Archive for category: Planet Reynolds

Some nights while eating dinner, I have no appetite on TV for the political shout-fests or sports round table know-it-alls.  So, I keep clicking until I hit gold:  a rerun of Everybody Loves Raymond.  A show that hasn’t been on the air in 20 years but always delivers the laughs.

I wanna break down why and then offer your first challenge once the show returns from the holiday break in January.

The foundation of any successful show is its plot and characters.  Without either, you have no direction and can’t have a content strategy.  What is the unique plot of your show?  What is your show about?

Everybody Loves Raymond’s Plot:  Ray Barone, a successful sportswriter and family man, deals with a resentful brother, an always disappointed wife, and meddling parents who happen to live across the street.

It may shock you to know that they made 210 episodes over nine seasons.  And that’s the plot of every one of them (on purpose).  Ditto any successful show (Seinfeld, Survivor, Friends, Big Bang Theory, etc.).  What’s your plot?  The unique one-sentence frame of what your show is about?

Then come the characters.  They must be relatable and each different to lend a contrast to the others.  Here’s how you connect with the audience.  Well-defined characters allow listeners to identify with one.  It’s the tension with the others that makes the plot come to life.

If you’ve watched even a few Everybody Loves Raymonds, you will recognize and identify with these characters:

Ray:  the show’s protagonist who lives across the street from his parents and struggles with the demands of work and his family, often getting a lot wrong.

Debra:  Ray’s wife who is strong-willed, exasperated by Ray’s immaturity and his family’s constant intrusions into their lives. She can never live up to the expectations of Ray’s mother.

Robert:  Ray’s older and taller brother who’s an insecure cop and is always overshadowed by Ray.

Marie:  Ray and Robert’s mother who is an overbearing, meddling woman who constantly puts Ray on a pedestal, while criticizing Debra.

Frank:  Marie’s husband who is loud, sarcastic, and eccentric, and has a habit of yelling and making bizarre comments.

Who are the characters on your show?  They must, must, must be grounded in the truth.  The difference between your characters and those on Everybody Loves Raymond is that yours are real (the TV characters are assigned to great comedic actors).  You cannot give a persona to someone on your show – they’ll be inauthentic and the audience will sense it.  Apply this exercise above to your cast then ask where the tension is and how they are different.

I was recently asked by a program director to evaluate their show.  They said there doesn’t seem to be any electricity in the on-air conversation.  It was apparent why when I listened.  He has two of the same people.  The only difference was their gender.  They are both spouses, parents, the same age, and basically held the same world view.  Not much contrast there.

CBS just had an Everybody Loves Raymond 30^th Anniversary Special.  The show’s creator, Phil Rosenthal, said the program is really about his home life.  Because real life is relatable, very funny (if you have the right scripts and characters), universal, and timeless.

When you come back in January, run this exercise as a re-set for the year.  There is never a downside to affirming your plot and characters.

Once you do, your content becomes easier to find and execute.  Your connection with the audience heightens because of it.  And you’ll own that turf.  If you’re strategic about all of this, there’s no way you don’t see greater success a year from now.

Have you ever been at a red light and picked up your phone?  We all do.   Know why?   We’re bored.  And checking email, texts, or worse, engaging the endless scroll of social media fixes that, as we look for something, anything to solve that boredom.

I’d like to make the case that our lack of boredom is one of the things that makes radio less entertaining.  I’ll explain, considering I spend 100% of my time helping shows not be boring.  (There’s a difference between you being boring and the benefit of you being bored.)

I’m always asking shows I work with, “Yea but what are we going to do with that to stand out?”  Our step back from being creative has a huge downside.  People don’t talk about us, they’re not captured by our imagination and curiosity, and we do fewer things that listeners find memorable so we’re not top-of-mind.  I think the solution appears when we go get bored because when we clear our heads, creativity happens.

I get bored in Umstead Park, right by my house.  I leash up Willow Two Toys® and Sam the World’s Neediest Dog® and we go for a walk.  No phone, no music, no headphones, no disruptions.  I turn the “gotta figure this out” dial down to zero.  Only nature and my wandering mind.  And what enters my brain when I invite in some boredom are solutions to challenges, ideas, and ways to innovate I didn’t have when I was filling that boredom with an endless search for something to solve it.

