This week, we finish our trip down the rabbit hole of alternative media options Classic Rock stations might use to reach younger audiences. The discussion started with Media Cartographer Evan Shapiro’s supposition that the challenge isn’t a lack of passion for Classic Rock amongst Millennials and Generations A and Z. It’s that they don’t listen to the radio.
Two weeks ago, we explored using podcasts as a vehicle to reach younger people. Last week, we started looking at community building as an option. Seth Resler, Founder of Community Marketing Revolution, talked about how a community is different from an audience and what it takes to develop one.
He personally wasn’t sure if a Classic Rock radio station could drive enough passion to create a community. But fear not, as there is at least one prime example of a station that did just that.
Enter Dave Beasing, current CEO of Sound That Brands and former Head of Content and Brand at Classic Rock 100.3 The Sound in Los Angeles. During his more than nine years overseeing KSWD, Beasing and his team cultivated a community called The Backstagers who were just that. Passionate fans of the radio station, of Classic Rock and of each other.
Proof of the program’s success is that just a couple of months ago, more than seven years after The Sound went off the air, Beasing went to a party where members of the community got together.
“They had a Sound step and repeat banner they had acquired when the station went off the air that had been signed by the entire airstaff,” Beasing says. “They showed me what Joe Benson had written, and I found the message I wrote, too.”
That kind of longevity doesn’t just happen. Beasing says the project grew out of a conversation with his consultant, Fred Jacobs. That led to a survey of the station’s email database. Asking about listeners’ passion for things like radio, concerts, and Classic Rock.
It also focused heavily on how each person used social media. How many followers they had on each platform. How often they posted content, and whether it was original or reposting other people’s stuff.
Out of thousands of people who took the survey, Beasing says they narrowed it down to people who were highly active on social media. With good-sized followings and had a passion for the right things, “everybody scrolls,” he says. “You want to find people who post, tag, show up and shout.”
They invited those people to an event at the station. It was similar to how stations will do a focus group. Or listener advisory board with database members, but this was different.
Instead of the goal being to ask people what they thought about the station and gather information. It was about giving them access to the station and creating an open dialogue.
“They’re meeting the DJs, they’re seeing the studio, they’re taking selfies in the studio,” says Beasing. “We even opened the mic and did a bad break on the air where everybody says ‘Hi,’ and that kind of stuff.”
As these people were already screened to be big-time social media users, they not only posted about the meetup but were eager to join a private Facebook group that included Beasing and the airstaff.
The result was instant camaraderie, “there were half a dozen really key members who were very excited about it and helped build this thing, not only the social media side, but on the social IRL side as well.” He estimates that about half the group is still active on Facebook today, “because they became friends.”
What has also kept the group together is a shared passion. “They love rock music, they love the radio stations that they grew up with. And The Sound was modeled after some of those stations,” Beasing says.
That led to the Backstagers spreading word about the station through social media. “Not out of a feeling of obligation, but a feeling of genuine excitement.
And while members posted about special weekends or about something funny the DJs said, the connection went deeper.
“I’m sure they loved telling their friends what the DJs said to them when they met them. Or that they had an anniversary last week. And two or three of the DJs wished them a happy anniversary.” They felt like they were very much a part of the radio station.
That feeling was enhanced by what the airstaff posted in the Backstager Facebook group.
“It might be a story about something that happened in the hallway. Or saying ‘I just found out that Graham Nash is going to stop by tomorrow afternoon at four o’clock. What should I ask him?’” They even got the inside scoop on Nielsen. “When the ratings would come out, we’d give them a report on how we did. Up or down, and thank them for their help regardless.”
And while the Backstagers helped accelerate the brand’s reach on social media, which did lead to opportunities to make additional dollars and may have impacted ratings, Beasing is quick to emphasize that there isn’t necessarily a direct correlation.
“This isn’t a fishing expedition for meters. This is brand building, and you cannot say, what’s the ROI this month?”
But the fact is, strong brands do better in ratings and revenue. And with limited to no marketing budgets, this could be a great way to grow your station’s brand.
And who knows, you just might find a few Millennials who don’t listen to the radio but want to be a part of your community.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
Mike Stern is a Classic Rock columnist and Features writer for Barrett Media. He has been with Jacobs Media consulting stations in the Classic Rock, Rock, Alternative and AAA world for more than a decade. Prior to that he programmed stations in Chicago, Detroit, Denver Las Vegas and other markets. He also worked as News/Talk Editor for Radio and Records, wrote about Top 40 Radio for Billboard Magazine and had his own radio talent coaching business called Talent Mechanic.
