaper.  All of which are far from the truth.

Well, maybe not far from the truth, but it is clear that Madison Avenue does not see men for who they are and for their true buying potential.  Did you know that:

·         Three in ten (29%) men say they’re “the best shopper in the household,” and one-fifth (21%) of married men concur.

·         Nearly six in ten (57%) men say they totally or mostly use research and planning for their purchasing, rather than rely on impulse.

·         When it comes to major expenditures – buying or leasing a car, buying or renting a home or apartment, purchasing major appliances (washer, refrigerator, TV) – six in ten men (59%) say it’s their call or that they have a key role in the decision

·         As importantly, more than three-fourths (77%) of married women say that the recommendation of their spouse is “very important” when it comes to buying expensive items for the family.

·         For smaller items – costing under $500, such as clothing, small electronics, and entertainment – men are big players, too. Seven in ten (69%) of the men say they make the decision themselves or are a key player.

·         On many items, men are either major influencers or they lead the way toward making the key spending decisions. Looking at purchases where each gender is the sole decision maker or mostly makes the call, men trump women in the following key areas:

o   Automotive related (model/brand, selection of dealership, maintenance)

o   Investing

o   Alcohol

o   Sporting events

o   Electronics & media

o   Home improvements

o   Landscaping & gardening

 

·         Two-thirds of men (67%) and more than half (55%) of the females in our sample agree that “today’s male is more involved in the shopping/buying decisions than when I was growing up.”

·         Three in ten (31%) of men are single. Clearly, these are the guys who are making all the decisions in their households. Pass on them, and advertisers miss out on a big part of any male-based radio station’s influential audience.

·         From a real estate standpoint, men have clout. They are more likely to be home or condo owners. More than seven in ten (71%) are in this role, compared with only two-thirds of our female sample.

·         Men are also into loyalty/frequent shopper cards. Eight in ten (80%) have one of some kind, especially those who are married and/or have children living at home.

·         Men lead the way for card usage for hardware, travel (airlines, car rental, hotels), and electronics.
 

 This data comes from the Jacobs Media Marketing to Men survey.  It shows that not only should men be considered when planning a marketing campaign, they actually should be directly marketed to.  Not just for beer, but for everyday products, for big ticket items and for products in between.

So what would be the best method of marketing to men in Jacksonville, Florida?  It would make the most sense to direct your marketing dollars where you know the men are.  Where the men of this city have developed an interactive relationship.  On air.  On line. Through social media.

1010XL - 92.5 FM is the top sports radio station in North Florida and one of the leading stations for male listeners in the market.  We are very proud of the relationships, and response our sponsors have received form our listeners.  Perhaps we can provide the same strong marketing ROI for you and your business.

Look forward to creating an interactive dialogue about marketing to men in Jacksonville (and to women too) and how 1010XL can provide the marketing edge your business has been seeing