I don’t profess to have any super creative abilities.  But I have found, when I create that brain space by walking through the park, things magically happen.  I don’t know why and can’t predict when, but it happens.  We don’t do enough of that.  As an example from last week, we have a holiday concert at one station and the morning show has 100 tickets to give out.  Instead of doing pairs of tickets so lots of listeners win, or the dreaded Family Four Pack (someone kill this, please), the walk through the park brought me the idea to give all 100 tickets to one listener.  The morning show promotion Deck Your Doors was born in the park because of the boredom.  The talent and brand manager loved it and now we have something that’ll make our show stand out.

When I got back to the office one day after pondering this, I Googled “the impact boredom has on creativity”.  What I found was amazing.  An article came up by Arthur Brooks, a Harvard professor.  As did a video (below).  It’s worth five minutes of your time.  He said:

“We hate boredom because it makes us think about things we don’t like.  But boredom switches our brains to bring us creativity, solutions, and even less depression.”

So, I’m here to say go be bored.  Find a park, let your feet touch grass figuratively, leave the phone behind, and let your mind wander.  If you’re one of my on-air talent, try this weekly and watch what happens to your creativity.

Any of us could bang the drum on radio’s issues.  One thing in our control is what fuels our innovative spirit.  Those of us of a certain age remember the wild west days when we’d think of an idea on Tuesday and it’d be on the air on Wednesday.  It doesn’t just have to be standard phone topics or family four packs.  We need quirky ideas and treatments to the right content on our shows that capture the listener’s imagination because they came from ours.  Doing fresh things with the right topics will make whoever is listening in that moment stay because it’s so compelling.  Getting more bored might bring you those ideas – it’s what works for me.

I recently decided to add to the boredom menu.  I bought a bike.  While my friends all have bets on when I’ll end up in the emergency room, I’m betting that the boredom of the rides, with no phones or distractions, will unlock more of my curiosity.  A few days ago, the boredom of a ride brought me the idea for this blog.

I understand how the phone manufacturers and social media algorithms have addicted us.  But some boredom unlocks creativity.  So, let’s make some room for that to reclaim our full imagination.  Ditch that bonus meeting or Zoom (unless it’s with me!) and create space in your week to let your mind wander.  A walk in the park is my secret weapon.  Maybe it’s yours, too.  It could help your problem solving and increase your creativity, too.  Then watch how much more inventive and memorable your show gets.

Two summers ago, in a brainstorm in Boston with MIX 104.1’s Karson and Kennedy, we were tasked with developing a big, new idea to combat depressed summer cume.  Lots of folks were on vacation or not paying attention to radio and we all wanted to do something big to capture the imagination of the audience and create tune in.

In and around all the ideas being offered, I asked an odd question that kinda popped in my brain:  what is the longest contiguous street in Boston?  We fired up the Google machine and found out that Washington Street spans five towns and 14-miles.

I suggested we go on a long walk one morning for charity.  That became Kennedy’s Wicked Long Walk.  Kennedy just did her second walk and, in one day, raised over $70,000 for Samaritans, a local charity that serves young people who are challenged with mental health issues.  Kids and mental health are the show’s causes, with the latter being important to Kennedy, as she’s been quite open with the audience about her mental health.

To create talk and momentum, we developed a five-day story line to add drama, tension, and interest, with the walk being our final chapter.  Year one it rained, year two had even more of the feels.  This year, people walked along with her with their dogs, mayors of the towns greeted her along the way with proclamations, police departments lined up to celebrate what she and the show were doing, business owners said hello as she passed.  NBC10 in Boston even followed along (video here).  All of it live on their air, as they asked fans to donate to help the struggling charity Samaritans.

I’m not one for metrics but let me share some impressive numbers.  Over $70,000 donated from more than 700 individual donors in one day.  Samaritans provided to Kennedy the donor list and she wrote a thank you to every single one of them.  She shared where their money was going and what it meant to her that they cared enough to help.  Can you imagine how it felt for those who gave to hear from her?

