If you want to market your “Guys Night Out with Metallica” promotion, you’re not going to buy a mailing list of Women, right? Sh!t like that happens, though.
Vegas odds aren’t high enough for someone to look at me and guess my name is Sheila. And yet, a shocking number of marketers think that’s my name. I have never met this Sheila, but I do know her last name and where she lives.
Let me unravel and get to the point.
Back in ‘98, a radio company moved me to L.A., and I got a badass flip phone to ditch the “303” and flex my new “310.” That was so long ago. Stations still had overnight DJs who sometimes needed to call their PDs at 3 am.
I’ve had that number ever since.
Turns out, before me, it belonged to Sheila.
This isn’t just a funny, wrong-number story. It’s a marketing red flag. Depending on who you ask, 20% to 30% of mailing lists are made up of outdated or inaccurate data. That means Rock campaigns could be burning thousands by going to people like Sheila instead of their intended recipient.
STILL TO THIS DAY, I get calls and texts from strangers wanting to talk to Sheila about:
- Solar panels
- Selling her home
- Seasonal spraying for bugs
- Refinancing, mortgage rates
- Political polling (no wonder political polling is often wrong)
Here’s why it matters: While this could impact pivotal rock research, radio companies often use outside vendors to facilitate marketing. They trust vendors to have updated target lists so they can tell their friends to tell their friends to tell their friends to listen on the :20s and say the phrase that pays to win a truckload of cash.
I’m living proof that old lists are being sold and used, over and over, in multiple industries. I could tell a similar story about a radio brand that also thought I was someone else. But I’ll stay focused on Sheila. I know more about her than I should. I could bake her a f&$k!ng cake – and drive it to her house, thanks to solicitors disclosing her sensitive information.
There have been too many to count over the years, but here are screenshots of a recent text exchange (I looked them up, the texter/company is legit, they rep homes far above my pay grade. Looks like Sheila is a baller.)
I don’t fault this real estate company; they’re likely using a purchased list of homeowners. But as you move forward and determine what your next marketing campaign is going to be, think about Sheila.
Is your big RockTernative “Song of the Day” campaign – with the calendar filled with bangers for each day of the month – landing with Pop listeners who don’t know the Pumpkins from the Cranberries? Is that dope cash mailer going to future check-cashers who are outside your target demo?
If you’re spending thousands on direct mail, telemarketing, or digital campaigns, ask your vendors where their lists came from and when they were updated. If Sheila’s still in the system, your ROI just took a hit.
I’m mailing this piece to Sheila right now…
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Keith Cunningham is a Rock/Alternative columnist for Barrett Media, and the Master of Mayhem at 95.5 KLOS-FM in Los Angeles for over 10 years. He’s been voted one of America’s Top 5 Program Directors in two formats by Barrett Media and one of America’s Best PDs by Radio Ink. Keith has built his career by taking multi-million-dollar brands from worst to first, and leading Marconi & Gracie award winners. A self-described audience data and research nerd and advisory council member for St. Jude fundraising, Keith is a fantasy football champion and lover of his daughters & dogs. Reach him here at LinkedIn and X. For non-KLOS questions or comments, reach him at Keith90405@gmail.com.
