There is a drought sweeping the nation, and I’m not talking about a lack of rain. Over the last couple of months, several articles have discussed how America is in the clutches of a fun drought. People are reporting that their lives are lacking in fun. This, I believe, is a place where the world of Classic Rock/Hits and Adult Hits radio can make an impact.
According to a study reported on by Talker Research, nearly 50% of Americans say they don’t have enough fun in their lives. That’s one out of every two of your listeners. A number of factors contribute to this finding. The biggest is simply that people are busy and lack free time.
There is also what economists — yes, actual economists are studying this problem — call “fun-flation.” This refers to a trend where the cost of concerts, amusement parks, and other activities has risen faster than other prices. Even staying home is more expensive, as streaming services and other in-home subscriptions continue to raise prices.
Fun Is Fading — and So Are the Places to Find It
Furthermore, there are simply fewer places for people to have fun. Movie theaters are slowly disappearing. AMC Entertainment — the company that had Nicole Kidman tell you to keep going to the movies — is now terminating leases instead of renewing them. Other theater chains are selling out completely. At this point, mid-sized cities in America are left without a single movie theater.
Beyond theaters, America is down to fewer than 3,200 active bowling alleys, compared to over 12,000 at the sport’s height. Additionally, the country has lost close to 2,000 golf courses over the last twenty years. While our world of Classic Rock/Hits stations can’t make up for all of that, we can certainly employ some strategies to help break the fun drought.
Lack of Free Time
Most people cite a lack of time they can dedicate to having fun as their biggest challenge. Considering radio is one of the few mediums that can reach people while they are doing the least fun thing — working — this seems like a huge opportunity.
To start, I’d like to propose adding fun as a new sound code in your music scheduler. Code songs that are truly fun, and make sure they are spread out evenly. Adult and Classic Hits stations, and to a slightly lesser extent Classic Rock stations, have a lot of these songs. See if you can use them to create fun moments every quarter hour.
Then comes the existential question of whether your hosts — or, in the case of Adult Hits, your station voice — are having fun. There’s no need to recount all the challenges talent face today. However, that’s no excuse for not having fun on the air. And for Program Directors, if you are doing coaching sessions: when was the last time you encouraged a talent to have more fun instead of focusing on the length of their breaks?
Prizes, Events, and Other Silliness
Another obvious place where stations can help fight the fun drought is with contests and prizes. There is no shortage of Classic artists out on tour, but higher ticket prices — added to an increased cost of living — have made these events harder for listeners to attend.
That means the chance to win tickets from your station means more than ever. Which is why I’d challenge you to maximize every pair of tickets. Too often I hear tickets treated like a throwaway prize, instead of using the opportunity to have giveaways that are big, bombastic, and — dare I say — fun.
Remember before PPM when contest promos used to be entertaining? Giveaways had creative names and fun mechanisms that grabbed the listener’s imagination. Now, I’m not advocating a return to 67-second-long promos, but I am pushing to get our collective creative juices flowing again.
Beyond the Tickets
Moreover, it’s time to look beyond tickets for giveaway opportunities. At this point, restaurants — and even fast food — are expensive. Winning a chance to treat the family to a meal means a lot. While we used to joke about not lowering our station to give away burritos, today it’s absolutely worth it.
Stations can also help listeners maximize the free time they do have. It’s not hard to organize a bowling league — if you can find an alley — or a softball team or a tabletop game night for listeners. There are a lot of ways to partner with small businesses and organizations to make these events cost-effective and easy to execute.
Ultimately, our Classic Rock/Hits and Adult Hits stations are uniquely positioned for this challenge. We play fun music with multi-generational appeal. We have fun prizes to give away. We have fun people on staff who can create memorable moments. If anyone can end the fun drought, it’s us.
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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.