Listeners wrote back to thank her for the show making them laugh on the way to work and how proud they were of she and Karson for being so open about mental health.  Kennedy shared that the replies were so moving, she’s saving them for days when she’s having a bad mental health day.

Kennedy suggested this blog and wrote me:

“At the end of the day, I think they felt like we had a connection.  Isn’t that great radio, though?  Connecting?  The only difference between us and A.I. is the ability to connect on a human level.  I’ve been crying on and off all day with what listeners shared back with me.  I’ve never felt so connected to our listeners in my life.”

There’s that word again – connection – the one word I keep using that bonds you to anyone in your life who’s important.  That’s how you create radio fans, too.

Here’s my point:  there is an immense amount of stress, negativity, anger, and tension in the world.  Running in the opposite direction, which is what this show (and all the shows I work with) do so well, is smart.  Listeners are begging to be around a brand that not only does good in the community, but creates opportunities for them to do good, too.

Seven hundred different people donating money in one day is amazing.  Yes, listeners gave because they love the show.  Of course, some donated because they’re philanthropic and care about the cause.  But a reason people give is also a bit selfish – they give, too, so they can feel better about themselves.  Karson and Kennedy create those opportunities for their fans and are rewarded in loyalty that translates to #1 ratings.  If you do more of that – support your community and a cause important to you – you will deepen the connection, give listeners a chance to feel good about themselves, and elevate the images of the show with those who don’t or can’t.

This show gets the big and small stuff – they do things with relevant content that create wonderful experiences in the moment and big things that cause talk and keep them top-of-mind.  Kennedy’s Wicked Long Walk is a new tradition for the show that asks listeners to help join forces for a cause that’s important.  It’s a bold, different way to give fans a chance to do so, too.  In turn, that deepens the bond – the connection- between Karson, Kennedy, and their Producer, Dan.

That.  Is.  Great.  Radio.  That is what we do well and need to do more of.  Taking are of the community and asking the audience to help.  Lean into that.  If you do more of this stuff with your big, powerful show and radio station, you’ll win bigger, too.

I helped launch Karson and Kennedy sixteen years ago.  Their show is successful for many reasons.  That they are so connected to the market and their listeners is central to all of it.  They’re up for a Marconi in a couple of weeks.  I hope they win.

Be honest, where is your enthusiasm and interest level on a scale of 1-10 knowing that it’s National Steve Reynolds Day?

If you said it was resting comfortably at a zero, I’d get it. I’m Steve Reynolds and even I don’t care. And yet I listen to some personalities who think telling me that this is National Pest Control Week or today is National Doughnut Day is content. It isn’t, because it’s irrelevant to listeners’ lives.

I tuned into a show I don’t work with last week.  They went on and on that it was National Chop Suey Day in the first break I heard. I groaned, and listeners went “meh”.  That’s dangerous in an age of endless choice.

A close friend calls it “empty calories with no strategic purpose in a break.” I call it chatter that doesn’t matter.

Great content is about the moment. Whatever is going on right now—now in pop culture, or locally, or in the life of the talent—is what your audience craves and connects with. This is called relevance.  Look at what drives the internet. Something happens in the country and we immediately Google it to learn more. The internet is about clicks and what gets you more clicks than being about right now?

We need to stop telling the audience things like it’s National Hot Dog Day or that Betsy Ross sewed the flag on this date in 1783. I actually heard a show (not one I coach) tell me it was National Chicken Day and then proceeded to play the sound effect of a clucking chicken over everything they did for the next half hour.  Exciting radio, huh?

All of this is irrelevant and lazy as content, to be perfectly honest. We need to be better than that given all the entertainment choices for listeners. I still hear some shows read a laundry list of birthdays to the audience. Remember the only person who cares that little Ally Simpson is six today is Ally Simpson. And maybe her parents. Any efforts to endear yourself to them come at the significant sacrifice of everyone else, who shrug their shoulders hearing this and mentally zone out. Ditto the fact that Mel Gibson turns 69 today. No one cares.

Reading listeners’ birthdays isn’t being local, either. Local is about what’s going on in your market and you doing something unique with it to say “I love living here and am connected to what’s going on in my community.” Offering up a list of birthdays of people who may or may not be listening is about as local as giving me the temperature in a local town when reading the weather (it isn’t) or reading a listener text and attributing it to a local area code (“someone in the 415 says…”).

