BrainTrust Query: How do you stay 'country' in the new US of A?
By David Morse, President & CEO, New American Dimensions, LLC
I think Bob Newhart said it best: "I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down'."
Let's face it. In certain parts of the US of A, country music and the people who like it get a bad rap. And with America's shifting demographics, things may not be getting better.
According to a recent Washington Post article, Los Angeles joined the ranks of New York and San Francisco when the city's last FM country music station, KZLA, changed formats. That means that three of the top five markets are without an FM country station. Among the reasons for this switch, says the article: "It's increasingly difficult to succeed with country radio in a market where Caucasians carry less and less sway."
According to 2006 Arbitron data, only 5.4 percent of country radio's national audience is Hispanic and only 2.3 percent is African American -- not impressive scores in a nation that is now about 15 percent Hispanic and 13 percent Black.
One radio station in Miami, WKIS (aka Kiss Country), is not going to sit back and sing the blues, despite being in a market whose 12-plus demographic is 46 percent Hispanic. Faced with a White exodus from Southern Florida (the non-Hispanic White population has declined by 20 percent since the 2000 census), the station is actively courting Hispanic listeners.
But it isn't easy. According to program director Bob Barnett, "There appears to be a very vocal bias (and/or) prejudice that exists in South Florida among Whites who feel that the Hispanics have 'pushed' their culture and language on everyone else. We can't even do bilingual (station) ID's without significant listener backlash."
It's this prejudice that makes targeting Hispanic tricky, but Barnett has learned the game. Since so few Hispanics have a long history with country, he tones down the traditional sounding country in favor of more contemporary sounds by artist like Shania Twain and Faith Hill. He also plays songs by African American star Cowboy Troy and Hispanic Rick Trevino. "But not because they're ethnic," he says. "We have them because they make great songs."
Still, according to Barnett, making the music mix "more Hispanic friendly without disenfranchising the core...becomes a very delicate balancing act."
Discussion Questions: What advice would you give to classically "American" products or brands that are looking to remain relevant as American demographics shift? How do you remain relevant without alienating your core consumers?
What country music has going for it - what a lot of traditional American brands have going for them - is an ethic that Hispanics can relate to. Barnett gets it. "They're very family oriented, hardworking, spiritual and patriotic. The themes in country music aren't foreign to them," he says.
Perhaps the most stellar examples of an American icon doing things right is NASCAR.
For several years, the brand has been actively wooing multicultural fans. In Los Angeles, it has been a sponsor of Fiesta Broadway, offering fans the opportunity to meet Hispanic drivers and get an up-close view of a NASCAR Nextel Cup Series Stock car.
Last year, the classic Southern 500 became what some called the "Southern California 500," when the traditional Labor Day weekend race was moved from Darlington, South Carolina to Los Angeles. That same month, with much fanfare, NASCAR signed Colombian Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya, a move that according to USA Today was designed to not only attract Hispanic fans but Spanish speaking TV networks like Univision and Telemundo as well. About nine percent of NASCAR's fans are reported to be Hispanic.
For American brands that have had little recognition or appeal with Hispanic consumers, the acculturation of Hispanics is probably what works the most in their favor. To quote Kiss Country's Bob Barnett, "Now that we're getting into the second and third generation of Latinos, it appears that the assimilation into American culture is slowly taking place - as is their interest level in country music."