School is back in session in the next few weeks and teachers are a prime demo for a show’s success. Why not figure out a mechanism for teachers to call to enter a promotion where the winner gets their teacher’s lounge pimped out with station swag and a few months worth of snacks?
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Lots of kids get reading assignments from teachers before heading back to school. Why not talk to kids who have to do this, find out what book they have to read, and if they’ve read the book yet. If they haven’t, get a cast member to read the book for the kid and then all come back the next day for the cast member to give the student bullet points on the book so they don’t have to read it.
There is fun all around you. Often, we lean on phone calls to play games – yet, we are getting fewer of them because less people are inclined to call and listeners are more engaged to interact with their favorite radio stations and shows via social media and texting. So, use the fun people you work with to help pull things off. Stacey and Jonah, 106.5 The Arch, St. Louis wanted to give a patriotism quiz to their audience around July Fourth. The idea took off when two big decisions were made: first, we were fearful listeners would not only not call to take it because they’d be reticent to prove how little they know. So, we decided to give the quiz to three fun co-workers, who’d be more inclined to step up. The other big decision was making it a competition amongst these co-workers spanning three days at the same time to generate additional occasions of listening. To add spice to the idea, Stacey and Jonah found a middle school teacher on summer break to help administer the quiz, giving them more to play with, The goal is relevant fun, and the listeners don’t really care if that laughter comes from other listeners or people in the building. Here are the three episodes of the narrative, all airing close to the holiday last month.
I’m a big fan of the Blue Devils.
Living 20 minutes from Duke University, I probably don’t have much of a choice, but I’m an honest to goodness fan of the team and especially Coach Mike Krzyzewski. Having met Coach K several times when I was on the air here in Raleigh, I know that he focuses every season on only one thing, and it has nothing to do with basketball.
Coach K says he only works on making his team care about one another. He believes that elusive quality called “chemistry” is the X factor to success. He goes on to say that if he can get his team to trust and care about one another, they’ll win (and considering Duke has won five national championships, I think he’s right.).
When I start working with a new morning show, I’m not only listening to what they say and do on the air, but also to what they say and do off the air. When I meet and talk with the team, my radar is up for the one thing I believe can most efficiently hinder their growth: dysfunction. If it exists, we can’t move on as a group and head in the same direction unless it’s cleared out of the arteries.
With trust and communication, everyone works harder because they want everyone else to succeed, too. This is why I spend so much time talking and listening to my clients. The more I listen to them, the better I understand what drives them to succeed (and for everyone, that’s something different). And the better position I am in to solve any internal issues that will truly step in the way of growth, the better we all are.
I recently spent a day with a major market show I love working with. We spent a bulk of our time talking through and solving some dysfunction that had crept into the room. A greater appreciation for every cast member came from this conversation. While I can’t tell you who this is, I will make this bold prediction: they will own the ratings very soon because of it.
Need help getting your morning show team back on track? Let’s chat.
