Michael Strahan and The Power Of A Difference

 

Michael Strahan removed the gap between his front teeth, and I can’t figure out why.  It’s one of the distinguishing physical characteristics of the NFL on Sunday and Good Morning America host.

Think Robert DeNiro’s mole, Tom Selleck’s moustache, and Barbra Streisand’s nose.  Distinct, unique, it’s part of their brand.

Why would someone erase something that made them different?

Ries and Trout talk about points-of-parity and points-of-differentiation in their iconic book, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing.  They ask the question, and I, in turn, ask every personality I work with:  what is noticeably different about what we do that helps us stand out?

To the audience, we live in a “sea of the same”.  That’s our starting point to the uninitiated.  That we’re another “him and her” morning show that talks a lot and has wacky bits.  Our job over time is to develop bold points-of-differentiation to separate ourselves from our competitors and define the images we want to be known for.

So, I engage every show on this:  besides you, what do we do that no one else does?  What makes us stand out?  As someone who’s sat in his share of focus groups, if listeners cannot answer this unaided, you’ve got some trouble.  Find those points-of-differentiation.  The more you have, the more distinct you are

Listeners only get big things – nuance never cuts through.  Saying you do a phone topic every morning at 6:50 won’t cut it.  Here are examples of what will:

  • At MIX 104.1, Boston we do a feature each morning at 7:45 that is so unique and now so embedded in the audience’s life that our PPM meters triple and sometime quadruple at that time. Big and different.
  • Bert Weiss is a smart, strategic thinker. When he started The Bert Show on Q100, Atlanta, he added into the cast an openly gay female who was quite comfortable sharing her life.  She added deep hues to the perspective of the show and made the conversation more interesting.  Listeners knew when they were listening to that show.  Big and different.
  • When Frank and Wanda were the morning show on V103, they had Miss Sophia, Atlanta’s most popular drag queen, do their Hollywood report each morning at 7:20. Three guesses what she brought the show in imagery and ratings.  Big and different.
  • The Josie Dye Show, Indie 88, Toronto does a huge and unique community service project each December. They ask the audience to donate socks to homeless shelters.  They get 200,000 pair every year.  Big and different.

The entire thing turned out to be an April Fool’s Day prank Strahan pulled to cause talk (that was big and different).  Had he actually erased the gap, it wouldn’t have made him any less interesting or engaging.  But it would have taken away a trait that made him look different.

As Seth Godin said recently, distinctive isn’t easy, but it’s worth it.

It might be an interesting strategic exercise to sit with your morning show and list your true points-of-differentiation.  They need to be big.  The longer the show’s been on, the more you should have.

Hope you have a decent list.  Unless I’m competing against you in the market with another show.

Mark and NeanderPaul, KSLX, Phoenix The Paul Stanley Interview

A focus of our content at some stations is the music.  It’s an area often missed by personalities – to talk about the artists and songs you play.  It’s smart to do because it further ingrains you into the fabric of the radio station and is a primary reason listeners choose your brand (at least initially).  We do a lot of this on Mark and NeanderPaul, KSLX, Phoenix, who recently interviewed Paul Stanley from the iconic group KISS.  As a classic rock station, this is like a three-foot putt, given how much the audience loves the music and that content based on nostalgia truly works when times are tough.  What Mark and Paul do so well is get the artists to reveal themselves.  Stanley comes on to sell his latest downloads, which are remakes of 1970s R&B songs.  That’s his objective.  Ours is to entertain the audience.  This interview works on two levels:  Stanley reveals himself because the guys ask questions that compel those stories.  They then serve Stanley’s goals by talking about the new project, and quizzing him on his true knowledge of that music.  Wrapped all around the conversation is a great use of audio to keep the listeners engaged.

People Eating Pizza

This is web-only digital content to help your online engagement.  Jerry Seinfeld posted an odd, but funny video last week where all he did was eat a slice of pizza.  That’s it.  Which leads to something new:  People Eating Pizza.  Pizza is the most consumed food in America so make a big effort and ask listeners to send you pictures of them eating pizza.  Nothing more.  Totally silly and great digital content for your social media channels.

