New Perceptual Weaponry for 2021

Gold numbers 2021 on black background in carnival accessories, new year party

Before Covid-19 the radio business was thinking a lot about doing things differently, making every budget dollar count and being more agile in the face of competitive threats. Those concerns won’t decrease as we start to move past the pandemic. These days, perceptual studies are less likely to be annual checkups and more likely to…

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What a #@$%&ing Year!

exhausted

Early in March, Carolyn Gilbert and I presented study findings at what would turn out to be the last in-person conference of 2020: Talk Show Boot Camp. Some folks had already chosen to skip attending due to the looming threat of the new pandemic. Those of us who did show up were bumping elbows instead…

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What Would You Ask Ratings Participants?

Girl in car

Some folks are trimming trees. Some folks are programming non-stop holiday music. At NuVoodoo, December means we’re working on the questionnaire for the next Ratings Prospects Study. Just after the first of the year, we’ll begin collecting thousands of interviews for NuVoodoo Ratings Prospects Study Seventeen and we want your input! In this year of…

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Telemarketing Resurgence? No. OTT TV? Yes.

smiling parents and daughter watching tv with popcorn

PRE-coronavirus, some of the greatest successes for the NuVoodoo marketing team came from calling businesses about workday-related cash contests. Past NuVoodoo Ratings Prospects Studies have shown that huge amounts of AQH come from listening at places of business during the workday. Reaching one or two heavy listeners at work with a meter or diary had…

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Put Your Station “Over the Top” (OTT)

Front view of young family sitting together on the sofa in their living room watching TV

NuVoodoo marketing guru Mike O’Connor has identified a new tactic that’s helping our clients play the Nielsen game successfully – despite the battlefield shifting dramatically since March. With so many working from home, we’ve put office telemarketing on the shelf and dedicated more of our clients’ budgets to reaching listeners AT HOME. Since the lockdown…

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Is Your Station a Good Date?

Bored black guy listening to his girlfriend

This pandemic slog is tough on everyone and, until recently, I hadn’t thought about how hard it is on single folks who had been going on dates at the start of 2020. One single friend remarked that, as hard as it’s been, at least there’ve been no bad dates in eight months – the ones…

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Is Coronavirus Information Still Important?

Cleaning hands to prevent coronavirus epidemic

While the news has been dominated by the election, the increase in coronavirus cases ebbs back into the headlines in every slack moment. NuVoodoo has been tracking concern with the virus and a host of other issues related to the pandemic since early March. The news of growing cases seemed like a good opportunity to…

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When to Start Christmas Music This Year

Moose - Alces alces, a male bull emerging from the forest.

Every Halloween morning for over fifty years we’ve been pulling the NuVoodoo Christmas moose, Medford Mike, out of his enclosure to forecast when stations should start All Christmas programming. The legend goes that if Mike sees his shadow, stations should begin Christmas programming before Thanksgiving. If he doesn’t see his shadow, they should wait until…

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Will St. Nick Be the Sugar PUMM Fairy in 2020?

Santa dog banner

NuVoodoo marketing guru Mike O’Connor asked us to run a quick study to look into the appetite for and timing of Christmas music this year. With PUMM still down dramatically in many PPM markets, stations are looking for strong plays to lift ratings this fall. Also, many diary markets have their first December monthlies to…

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Working (and Listening) From Home Is Here to Stay

Woman listening to music in headphones on couch, using pc

Presenting at this year’s virtual Morning Show Boot Camp, preparing a talk for the CMB Momentum Summit next month and chatting with clients in recent weeks, the same themes keep coming up as we talk about radio’s future. Things aren’t going back to normal anytime soon. The car-heavy morning commute may return eventually, but radio…

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