Is the Rush rush over?

[Bronzeage]

I think what some people are forgetting is that listeners are not the customers. The advertisers are. Listeners are the bait. If you cannot generate ad dollars, it doesn't matter whether you are number one or number twenty. You fail.

That's the paradox. Number One can command the highest ad rates. The real question is number one what? The core of the issue is whether advertisers think they are getting their money's worth. Is there really an advantage in being number one in the cranky old white men demographic.

Can you sell Ford Focuses by advertising on Rush? Would a business owner continue to buy ad time on Rush, just because he agrees with Rush's message, even though the ads don't target his customers. Would he still buy ad time, if it alienated his customers?

 

[Ford]

I think what some people are forgetting is that listeners are not the customers. The advertisers are. Listeners are the bait. If you cannot generate ad dollars, it doesn't matter whether you are number one or number twenty. You fail.

Yes and no.

Ratings do matter. A lot of national advertisers will buy X stations deep on the 25-54 numbers alone no matter what the content. There are also advertisers who will only buy talk radio (or sports talk) even if the numbers aren't quite as high as on some music stations. Hard core talk radio fans (the radio term for them is a P1 listener) are much more likely to contact a business that advertises on a talk show, thus generating more leads for that business and more opportunity to convert leads into customers.

So a number 20 sports or talk station can compete with a number one music station for advertisers. The sales staff is also a factor. A low rated talk station with a good sales manager and staff can hold their own against a highly rated music station with a weak sales manager and staff.

Rates are a factor as well. Some of these second and third tier talk stations (we've got one here called "The Patriot") who have B and C level hosts can make money by undercutting other stations on rates. Starting out your air conditioning or home remodel business and can't afford a couple hundred bucks per unit on a big station? You can get 10 times the spots on a small station for the same price.

And here's one more thing to consider...while there are plenty of advertisers who will avoid "controversial" programming like Rush, Hannity, Savage, etc. (I've seen the lists companies put out, and they are quite comprehensive) the number of "avails" (slots for ads within a show) generally do not change. There is going to be X number of national spots and X number of local spots in every quarter hour of talk programming, and they will be filled by paying advertisers for the most part.

 

[Underseer]

I think what some people are forgetting is that listeners are not the customers. The advertisers are. Listeners are the bait. If you cannot generate ad dollars, it doesn't matter whether you are number one or number twenty. You fail.

That's the paradox. Number One can command the highest ad rates. The real question is number one what? The core of the issue is whether advertisers think they are getting their money's worth. Is there really an advantage in being number one in the cranky old white men demographic.

Can you sell Ford Focuses by advertising on Rush? Would a business owner continue to buy ad time on Rush, just because he agrees with Rush's message, even though the ads don't target his customers. Would he still buy ad time, if it alienated his customers?

What do you mean "alienate customers"?

The only people who don't agree with Rush Limbaugh are people on welfare who can't afford to buy Ford Focuses anyway. Honestly, do you America-hating liberals even think before you post this stuff? [/conservolibertarian]

 

[dockeen]

I think what some people are forgetting is that listeners are not the customers. The advertisers are. Listeners are the bait. If you cannot generate ad dollars, it doesn't matter whether you are number one or number twenty. You fail.

That's the paradox. Number One can command the highest ad rates. The real question is number one what? The core of the issue is whether advertisers think they are getting their money's worth. Is there really an advantage in being number one in the cranky old white men demographic.

Can you sell Ford Focuses by advertising on Rush? Would a business owner continue to buy ad time on Rush, just because he agrees with Rush's message, even though the ads don't target his customers. Would he still buy ad time, if it alienated his customers?

Or, are the people alienated not likely to be a business' customer anyway, and can an owner use the "persecuted by the liberals" label to rally the customer base. Every business has a unique calculus to figure out.

 

[Bronzeage]

I think what some people are forgetting is that listeners are not the customers. The advertisers are. Listeners are the bait. If you cannot generate ad dollars, it doesn't matter whether you are number one or number twenty. You fail.

That's the paradox. Number One can command the highest ad rates. The real question is number one what? The core of the issue is whether advertisers think they are getting their money's worth. Is there really an advantage in being number one in the cranky old white men demographic.

Can you sell Ford Focuses by advertising on Rush? Would a business owner continue to buy ad time on Rush, just because he agrees with Rush's message, even though the ads don't target his customers. Would he still buy ad time, if it alienated his customers?

What do you mean "alienate customers"?

The only people who don't agree with Rush Limbaugh are people on welfare who can't afford to buy Ford Focuses anyway. Honestly, do you America-hating liberals even think before you post this stuff? [/conservolibertarian]

That's the strange thing about the Focus. It is the choice of people on welfare and those who could afford a much more expensive car. It is also the choice of young car buyers. A car dealer might want to buy ad time on Rush's show, but can he afford to wait until Focus drivers graduate to Town Cars?

When considering the demographics of typical Ford (NYSE:F) buyers, it’s interesting to note that the average income breaks six figures. In the case of the compact sport-hatch Focus ST, that number reaches a stunning $127,000 average income, according to a statement by Ford. Even more encouraging for the automaker is the rate at which the Focus ST is making Ford buyers out of car owners who are new to the brand.

Seeing affluent car buyers flocking toward a compact starting at $23,625 means an automaker is doing several things right. In the case of the Focus ST, part of the allure is the punch — courtesy of 252 horsepower on 270 pounds-feet of torque in the 2.0-liter EcoBoost model with manual transmission. Since the average Focus ST buyer has cash to burn, they are upgrading with deluxe interior packages and 18-inch Y-spoke wheels, among other things.

