WFSX/FOX News 92.5, Ft. Myers What About Trump

We preach on these pages that the most important thing you can do to win is earn images – it’s the long ball play to gain success.  Shows that have them win, shows that don’t lose.  There are four critical images to earn that help you build reasons listeners come.  These work, regardless of format:  be Fun (people want to wake up and have a laugh); prove your Authenticity (have a perspective on the topics you choose, and let listeners in your life); be Innovative in ways that fit your brand (this creates differentiation between you and other shows); and be Relatable (prove you are just like those listening).  Daybreak’s Drew Steele, FOX News 92.5. Ft. Myers, FL subscribes to this philosophy, despite being a conservative opinion show.  His plot is conservative politics, but the images are the same.  President Trump is exonerated in the Mueller Report and this is topic #1 one on Drew’s show.  Instead of pounding the table with his point of view, Drew did a song parody to communicate his perspective – because he knows that nothing is more sticky than making people laugh while showing it.

Mission to the Mound

Have you ever thrown out a first pitch at a baseball game?  See if a local team will let you do that and build a week long narrative arc around the idea.  The team calls on Monday to invite you so it sounds organic, throughout the week visit little league teams to practice (audio for the show and video for social media to keep it alive), talk to others who’ve done it, and then it culminates at the end of the week in your doing it.  With a recap on the next show.  Thanks to Stacey and Jonah, 1065, The Arch, St. Louis for this great summer idea.

Be FAIR to Be Great

When I work with a morning show team, I ask them to do one main thing: be FAIR in order to be GREAT:

F: Fun/Funny

A: Authentic

I: Innovative

R: Relatability

FUN/FUNNY:

Listeners choose morning radio to have FUN. Listeners’ lives, especially now, suck (if I can be so bold). They use morning radio as their 30-minute daily escape from the BS of their day. No successful morning radio show in America wins without humor images. The more your show creates fun, the more listeners will want to be around you.

AUTHENTICITY:

Authenticity drives everything in life. As people, we make no time for anything (brand or person) who isn’t the “real deal.” Consumers (listeners) can smell a phony a mile away. The more real, authentic, and vulnerable your morning talent are, the greater the chance they’ll connect with listeners.

INNOVATIVE:

Apple drives its core following of very passionate fans by being INNOVATIVE. Every year, they release innovative products that capture their followers. Innovation is crucial to keeping P1s happy. What new ideas/benchmarks has your show done to keep fans coming back to your station?

RELATABILITY:

Finally, we gravitate in life to people just like us, which is why RELATABILITY is so critical to any show. Listeners know instinctively if the program is choosing content that interests them. Choosing content is like choosing music: only play the hits. The show should have a regular list of those pop culture and news stories listeners know of and care about to create their entertainment so the broadest coalition of listeners believes the show shares their interests.

Shows that work on being FAIR feed images imperative to building strong and positive images for an authentic and entertaining show that listeners will choose first when they wake up each and every morning.

Need help making your morning show FAIR in order to be GREAT? Let’s chat.