The 2025 Fort Wayne Radio Rating Update

The 2025 Fort Wayne Radio Rating Update

by | Mar 3, 2025 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Media, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

As a follow up on last weeks article and podcast episode, Today I’m going to share information regarding the last ratings data we have for the Fort Wayne, Indiana market pertaining to radio station listenership. This data was collected last Fall and is the most recent information we have until an update is released later this year.  Radio stations and ad agencies pay Nielsen for the data and I’m limited in what I can share publicly but my goal is to give you some insight that will either confirm your perceptions or blow them out of the water.

I have to bounce around a couple different survey data sets but all of this is specifically about radio listenership in Fort Wayne.

Using the Total Survey Area which includes 19 counties in Northeast Indiana and Northwest Ohio, I see there are a little over 900,000 people ages 12 and older living here. Over a third of them live in Allen County which includes Fort Wayne.  When I eliminate the 12 to 17 year olds, we have almost 570,000 adults in our area.

70% listen to a local radio station every week.

Less than 20% listen to satellite radio like Cirrus XM.

Only 61% are watching one of the traditional broadcast TV channels of ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox networks.

Less than 20% are subscribing to our local daily newspaper.

This tells us that local radio stations still have the largest overall audience of readers, viewers and listeners compared to other local media options.

Also the perception that everyone listens to satellite radio is far from true.

Which Fort Wayne radio stations have the most listeners?

In the last rating period , just one WMEE had over 100,000 weekly listeners age 12 and older.

WMEE is owned by Federated Media, where I work.  Other Federated Media stations were in the top ten in this classification include News Talk WOWO, Country Station K105, Rock Station 989 The Bear.  The other 6 stations with the most weekly listeners age 12 and older include WBCL, WAJI, WJFX, WLDE, WXKE and WBTU.

29 stations made the entire survey.

From a business perspective, using the broad age range of 12 years old and older doesn’t make sense because teenagers are not spending much money compared to adults.

And to really take an honest look at who spends money, we should also leave out the young adults in their 20’s maybe up to age 35 or 40.  It’s not that those age demographics don’t have money, but most of it is already spoken for with college debts, rent, car payments and credit card debt eating up most of those paychecks.

Realistically, it’s when we are in our 30’s that our families are growing both in number and expenses.  However by the time adults reach around 40 they begin to have some breathing room or at least figured out how to deal with their finances on a more grown-up level.

That’s why when I talk to business owners I use the term “grown-ups” as their customers.  These are people age 35 and older.  Sometimes business owners are targeting grown-ups age 45 and older because that’s who will spend money more freely instead of the younger folks.

I give you all of that just to set you up for what I’ve been doing for years when it comes to rating data for the purposes of advertising and that is to look at the age demographics of each radio station that matches who will buy what a business is selling.

That starts with age 35+.  My station, WOWO has the most weekly listeners in that age group.

Another important number that I look at from the ratings is how much time do listeners spend listening to their favorite stations?  It’s called Time Spent Listening, or TSL and again WOWO dominates over all the other local radio stations.

From a business perspective this means  there is an increased likelihood that a WOWO listener will hear your ad compared to listeners of any other radio station.

Nielsen has a cool tool in their dashboard where I can plug in a sample schedule on WOWO of let’s say 15 ads per week and it will tell me that on other stations I need  at least 30 ads up to 45 ads to reach the same number of people, the same number of times.

Talk to me about this specifically for your business and I can run reports for you too.

While all this is good news for the people I talk with about inviting WOWO listeners to become your customers, it’s just reassurance data.

Coming up in a couple of weeks, I’ll share my simple  formula on how to buy advertising that doesn’t involve ratings or anything other than common sense and show you how you can use it to be smarter than most advertising sales people.

 

 

Increasing Prices Without Losing Customers

Increasing Prices Without Losing Customers

by | Jan 20, 2025 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

There are many challenges in running a business. One of the greatest is knowing when the right time is to raise the price of your products or services. Last month subscribers to my SoundADvice newsletter received this information in their inbox.  I’ll add you to my SoundADvice email newsletter too if you want.  It’s absolutely free, and I don’t pass along your information to anyone.  Just email me, Scott@ScLoHo.net and ask for the SoundADvice newsletter.  It comes most Wednesdays and is written by my friend Rick at ENS media. Now let’s look at the tips that deal with raising prices because most business owners are faced with this decision.

With the increase in competition and all the talk about potential tariffs, there are more and more articles in business trades about the advantages and disadvantages of tariffs, and how they will affect pricing for both products and services.

One known fact is that consumers nearly always remain loyal to name brands and businesses they have an emotional connection to. If your business relationship with your customers is transactional, meaning price is the most important factor, raising prices is especially difficult. However, if your business with customers is relational, it’s much easier to implement price increases.

