Living in a 140 Character World

Great piece in the NY TIMES about changing morning habits of the American Family.

In my grandfather’s time, the first thing they grabbed in the morning was the newspaper. 

My parents used to flip on the radio.

For my generation, it was TV.

My kids generation:  on-line.

Frankly – that’s where I start may day too.  It can take me an hour to read all of the over-night blogs and tweets from those I chose to follow. 

In other words, I am my own editor and program director.

Now there are surly those who cringe at how much time is being spent on-line and with tech gadgets.  I am not here to argue whether it is good or bad.  As marketers … we are just here to argue it as the TRUTH.

So if New Media is the next morning time dominant media choice … where do my radio friends go?

How about RIGHT SMACK IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL.  

Of the three traditional media outlets, radio has typically possessed the most defined brands. 

Are those brands on-line?

** Not radio station websites – these are glorified billboards.  Same with radio station FB pages. 

If your station is the rock brand in your market … how many rock micro sites do you operate that are tailored just to your market?

Are you hosting chat rooms about rock in your area?

Are you connecting consumers with everything rock in your market?

Are you allowing them to buy rock stuff from you?

Talk?  Country?  Oldies?  Rap?  All have unique brands.

What about AC?

More and more AC’s are learning to create brands away from their stations for their listeners.  The most popular theme seems to be mom sites.

Your brand is your #1 asset.

Not your license to broadcast … or 1000 foot tower.

** The bean-counters would not agree – after all, a steel tower cost about $100 a foot to put up!

The future road map to success is to take your brand and ride the wave of distribution. 

If you read the TIMES article and think that isn’t your family or none that you know, that doesn’t mean it isn’t already happening and about to take over.

Ever seen a kid text the kid standing right next to him?

I saw adults doing it in the airport last week.

Think these adults are reading a newspaper or watching TV in the morning?