There was a time when the AC format steamrolled through markets
Adult Contemporary was the Tiger Woods of music formats in the 1980s – leaving rating records smashed and revenue buckets full.
While the AC Format seemed to be at the top of every market in Arbitron, it really came to near-perfection under the peer review of The Research Group and its visionary leader, Bill Moyes.
Bill Moyes was a radio gym rat who cut his early radio chops in Northeast American radio. He fell deeply in love with radio research, assisted in the development of The Arbitron (now Nielsen) diary system, and eventually founded the Blue-Chip standard for radio research—The Research Group.
Moyes identified the AC Format as the juggernaut it could become and, through his Colorado Springs research team, built some of the world’s dominant AC Radio brands.
Eventually becoming 2017’s Radio Ink’s “The 25 People Who Made the Biggest Impact on Radio Over the Past 25 years,” after tutoring the best of the best in AC radio, Moyes also owned a few dozen radio stations while consulting radio brands in 100+ radio markets in 22 countries worldwide.
In the 1980s, Moyes made his format indelible WOW mark in Philadelphia, working with dominating owner Jerry Lee for nearly four decades.
Lee’s B101 WBEB-FM was so dominant that it is rumored he invested three times his competitor (and some say the market!!) in research, marketing and contesting. It was the ONE Adult Contemporary brand the nation monitored and often emulated.
When a Bill Moyes-supported format—he termed his Adult Contemporary format “Spectrum AC”—came through town, ratings carnage (your scorecard) and a steep downturn in revenue (your projections) followed.
Moyes would stamp his fingerprints all over groups big and small, with Adult Contemporary winners inside Clear Channel, Entercom and Greater Media, as these companies, following The Spectrum AC recipe, would dominate their markets.
You might be thinking:
“…Nice brief Adult Contemporary history lesson, Kevin. So – what happened…?”
Depends on who you ask.
Internal and external forces wrecked the Adult Contemporary format that became well-known in the 1980s.
Internal
- To remain ‘contemporary,’ most brands thought it a good idea to separate their brand from the Soft 70s (Carpenters—James Taylor—John Denver), even though, as a group, these artists were among the best testers.
- Consultants in nice Navy Blazers come to town, insisting that the only ‘hill to die on’ was music. All of their other lambs could be sacrificed in order to survive.
- Most “Spectrum ACs” had dominant—often full-service—morning shows. If music is the hill to die on, we’ll need a more morning music show that is less heavy on news and AM Talk.
External
- A splintered, flanker format emerges. The biggest music pie to borrow (steal?) from was Adult Contemporary – so they did.
- Classic Hits took the older range of hits, Rhythmic Adult Contemporary pulled out its share of sound, while a sister format—HOT AC—planted itself between AC and CHR.
- While new formatics sounds came to the radio band, also did marketing of those new sounds. Counter this with a developed bunker mentality while under attack, Adult Contemporary countered with less behind the mic and fewer billboards on the drive home.
So, what can YOU do about waning AC numbers looking forward?
As a leader of an Adult Contemporary brand, there are waves of strategic and tactical warfare quills you can put into place to slowly reclaim what once was yours if your leadership has the fortitude.
Strategic
- Rebuild your brand as a full-service outlet. Beyond what we are already doing (AM News, local meteorologist, national news headlines), take that News Content outside AM Drive. The Adult Contemporary audience has a Fear Of Missing Out in the news cycle. Brief news headlines are powerful, especially if the local paper has stopped daily publishing.
- Reclaim what’s yours without harm to your brand. Go after and embrace Soft Classic Hits. The vast majority is so frightened by those images that around 1981 is the cut line for older music on most AC stations.
- Build an afternoon SHOW. An ensemble program that transitions to AM Drive if needed. Just last week, Barrett Media’s Jeff Lynn had a chat with Radio One’s talented programmer and morning talent Sean Copeland from Indy’s B105.7. Sean himself is a fantastic storyteller, and his show is worth a listen.
Tactical
- We’re familiar with Country radio playing the Star Spangled Banner or reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in their morning shows. Why not create a series of bedtime stories read on-air every night at 7 pm? While there are dozens of resources to air stories, have local teachers read them and offer to place those books on hold at the school library. PTOs are your gateway to this promotion.
- Overnight ratings are vapor. There are people listening to your brand, just not as intently as, say, AM Drive. If you have a high-profile morning show, why not run breaks and benchmarks overnight so those third shifters are familiar with your personalities when they become first shifters?
In the coming weeks, we will visit with Adult Contemporary thought leaders who are winning today, preparing for the future, and providing a roadmap to get there.
Perhaps your name will be on that list?
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Kevin Robinson is a passionate award-winning programmer, consultant and coach – with multi-formats success all over the country. He has advised numerous companies including Audacy (formerly Entercom Communications), Beasley Broadcast Group, Westwood One, Midwest Communications, Townsquare Media, Midwest Family Broadcasting Group, EG Media Group, Federated Media, Kensington Media, mediaBrew Communications, Starved Rock Media, and more. He specializes in strategic radio cluster alignment, building lean-forward tactics and talent coaching – legacy and entry-level – personalities.
Known largely as a trusted talent coach, Kevin is the only personality mentor who’s coached three different morning shows on three different brands in the same major market to the #1 position. His efforts have been recognized by The World Wide Radio Summit, Radio & Records, NAB’s Marconi, and he has coached CMA, ACM and Marconi Award-winning talent. He is also in The Zionsville High School Hall of Fame as part of the 2008 inaugural class. Kevin is an Indiana native – living near Zionsville with his wife of 39 years, Monica and can be reached at kevin@robinsonmedia.fm.