Lazy content like that won’t get it done for us!

Listen to your talent and challenge them to be strategic with their content: pop culture/whatever is in the news churn (the topic must fit your brand image), knowing what’s up in your market and tapping into that, and real time stories of experiences your talent have that position them as just like the audience. That’s great, strategic content for any audience.

Each break on your show should be treated like it’s beachfront property. Erect on it only the very best buildings (in other words, relevant content done well), and its value (your ratings) will go up.

Early August brings the tradition of the Morning Show Bootcamp.  This year in Austin.  A few hundred personalities who believe in radio gather to improve, grow, and network.  As I reflect on the many I’ve attended, there’s one thing always missing that you should know.  Before I reveal that, an admission…

When I’m working with a show, I never set as a goal ratings success.  I won’t let the show do it nor will I.  We don’t control the vagaries of Nielsen nor market conditions so it’s impossible (and even dumb) to say #1 is where we’re headed.

What I do set as our only goal is:  excellence.  If we work on everything associated with being excellent, then the ratings happen.  I’ve lived this too many times in my many years coaching shows.

When I started this work in the early 2000s, my mentors did a terrific job teaching me strategy.  Great radio is about conquering content and creating connection.  I knew this was central to earning images that compelled more listening and deeper loyalty from fans.  Philosophically, that hasn’t changed much over the years.

The conversation I felt I’d have more than any other back then was about leadership.  I needed to understand leadership better and be able to teach it.

Living in Raleigh, I became a Duke fan and Coach K had written a book in 1999 called Leading with the Heart.  I re-read it last week and its message of leadership is more salient now, given where we are in the industry.  It might be the single best book I’ve ever read on leadership.  I quote it often and always note what Coach K preached is why Duke always wins.

In the book, he talks about The Fist.  The five attributes of every winning team – each finger that makes an impenetrable fist.  He worked on these five items before he taught how to play basketball.  This is also something I work on before ever talking radio:

1. Building trust amongst the players. I ask everyone if they believe others on the team will make a decision in their best interest before their own.  Every single ounce of success comes from trust.  Is it there?  If not, how do we get it?
2. Is there a sense of collective responsibility amongst the team. Do I accept responsibility for what you do and is that reciprocated.  No team wins if it’s every person for themselves.
3. Can everyone have honest communications? You can never build trust if you can’t be honest.  You must always tell the truth.  There is this ongoing pulse many believe that we can only be positive with talent.  Why?  If I am going to make a full commitment to your growth, then you must accept that the positives come with the negatives (delivered properly).  I’ll never quite understand why we must always be positive.  When it’s earned, yes.  It might sting in the moment to hear when we miss the mark, but talent respect you more when you’re completely honest.  And they know if you are.
4. Do we have pride in what we’re doing? Excellent radio can change lives and make people less lonely.  Do we have pride for our show, our station, our cluster, our co-workers, and our community?
5. Finally, do we care about one another as people? This ain’t just about what we do when at the station.  If I know you really care about every facet of my life (especially outside of the station), then you can truly have an impact on who I am as a person.  If I reciprocate, we all elevate.

Do all of that, and you will build a culture that gets growth.  Then get the radio part right on top of that and you achieve excellence.

What’s missing from Morning Show Bootcamp?  Fear.  It’s a creative gathering where talent leave empowered to do more.  There is no fear at MSBC.  Fear is a crippler for creatives.  And there’s lots of it right now.  The lack of fear is what makes it most exceptional.  The single biggest thing I do besides talk about strategy and build the team’s leadership is communicate that I believe in them.  I take fear away from the room and they get very productive.  Confident players slay every day.  Then the magic happens.  They conquer content and create connection unlike anything else and do the kind of radio that has impact.

Taking fear away and reducing all the anxiety so many in our industry have because of where we are, is how we get to the only goal in our control:  excellence.  And when we do this, we get to that other goal I never set – ratings success.

Before you chat with your creatives about the break topic, its length, prep, the tease, how they got into it, etcetera, reduce the fear.  Be the calm in the chaos and watch what happens.