Simply put, people do business with people they trust, and they purchase products that they trust! If they don’t know you on a relational level, the chance of them staying with you when you raise prices decreases, dramatically!

Have you ever noticed within your company that people who “like” you and “trust” you rarely ask about the price? Whereas the customers or potential customers that you have not yet built a relationship with inquire about pricing significantly more often.

Raising or increasing prices is a struggle for every business owner. The thought of even having to deal with questions from customers about “why” can be exhausting. However, as the cost of goods increases, along with salaries and wages, rent, and all other related costs of business increases, so must your cost of goods or services. The trick is raising prices without raising a ruckus or losing customers.

Tip #7 of our Tips For Raising Your Prices Without Losing Customers is Don’t Promote or Apologize for Price Increase. Even your best and most loyal customers don’t want to hear that you’re increasing the price of your goods or services. But (there is always a “but”), if you must notify your customers, do it quickly, in as few words as possible, and don’t apologize!

Because some of your customers are transactional, rather than relational, even the best-run businesses will lose some customers when they increase prices. However, as your competitors are forced to increase their prices, you too will have an opportunity to gain some new customers as well.

In most business climates, raising prices is a must just to stay even, much less survive. Increasing your prices must be done with careful thought. If you would like some tips on how to approach raising your prices without losing customers, click here.

Win Back Former Customers

Win Back Former Customers

by | Nov 25, 2024 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Collective Wisdom, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

What should you change to retain or win back customers?

What internal changes can you make that will create a more positive customer experience?

Are there some things that have changed but that law of “unintended consequences” kicked in and perhaps you should revert to the it was before?

How prepared are you for the upcoming year and both the known and unknown that will impact the Customer Experience and your business bottom line?

I know, that’s a lot to contemplate but it’s the kind of questions I like to ask when I’m meeting with business owners and managers.

I’ve got three stories/examples to share.

I was one of the millions of people who voted early this year. Instead of waiting until Election Day on Tuesday November 5th, I was downtown one day in October and decided to visit the early voting location and stand in line to vote early.  The line was long but it was inside.  Total time from when I arrived and parked my car to when I left was 50 minutes.

A couple weeks later I noticed that the early voting line was different.  It was shorter and people had to wait outside the building.  I’m not sure why but I was thankful that my wait was not braving the elements, even though it was longer than those later early voters.  The customer experience of voting was less favorable for those who had to wait outside.  Most, but not all voters persisted in both scenarios because they had a determination to vote then and there instead of leaving.

Another story dealing with lines is my favorite locally owned coffee shop, the one that earned the nickname of ScLoHo’s North Office for more than a dozen years.  These days I visit mostly on Sundays but have started to stop by during the week on occasion too, like the old days.

However there are times when I will walk in and look at the line of people waiting to order and decide if I want to stay and wait or leave.  When they are busy the line can be 20 people deep.  Longer than that and the line goes out the door which I’ve seen a couple of times.  I know that over the years the owners have continually made modifications and that includes expanding and also streamlining their menu.  They’ve also adjusted their hours and during the Covid years, made required adjustments as needed.  They’ve raised their prices and even added a surcharge which is a percent of your bill that goes to pay for benefits to their staff.  I know that because they were upfront and posted about it.  They are 25 years strong and despite the long lines during busy times which discourages some customers from waiting at that moment, they will continue to thrive.

I also have the Starbucks app on my phone and I keep it loaded with funds so I can get coffee on the road at places other than my favorite local shop.  There have been a couple of times that one of the local Starbucks was so busy that they had no parking avail and I’ve waited for over 20 minutes.  I know, First World Problem. I’m not the only one that has been deterred from being their customer as they’ve lost sales and now they are going to fix a couple of common complaints to their speed and pricing.  Here’s the info from MediaPost.com:

Starbucks Ends Milk Upcharge, Returns To Sharpie Roots

“Starbucks will no longer charge customers extra for nondairy milk alternatives in their lattes, macchiatos and other beverages, part of a strategy to boost slowing sales by streamlining its menu and re-creating a more inviting coffeehouse vibe at its stores,” according to The Washington Post. “Customers previously complained that the extra fee for nondairy substitutes discriminated against people with lactose intolerance or other dietary restrictions….

Customers ordering drinks with nondairy substitutes can expect price reductions of more than 10%.

“The company is also setting a goal of getting customers their orders in four minutes or less,” according to The New York Times.  Brewed coffee will now be delivered to customers at the register, and customers can customize their coffee themselves — adding milk and sweeteners — at the condiment stations that the company will be reinstalling. That should also alleviate some of the workload for baristas.”