“It’s having the kind of halo effect for other vehicles we’d hoped for when we invested in the ST brand,” said Ford’s John Felice in a company statement. “As an affordable high-performance vehicle that can serve double duty as a daily driver, it has no equal.” While it’s typical for an automaker’s team to gush over its own products, Ford’s sales data shows several encouraging trends.
On top of the startingly high income of average Focus ST buyers (nearly double the income of standard Focus buyers), Ford said about one-third are below the age of 35. On top of that, two-thirds of these young and well-to-do buyers are trading in cars from other automakers to get inside the Focus ST. Clearly, the goal of any automaker is to start down the road with consumers while they are young in hopes they will be lifelong customers.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Limbaugh has been losing advertisers for a while now. He is still around.

 

[Derec]

Rush has started the trend of political (especially conservative) talk shows on AM radio.

Bull F-ing Shit. Back in the day they even intermingled God and conservative opinion with what they called the 'news'

Revived then. Thing is, be became very successful and created an entire market of right wing talkers. Repeal of the so-called "fairness doctrine" played a big role in his business model for sure.
Left wing talkers tried but could not achieve the same success but even though Air America failed miserably, there are still some left wing talkers left like Thom Hartman, Ed Schultz and Al Sharpton. Thom also hosts a TV show on Putin's propaganda outlet "Russia Today" while the other two are also on MSNBC.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Rush has started the trend of political (especially conservative) talk shows on AM radio.

Bull F-ing Shit. Back in the day they even intermingled God and conservative opinion with what they called the 'news'

Revived then. Thing is, be became very successful and created an entire market of right wing talkers. Repeal of the so-called "fairness doctrine" played a big role in his business model for sure.
Left wing talkers tried but could not achieve the same success but even though Air America failed miserably, there are still some left wing talkers left like Thom Hartman, Ed Schultz and Al Sharpton. Thom also hosts a TV show on Putin's propaganda outlet "Russia Today" while the other two are also on MSNBC.

Well, as things turned out, liberals didn't like the attitude of talk radio, nor the constant barrage of commercials. It amazes me how much Limbaugh gets paid to talk for 20 to 25 minutes an hour! Even more amazing that people will sit through the endless commercial breaks.

Air America most likely failed because of NPR. NPR offers news and small commentary, little in the way of commercials, and a good balance for talk shows.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

The only people who don't agree with Rush Limbaugh are people on welfare who can't afford to buy Ford Focuses anyway. Honestly, do you America-hating liberals even think before you post this stuff? [/conservolibertarian]

There is an uninformed segment of the population that thinks Rush Limbaugh has some mysterious appeal to libertarians. Then there is a Poe that posts here who hopes that by saying he has appeal he can make us like his favorite radio star.

 

[lpetrich]

The only people who don't agree with Rush Limbaugh are people on welfare who can't afford to buy Ford Focuses anyway. Honestly, do you America-hating liberals even think before you post this stuff? [/conservolibertarian]

There is an uninformed segment of the population that thinks Rush Limbaugh has some mysterious appeal to libertarians. Then there is a Poe that posts here who hopes that by saying he has appeal he can make us like his favorite radio star.

What are your biggest disagreements with the likes of Rush Limbaugh?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

The only people who don't agree with Rush Limbaugh are people on welfare who can't afford to buy Ford Focuses anyway. Honestly, do you America-hating liberals even think before you post this stuff? [/conservolibertarian]

There is an uninformed segment of the population that thinks Rush Limbaugh has some mysterious appeal to libertarians. Then there is a Poe that posts here who hopes that by saying he has appeal he can make us like his favorite radio star.

lpetrich is right. Limbaugh is actually one of the rarer conservative hosts that rarely goes on about moral issues, he is typically anti-regulation. He fits the libertarian peg hole better than most radio hosts.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

The only people who don't agree with Rush Limbaugh are people on welfare who can't afford to buy Ford Focuses anyway. Honestly, do you America-hating liberals even think before you post this stuff? [/conservolibertarian]

There is an uninformed segment of the population that thinks Rush Limbaugh has some mysterious appeal to libertarians. Then there is a Poe that posts here who hopes that by saying he has appeal he can make us like his favorite radio star.

What are your biggest disagreements with the likes of Rush Limbaugh?

When he gets a rare libertarian caller, you should hear him rant. He doesn't just rant about how the libertarian is mysteriously helping the Democrats by not supporting moral authoritarians. He does indeed go on trying to attack the libertarian for the issue of drug legalization. He seriously supports the drug war, but since the Democrats also support it he seldom has a chance to mention it. I suppose I might want to force myself to listen to Underseer's favorite radio host in the hopes he might mention events in Colorado and Washington, but I don't want to punish my ears that way. He is also a staunch opponent of Gay Marriage and Gays in the Military. Libertarians were in favor of those BEFORE progressives were. He more often argues with his rare liberal or progressive callers on those issues. I'm not sure he even knows that libertarians are more in favor of them than liberals and progressives are, since when he does get a rare libertarian caller he concentrates on the drug war.

Then there's the third big issue; social, economic, and foreign policy. Libertarians don't approve of our wars. At best Afghanistan should have been a limited strike, and that's the most it should have been. No to Iraq. Guess who approves of these when a Republican is in office?

No, he isn't mostly anti-regulation. He's also a moral conservative and a hawk. There's no reason to believe that libertarians would have any reason to like the Poe's favorite host.

 

[ksen]

When I used to listen to Rush back in the day he pretty consistenly mocked libertarianism.

 

[Jason Harvestdancer]

When I used to listen to Rush back in the day he pretty consistenly mocked libertarianism.

Exactly. I can't imagine why anyone would think he would appeal to libertarians.