Radio and TV Have Found the Baby Boomers Generation...Again
For decades, radio has been a haven for Baby Boomers. Some of the most enduring music was made during the salad days of the Baby Boomers. We had everything from Elvis and the Beatles, Doo-Wop and Metal, to Yatch Rock and Disco, and lest we forget Punk.
Media spent it's time aging with Boomers and walking through their life, creating TV shows that mattered to them, allowing Top 40 radio to become more adult and softer, but all of the sudden stopped following them, when the median age became 55. No more was the 25-54 demo important. Everyone in media and advertising expected the Boomers to age like their parents. But all of the sudden the new target became 18-49.
The expectation was Boomers would race to retirement and stay at home, save everything they made until they passed on.
Surprise...they didn't do any of it.
They Baby Boomer generation didn't slow down. They kept working, most still do. They didn't move aside to allow for the next generation to take over. They kept spending their money on the fun stuff, the finer things in life. They still work 40 hour work weeks, take vacations, buy bigger homes, invest and find new ways to reinvent themselves. Basically, they live in the now. Sure they like their nostalgia, but it has become that "guilty pleasure". They embrace it, but they also don't flaunt it. It is part of who they are.
Baby Boomers still have the most expendable income of any generation, they live the American Dream. Future generations, like Gen X and Millennials don't have the same expendable income. They aren't making as much money, the are debt laden and have lost the zest of the American Dream. The generations following the Boomers are saving money to spend it on things they like. They are living smaller and don't collect "things" to show off, they want experiences.
Because of the shift in generational wants, Radio, in particular, has decided to return to the generation that brought them to the the financial heydays they enjoyed 15-20 years ago. We are seeing the rise of Gold AC stations in key markets and it is showing some promise.
iHeart made a change to San Francisco's KISQ going from Urban AC/Old School to Soft AC and the results have been amazing. The station has been sitting in the Top 5 for the past year. It is featuring the softer side of Classic Hits from the likes of Billy Joel, Madonna, Michael Bolton, Bee Gees and Uncle Kracker.
Then there is MeTV.FM, the radio station at the beginning of the dial at 87.7 FM in Chicago. The station is a laundry list of 'oh wow" Classic Hits throwbacks mixed in with traditional Oldies, like Player, Carly Simon, Smokey Robinson and Fleetwood Mac. While the station isn't a ratings monster, it is a real player in the market. Considering the station isn't in the middle of the dial, a 2-3 share isn't anything to sneeze at.
Then there was the shocking change of KMPS in Seattle to Soft AC. While KRWM in Seattle is the big player in AC, they have shifted to a more contemporary version of AC, KMPS moved from being the heritage Country station to Soft AC as the Sound. This station has a decidedly more AC approach from 15 years ago, including music from Air Supply, Earth Wind and Fire, Norah Jones and The Eagles.
There have been more that are joining the movement, recently with Westwood One's Lite AC format. While the jury is still out on the longevity and the amount of revenue that is and will be available, those that are jumping into the format, seem to be having some success.
If you want to talk more about this format in your market, let's talk.