Another change won’t save customers money, but might make them feel more connected to the brand:  “Starbucks is bringing back hand-written names in Sharpie on cups and self-serve stations with sugar and cream to try to win back customers,” according to CNN. “Baristas handwriting customers’ names and messages on their drink orders in marker will make a comeback.”

It’s part of their strategy to recreate a coffeehouse vibe at Starbucks and add a “human touch.”

The last story I have has to do with something I did about 15 years ago when I served on the Board of Directors with the Advertising Federation.  We had monthly lunches at least 9 or or 10 times a year and there was a fee to attend.  Nearly everyone else on the board worked on the creative side or at an ad agency, yet I was the one that moved us forward into the world of online payments.  This was around 2009 and the custom was to reserve with an email or phone call and then bring either cash, check or credit card to be processed at the lunch.

Eventbrite was just a few years old and some of the old school board members were hesitant to move to an online reservation and payment platform for our lunches.  I set it up and our attendance quickly rose because we improved the customer experience and provided a fresh option to make it easy for people to buy along with keeping the previous method as an option for about a year to handle the transition.

All of these stories and examples are related to marketing too because you’ve changed the perception and reality of your company to the customer.

Go back to those original questions and ask yourself and your team about ways to improve as you move forward.

Success in Sampling

Success in Sampling

by | Oct 21, 2024 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo

Debbie Fields was only 21 years old when she opened her first Mrs. Fields Cookies store in Palo Alto, California in 1977.  Seven short years later, in 1984, the marketing “novice” had 160 stores selling more than $45 million worth of Mrs. Fields Cookies.

There are a lot of lessons we can learn from Debbie’s marketing success. Her passion and determination caused her to succeed even though she had no experience, and was told by friends, family, bankers, and others that her “idea” would not succeed.

The marketing campaign that drew customers to her stores consisted of simply going out into the streets with trays of free cookies for people to sample. If you have a great product, consider finding a way to offer free samples to your customers.

Car dealers know the value of the free test drive, and vendors at local farmers’ markets have learned they sell more produce by offering free samples.

Advertising that you offer free trials or samples also speaks volumes about the confidence you have in your products or services. Mrs. Fields did not wait for customers to come into her store to offer them free samples, she went out into the streets with trays of goodies. 

“Free” is one of the most powerful words in advertising and giving samples of your product engages “psychological reciprocity” in the minds of your prospects. 

Psychological reciprocity is defined as “a deep-rooted subconscious need to do something for those who do something for us”.

FREE! If you have a product that customers will love, click here to read the 8 Keys to Successful Sampling.

Mrs. Fields Cookies was one of the first franchised cookie shops in the country and we use to have a couple of them here in Fort Wayne Indiana.  We don’t anymore due to the changes in consumer behavior and decline of major malls that was going on for awhile but then took a big hit in 2020 with covid.

When Mrs. Fields started in the malls around the country, that was a strategic location move.  See, the rent in a mall was usually higher than a smaller strip shopping center.  Just the mall itself was a destination, not just specific stores.

So the Mrs. Fields cookie stores took advantage of the foot traffic created by the other well known stores and built their brand that way.

Some of my radio advertising partners have used a free offer that was in response to a genuine need to create increased business in the past few years.  Let’s talk and see if there’s something that might be appropriate for your business.

POSITIVE Lessons from Political Advertising

POSITIVE Lessons from Political Advertising

by | Oct 7, 2024 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, Sound ADvice

This was sent to my Sound ADvice Newsletter subscribers last week:

The world of political advertising is in a “world” all its own. The rules of traditional advertising are thrown out the window.

It’s a high-stakes game.  It’s estimated that during the 2024 presidential election, candidates will spend nearly $12.32 billion; that’s an increase of almost 30% from the 2020 election cycle.

While I have never met anyone who likes political advertising, there are some proven, and yes positive, tactics that can help you win the vote of public opinion in your business category. First, you must win their hearts and minds. Once you’ve accomplished that, you’ll win their wallets and purses.

Presidential Marketing Tactic Number Ten is to Develop a Proprietary Slogan.  In today’s competitive landscape, simply promoting your name is no longer sufficient to develop customer loyalty or attract new business. Your name must stand for something and be associated with an easy-to-remember benefit statement or slogan.

In a few short words, a slogan describes what your business stands for.  Whether they were your preferred candidate or not, Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again”, and Kamala Harris’ “We’re Not Going Back” or “When We Fight, We Win” are all compelling slogans.

There is, however, one tactic your advertising needs to adhere to that most political campaigns do not…Tell the Truth!

Don’t make promises you can’t keep if you want to be in business for more than one term.

Click here to see all fourteen Presidential Marketing Tactics that can help place your business at the top of your business category.
 
If you would like to receive my free Sound ADvice newsletter in your inbox every week, email me Scott@ScLoHo.net