Spy The Celebrity Lie

A fun new game for your show!  A listener calls and gives you the names of two celebrities they have met.  They’re telling you the truth on one, but lying on the other.  Call out the lie and they win.  They then tell you the story about meeting the other!  Call it Spy the Celebrity Lie.

MIX 106, Boise, Moug and Angie with Moug’s Family Bombshell

Storytelling is an art and a major part of the telling of a great story is the details you share to drive the narrative.  Consider learning that your dad fathered another child and you found out about it from your drunk sister.  And…that the sibling you never knew you had lives in the city in which you live.  It’s a pretty compelling narrative.  And it works for several reasons:  it’s the truth, there are some gasp-worthy details, and the story lives on the margins.  You’re revealing yourself to the audience with intimate details you wouldn’t just share with anyone.  And each detail is more shocking than the last.  That’s the thesis of the story told on Moug and Angie, MIX 106, Boise, Idaho recently.  Moug found out what his father did several years prior and thinks he saw his sibling in town based on a description.  This is excellent storytelling.  Another great decision made in the structure of this break is its first few minutes, where the team has a listener tell their crazy story first, which tees up Moug to tell his.  I love that they put the focus first on a caller to hook the audience than what’s typically done, which is focus on the talent first.  All around, these are two stories you will long remember.  Moug is defined in the process, setting him up for listener questions about all of it down the road because it’s so memorable

Oprah Says There Is No Tomorrow

Imagine your premiere talent DVR-ing the Super Bowl on Sunday and then watching it on Monday so they could talk about it on Tuesday.  They were just too busy to watch it live.  Sounds absurd, right?

I once worked with a talent who never participated in any of the Super Bowl breaks the day after the game.  I was listening that morning to prepare for our call.  During the conversation, I asked why she went silent when the rest of the show was talking about the game, the commercials, the anthem, and their parties.  She told me she didn’t like football and by not watching, she was being her “authentic self”.  That sounds crazy, too, huh?

Folks, you can’t make this stuff up.

Both items above continue to happen with big content choices the entire country is aware of.

The Oprah interview with Harry and Meghan was the 14th most watched conversation in television history.  And while the actual numbers were smaller in comparison to what’s at the top of the list because of fragmentation (Oprah and Michael Jackson in 1993 are number one with 62 million viewers), it was near-everywhere the day after.  Yet there were still shows that opted out, choosing less relevant content that day.  Some because they don’t care personally about the royals.  Others because they needed to be in bed by 8pm and couldn’t watch.

What?

P1s tune into their favorite show on average twice per week for ten minutes.  That’s their snapshot of the program.  It’s all they know about their favorite morning show.  What you choose to do in those ten minutes creates perceptions that drive listenership.  Not being on the biggest topics of the day means we’re not relevant when they tune in.

All missed opportunities to be where the audience is.  Yes, talent could make the case that the royals are irrelevant, but Oprah got them to tell stories and give us a peek inside the family.  And many times over its two-hours, things were said that created immense buzz.  It was riveting.

It’s not if listeners watched, it’s are they aware of the topic that validates doing it.  That’s what matters when choosing content.  Awareness.  To make a music analogy, when it comes to pop culture content, play the hits.  Oprah’s interview was a big hit record.  On things like this, there is no watch it tomorrow.

As I told the talent who wanted to be her “authentic self” not watching the Super Bowl, there is no way she can participate in pop culture conversations on the show if she doesn’t consume them in real time.  While I’d never tell her what to say, every great talent needs to own a perspective and then be honest with the audience.  You can only do that if you experience it first-hand, even if you hate it.  That’s part of the job to create connection with listeners.  Interesting talent are curious and jumping into every topic means you’re curious.  I want to wonder what my favorite personalities think about whatever is going on.

When it comes to these big, disposable pop culture stories, we must consume them because there is no tomorrow for these topics, unless there’s a new development.  Then we need to be there, too, as the story evolves.  As Oprah proved to us on this one:  there is no tomorrow.

Did I tell you about the talent who told me he didn’t watch Harry and Meghan because he no longer has a TV?

Just when you thought you’d heard it all.

I’ve gotta write a book…

Giving Your Show a First Listen

I was recently asked by a company to give fresh ears to one of their shows to see if it was a program I wanted to work with. I wasn’t too familiar with the program and did some due diligence. I thought you might also benefit from what I do to help your show.

