{"id":4608,"date":"2010-03-09T00:05:41","date_gmt":"2010-03-09T08:05:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/?p=4608"},"modified":"2010-03-08T23:24:16","modified_gmt":"2010-03-09T07:24:16","slug":"radio-station-focus-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/radio-station-focus-groups\/","title":{"rendered":"HOW RADIO STATIONS SHOULD NOT USE FOCUS GROUPS"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"radio<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

Focus groups are good for one thing: Measuring consumer perceptions of existing products:<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

“When you hear ‘Y107,’ what do you think of?” <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

“How would you describe the music you hear on X102?”<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Focus groups are not<\/strong><\/span> good for testing brand-new ideas that are outside the experiences of the group members. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

(“We’re thinking of launching a new morning show hosted by an Hispanic female and a Russian male; what do you think of that idea?”)<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

And focus groups are not<\/strong><\/span> good for asking people to tell you exactly how you should change your radio station and then giving them exactly what they want.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, all<\/strong><\/span> listeners will tell you they’d prefer that you schedule all of your contests at exactly the same time each hour or each day. But if a particular contest is intended to increase Time Spent Listening, then doing what your listeners prefer will damage your TSL.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

But take heart, Radio People; ours is not the only industry that makes this mistake. I’ll now tell you about a company that several years ago threw away $1.2 billion (yes, that’s BILLION) by slavishly following the dictates of focus group members.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The Aladdin Hotel & Casino was a new Las Vegas resort that was built for $1.2 billion. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The hotel opened with 2,567 rooms. The main casino covered 100,000 square feet, while a second casino took up another 30,000 square feet. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Twenty restaurants. And a 130-store enclosed shopping mall.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

A year after opening, they filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Oh, if only they’d listened to me\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

The property’s dismal performance could be attributed largely to two huge mistakes.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Mistake #1<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/span>You couldn’t see the front entrance from the street. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Mind you, this wasn’t some tiny boutique in a shopping mall. This was a huge resort hotel-casino. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

In the history of the world, no one ever had said, “Gee, here I am at Caesar’s Palace\/The Mirage\/Whatever, but I can’t figure out how to get inside the place!”<\/em><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Until the new Aladdin opened, that is.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Mistake #2<\/strong><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

When London Clubs International, the geniuses in charge of creating the new resort, conducted focus groups, they asked people, “What do you dislike about other hotel-casinos?”<\/em><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

And everyone<\/strong><\/span> said, “You know what I hate? Whenever I enter the hotel \u2014 to check in or to return to my room \u2014 I have to walk through the casino area. If I want to dine in one of the restaurants, I have to shlep through the casino to get there. I HATE THAT!”<\/em><\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

You see, other casino-hotels deliberately force<\/strong><\/span> patrons to traipse through their casinos, knowing that quite a few of them will drop some bucks in a slot machine or at a craps or blackjack table on the way.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

As someone who has spoken at many events housed at hotel- casinos, I can tell you it truly is quite annoying. And if I had been a focus group member, I would’ve heartily agreed with that complaint.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Well, London Clubs International listened, and the Aladdin was designed so that you could enter the hotel (assuming you could find the entrance) without having to set foot in the casino. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

And you could visit the mile-long shopping center without going through the casino. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, you could spend your entire stay at the Aladdin Hotel & Casino without even once<\/strong><\/span> breathing a particle of stale casino air.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

And guess what? The casino “drop” (how much money is wagered at the casino’s various games) was far<\/strong><\/span> below the Aladdin’s original projections.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

With the much smaller “drop” comes a much smaller “hold” (the amount of the total “action” that the house keeps; the total amount wagered minus the total amount won by players).<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

In other words:<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

1. The focus group said, “Don’t make us walk through the casino.”<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

2. The company strategists said, “Okay, we won’t make you walk through the casino.”<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Far fewer customers walked through the casino.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

4. The casino won a lot less money.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Bankruptcy.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

Please keep this story in mind the next time you let your<\/strong><\/span> focus group program your<\/strong><\/span> radio station.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Focus groups are good for one thing: Measuring consumer perceptions of existing products: “When you hear ‘Y107,’ what do you think of?” “How would you describe the music you hear on X102?” Focus groups are not good for testing brand-new ideas that are outside the experiences of the group members. (“We’re thinking of launching a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4608","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"yoast_head":"\nHOW RADIO STATIONS SHOULD NOT USE FOCUS GROUPS - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/danoday.com\/blog\/2010\/03\/radio-station-focus-groups\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"HOW RADIO STATIONS SHOULD NOT USE FOCUS GROUPS - DAN O\u2019DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Focus groups are good for one thing: Measuring consumer perceptions of existing products: “When you hear ‘Y107,’ what do you think of?” “How would you describe the music you hear on X102?” Focus groups are not good for testing brand-new ideas that are outside the experiences of the group members. 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