"Why HD Radio may Never Make it"

A loyal reader of RBR/TVBR has been contemplating the hurdles facing
HD Radio and submitted this analysis to Publisher Jim Carnegie. For
business reasons, this reader cannot be identified by name, but we're
sure you'll find their points to be worth a read.

Why HD Radio may never make it

Millions of words have been written, pro and con on whether HD Radio
is an idea with a future (OK, mostly, con). With probably 606 reasons
for the failure so far, I thought I'd boil those down to six wooden
stakes driven into the heart of HD Radio. No heavyweight detail here,
no arguments, just six very large boulders in the road.

1) The name is wrong. Pretty basic, don't you think? George Carlin:
"...if Wham-O made an airplane, nobody would fly in it." Brands and
Logos create expectations. Long before HD Radio, HDTV created the
promise of better pictures, DVD quality, perfect for a bigger screen,
and so forth. Why on earth pick a name that was already taken? Why
unnecessarily create the impression of a brand extension, one of the
toughest marketing stunts to pull off even in the best of
circumstances?

Rookie mistake.

2) HD Radio is not listener/consumer-driven. The fax machine, iPod,
iPhone, Blackberry, transistor radio, e-mail, cell phone: all had
Content plus Convenience. HD Radio has neither compelling Content nor
is it Convenient to use or understand. Spend an afternoon getting
from
101.5hd2 to 92.7hd2 and you'll see what I mean.

Connecting the sub-programming to an existing brand on the dial makes
no sense to the audience. We spend decades building a brand we
willingly dilute with HD-2. Worse, the Radio listeners do not have
faith in the rank-and-file operators inventing or giving them the
persuasive programming they want.

3) Your introduction to this new thing is almost always a
disappointment. Whether at Best Buy, a friend's house, or at a radio
remote, more often than not HD Radio does not make a good enough
first
impression for a consumer/listener to want more. There are thousands
of real life stories on the Web.

4) It was designed to solve a non-problem. To paraphrase magician
Jamy
Swiss, "...radio guys were running when they weren't being chased."
Satellite Radio and its many channels has never been Radio's bugaboo.
Pogo is right again: "We have met the enemy and he is us."

5) Hillary Derangement Syndrome. HD Radio is the Sheridan Whiteside
of
the Media; the Man Who Came To Dinner. Each new announcement,
development, promotion of Alliance "research" and jolly news feels
like Sen. Clinton defiantly staying in a race she has most likely
lost.

Even Radio people have lost faith. Enough, already. "...to every
thing there is a season."

6) The commercials don't work. What would you conclude if...
America's
billboard companies combined in an alliance to run gratis showings
for
Belly Washers and Tummy Ticklers soft drinks and - after two years of
those boards ranking #1 or #2 in impressions - both beverages still
sat dusty on store shelves? THAT is the real story we have been
telling Radio's advertisers: either HD Radio itself is a dud or Radio
spots don't work. The longer we keep advertising this non-starter,
the
more it becomes obvious the radio advertising must be the villain.

http://www.rbr.com/media-news/blog-l...r_make_it.html

Eduardo - even your own industry has lost faith in HD Radio, and to
back up that claim:

"Where is the Cool, the Content, the Charge?"

"Here is another bad sign: almost every time I speak with a GM or PD
about HD Radio, they say, ...it's a non-starter, isn't it? If we don't
believe in HD Radio, who will?"

http://www.paragonmediastrategies.co...p=222#comments

Good-luck with more HD conversions!