I listened to four hours of the show, across three different days, in every hour of the program. I never judge a show from one day of listening. I like to hear each hour to see if there’s a consistency in what they do and how they do it.

Fresh ears on a show are always good. I hear things some closer to the show don’t. I also don’t walk in with any bias (good or bad) and can evaluate the program as a “first time listener”, much like real listeners are hearing the program.

Here are eight things I am listening for if this is my first pass with a potential client:

  1. Can I tell what the show is all about? Hang out with me for a minute and you know I believe each show must have a plot, much like a TV show. This must be grounded in the truth of the talent and reflective of who they are. And it’s something that cannot be duplicated in the market. Being real is not a plot (every show is real to its audience). “Smart guys, stupid show” is.
  2. Is each member of the cast well-defined? Character development is very important – I want to get to know each person, which compels their honesty against their perspective in the topics being chosen for the show. They also must share their life – or at least the parts that position them as just like the audience. It’s in this you get connection. This is how you move fans to care about the program. Once listeners care about the talent, they will care about the show.
  3. If there are two people of the same sex, are they noticeably different? If not, they’re just two male or female voices – you must noticeably separate their personas for them to have impact.
  4. Do they have defined on-air roles? Tom Brady is always the quarterback and Rob Gronkowski is always a tight end. Does the audience know how each person fits into the structure of the team?
  5. How relevant is the content for the audience? Are the topics they’re choosing right for the demo? I’ve discussed relevancy before in Planet Reynolds. Be on the biggest, best topics of the day for the greatest level of accessibility by the broadest audience in your demo.
  6. Does the audience consistently feel something at the end of each break? Emotion makes everything memorable. Interesting people have a passion and convey that in how they do their content.
  7. Did the show do anything with their content that couldn’t really be done by anyone else? Everyone tends to be on the same topics. It’s in our power with great prep to do things with that content that create an image of innovation and difference. These create a singular identity that makes fans come back again.
  8. Are there fun, unique benchmarks on the show that would positively impact behavior that compels me to return each morning at the same time? Radio wins come from getting fans to come back again. Great benchmark features get a show known for something, add positive images, and gives you additional occasions from those most likely to give them to you – your P1s.

Get fresh ears on your show and use these as guideposts to hear them differently. The assessments made will lead to strategic conversations with your talent that will help everyone’s efforts.

Now it’s time for the back part of the due diligence with the show I referenced above. Will they be open to hearing all these items as a first time listener would, too? If both the show and I say yes, we have a match to take off like a rocket to grow the program.

Be strategic. Be fun. Be interesting. Be relevant. Be real. Be different.

Then you’ll be epic.

Indie 88, Toronto, The Josie Dye Show, Ashley and Her E-Mail Flags

The two things which drive the success of realty shows on TV are very well-defined characters and drama, drama, drama.  The next time you venture into your favorite realty show, watch them through these prisms and know that this is what drives great radio breaks, too.  Another element of great realty shows is relatabiilty – as viewers, we must relate to the drama – possibly see that it could be us in that dilemma, as well.  Enter The Josie Dye Show with Matt and Carlin, Indie 88, Toronto who see that relatable drama lives around them all the time.  The show regularly gets emails from their promotions director and something about each email irks them:  they always have the red flag that notes the email is urgent.  This bugs all of them because not every message from her is urgent, in their opinion.  So what do they do?  They call the promotions director and confront her, asking why she does it and asks that she stop.   In one word:  drama.  A break like this works because listeners have lived it (or see that they could) and in their fantasies, they’d make the same call.  The only thing is that these guys did make the call.  So listeners lean in to see how it goes.  Just like a great scene in your favorite reality show on TV.

Dear Covid, Fuck You

Just by its name, this week’s Free Idea is very edgy and not for everyone.  DISCLAIMER:  this one won’t fit every brand or show – if interested, run this one by your PD to see if you can do it and how.  With the one-year anniversary of Covid upon us, have a bunch of notable people in town write a letter to the pandemic called Dear Covid, Fuck You.  They write a letter to the disease, breaking up with it, as though it’s a boyfriend or girlfriend and things are not working out (“it’s not you, it’s ME!”).  They then read the letter on-air and the few times the curse word is used, you bleep it.  Because that’s how listeners feel.