Is Radio in danger of being out of touch ?

Liam Renton is the PD and Breakfast Host of 96five in Brisbane and writes for Radio Today. 

Disney’s “Out of Touch” and Radio’s in Danger of Following Suite

There is no doubt that Disney is and has been one of strongest, most recognised brands in the world. A spectacular attraction known by every child in the world whose dream it is to visit and lose themselves in the magic.

And I still am that child. Now I’ve been to both Disneyland and Disneyworld, and yes, I loved both my visits but the visits were 10 years apart and my experience differed greatly.

In 2000 when I first went it was magical and breathtaking. Skip forward 10 years and nothing much had changed. It was stale and had lost its shine. I wonder if Disney is in danger of becoming irrelevant and unnecessary.

The latest attraction at DisneyWorld was 'The All New Aerosmith Ride'. Sure it was fast and fun, but to the kids of today, who are Aerosmith? I was also shocked to see a major attraction was still the 'Honey I shrunk the Kids Ride'. Ummm, 1989 called and want its ride back. It was dated and out of touch with 2012.

A 'Good Charlotte Ride', an 'Avatar Ride', now that’s keeping up with the times. For me the magic had gone just a little, and I know my kids would have no idea who or what most of the so called current rides and attractions are.

Does radio have the same issues? Just because it worked in 1989, doesn’t mean the listeners aren’t tired of it now. Maybe a station audit of your benchmarks, segments and things you’ve done forever could be a start for your station today. A station audit could be long overdue. Sure if it works, why not roll it out. But the old adage of they’ll like what we tell them to like, could be a little arrogant and possibly damaging. Our audience have choice, and we don’t have to be one of them.

I question with such amazing creative minds in our industry why we still need to roll out :-

• Battle of the Sexes/Suburbs
• Beat the Bomb
• Classic 9 at 9
• Lunch Box Request

The list goes on. Congrats to Nova on playing 'Innuendo Bingo' recently, it was new to our ears, fresh and funny. Maybe we can all strive to do something new and different. If it doesn’t work, try again. Don’t become the 'Honey I Shrunk the Kids Radio Station'.

Think Ricky Gervais, not Rick Moranis.


Liam Renton

Program Director 96.5 FM Family Brisbane.

---

RSS

newtaste (9:19am 30 Jul 2012)

Disney purchased Marvel a couple of years ago, are making a fortune from Spiderman etc, and are looking to have a Marvel area in some of their parks. Disney are not that much out of touch.

Anonymous (9:25am 30 Jul 2012)

While the question of whether radio is in danger of being out of touch is valid, the Disney reference is a bit short sighted?!

I dare say that Disney would rather invest in their more profitable ventures such as the Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez or Demi Lovato - or perhaps their many movie interests (not to mention the games, merchanise and apps that go with it).

Although the theme park may be out of date, I think Disney work hard to deliver contemporary youth content in ways they never have before. Sometimes you just need to think outside the box!

Don Taylor (9:27am 30 Jul 2012)

Oh yeah Liam....Now that's a top Family game !!

Anonymous (9:52am 30 Jul 2012)

Innuendo Bingo has been running on Radio 1 for a few years now...

Phil Dobbie (10:16am 30 Jul 2012)

Of course it is.

Anonymous (10:17am 30 Jul 2012)

Don't forget the staple - 'Secret Sound'! Any regional radio station that decides to dump the ol' trusted SS would be a very brave station, in my opinion.

Kat (10:12am 31 Jul 2012)

Hey Liam, I agree with you, there needs to be fresh ideas but Innuendo Bingo is a blatant rip off from Scott Mills, BBC Radio 1 who's been doing this for years. I can't believe the boys didn't even change names, I think they're terrific but this is embareassing

Rodger Thornhill (4:01pm 02 Aug 2012)

interesting comments from a man who hosts a national countdown on Christian Radio stations called the "Hot 25" Which I believe is 25 songs as voted by listeners which then count UP to the number one song.
I do recall hearing of a guy called Jason Roe who decieded to revolutionise the countdown by having....wait for it.....a CountUP! The groundbreaking idea was to start with the best songs and go backwards...sadly for Jason Roe, it didnt go anywhere....forwards or backwards.

Anonymous (11:10am 15 Feb 2013)

Would that be Jason Roe A FORMER Coffs Harbour community radio station manager? Should look that up i think.

Max (4:51pm 15 Feb 2013)

On the question of whether radio is out of touch the answer has to be no. If it were, the numbers would not be there. Compared to other traditional media it's holding up pretty well. I think radio has done a good job of targeting the available audience, the real question is "who are they" and do they relate to the medium the same way they always did. Whilst Australian markets have become more competitive with additional stations over the past decade there is still a question of format integrity at times. When you tune around the differences are becoming clearer but the real difference will ultimately be in the detail

Jan (5:51pm 15 Feb 2013)

Max, I bet if you ask any 10-15 year old if they listen to terrestrial radio let alone tune it in, they'd lol! Kids don't use radio like we did (to tape songs, request songs, cherios etc....) thanks to YouTube, Spotify, Pandora, iPods & iPhones radio is an irrelevant medium, check old folks device. As for digital radio, the horse has already bolted. It has failed miserably in the U.S. and as such wouldn't take off here either. Now the PACC are making stations pay licence fee for online streaming off music. I'm just waiting for the tight regional networks to pull the plug on that one. If you need localism, there's facebook and plenty of apps around. Radio is ancient history, the future is now available right in the palm of hand on your phone!

Max (7:59pm 16 Feb 2013)

Jan :) Could not agree with you more , thats why i emphasise available audience. I don't there there is any question that those with get up and go have gone, but there are still plenty of 10-15 year olds who listen last time i checked. There must be something there for them in the mix of all the other influences you mentioned or maybe its just the parents hand at work. The allure of other forms of entertainment is inevitable and maybe we will wake up one day to find a huge chunk of them gone , but in the meantime I am not underestimating how long it takes to break a habit