Be Bold or Get Cold

The BLUF (bottom line up front):  Radio doesn’t have a listening problem.  It has a top-of-mind-awareness problem.  For whatever reasons (and there are many – looking at you corporate lawyers, over-worked brand managers who might be scared to take a chance, and morning talent who enjoy their comfort zones) much of what we do is met with a shrug of the shoulders by listeners.  It shows in our TSL

Why It Matters:  we compete against a zillion other things and when we’re deemed boring by listeners, they go in search of something else to stimulate them and keep their attention.  News flash:  their boredom meter flashes much sooner than ever.

In 2024, I had initiatives at two major market shows.  Our goal was to create big, gigantic, bold, edgy, noticeable radio past the standard fare many programs do every day.  We did this by focusing these efforts in prep.  We inserted ourselves into the topics of the day, and whatever was going on locally.  We took what might have been a banal and boring phone topic and created some larger narrative story arcs that lasted several days and had a conclusion listeners would talk about.  We also designed odd and quirky community service projects so we didn’t always default to just asking listeners for money.  We endeavored to be different and noisier to create intrigue and occasions.  We wanted to be more mischievous and imaginative.  We wanted to become memorable.

In short, we wanted to do epic shit with the right topics to stay top-of-mind with our fans, so they came back for more.

When I did mornings in Raleigh years ago, only one show across the street ever concerned me.  Those guys came in, guns blazing, looking to create talk.  They were quite successful and had an impact.

What was the last thing your show did to create noise?  And no, doing a 5-4-3-2-1 for tickets to see PINK doesn’t count.  Because this is, and always will be, about content and how you do it (it’s really about how you do it).  It’s not about what prize you have to give out (unless how you give it out is highly entertaining to those not trying to win it).  The two shows noted above succeeded.  Both ended 2024 with much higher ratings than they started.  That’s because we did things that captured the imagination of the audience, so they didn’t stray to check out something else.  Our infusion of innovation (in ways that fit both brands) worked because our fans feared missing out on what came next.

This Planet Reynolds’s title is inspired by a blog written recently by Fred Jacobs called Hey Radio:  Go Big or Go Home.  A commenter, Clark Smidt, used the phrase be bold or get cold.  Both are right.  So much radio is exactly like so much radio.  Everything is expected and a lot of it is unmemorable.

In case you’re an “if only” person and are thinking “if only we had the money to do stuff like that”, I’m sad to report that every idea we came up with for these two shows cost us exactly $0.  What it did take was a focus on a new goal, a team with a can-do attitude ready to work differently, an innovative spirit, and a supportive manager who knew where we were going and was ready to be a full partner.  But mostly it was about creating new things that captured the audience so they stayed.

Can you replicate that at your show or station?  If you can, you’ll reap the reward, too.  But if all we do is the same old, same old, we’ll continue to be in trouble.

Because if we keep doing what we’re doing, we’ll keep getting what we got.  Ain’t you tired of getting the same results?

The only sustainable advantage you’ll ever have over your competition is to out-innovate them.  What’s your game plan to do that?

Steve’s Pet Peeves Volume Two

What’s it like to listen to 7-8 hours of morning radio each day?  Well, you’ll need to sit with me each morning to find out.  Each show gets one hour of listening so I can get a sense of what they’re up to.

The goal for any show and any talent is to conquer content and create connection.  One of the most satisfying aspects of coaching is when I hear talent do that effortlessly.

Many of these shows are mine, some aren’t.  That’s where this list comes in.  There are certain small things shows do that, at the end of the day, have a minimal impact on their perceptions and ratings.  But enough to catch my ear and become a pet peeve.  I released volume one which you can find here.

It’s time for a fresh ten we’ll call volume two:

  1. Reading texts and Facebook posts instead of curating listener phone calls. I know that’s how many listeners interact with shows now, but we still must craft breaks that sparkle with more than chatter. Hearing other listeners voices do that.
  2. Teasing what prizes you have to win. There’s very limited appeal to that tease.  Promoting your content will impact 100% of your audience. They come for content.  Not to win something.
  3. Changing something about your show because you got a few complaints online. Those four people might be wrong.
  4. The phrase “everyone loves it”.  Unless you’ve surveyed 100% of your fans, that could be wrong, too.  Not to discount that those people do love “it” but that doesn’t mean everyone does.  Everyone is not five people.  Another vote for being strategic.
  5. Things like tweaking your processing or getting new jingles or sweepers and believing they will change the perceptions of your show and the ratings will go up. Not that you shouldn’t update your presentation, but doing it doesn’t have the impact some think it does.
  6. Shows that think they should move their benchmarks around so lots of people hear them. That’s a solid mistake to make.  You can’t groom an appointment at a certain time and then take that bowl of ice cream away from those who make that feature part of their daily routine.
  7. Use of first-person words (I, me, mine). I have this to give out; I’m going to do this next; Call me now.  It should be:  We have this to give out.  Call us now.  We’re going to do this next.  Your story or opinion is first person.  All else is collective.  Don’t send the signal to your teammates that it’s your show.  What we do is ours.
  8. Shows that air guests (callers or interviews) and then dominate the conversation. Once the guest or caller comes on, they should be the center-of-the-universe.
  9. Talent who rarely say the name of the show or station on the back side of the break. You just did a great content.  Remind the audience who did it, so you get the credit!
  10. Shows that forget there are tons of people checking them out for the first time every morning. Do resets so they feel a part of the family as a first-time listener.  I recently listened to a show for the first time that had two guys as the co-hosts.  Their names are very similar.  I left a few hours later not knowing who was who.  Not good.  The anchors on Eyewitness News in your market have been there for decades.  They still reset their newscast coming out of commercials.  You’d be shocked at the number of tenured shows that forget this.

I know you’ll be excited to hear I have enough for future collections.  Have one?  Let me know here.

Cleanup on Aisle Four (Part 2)

The BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front):  If not tended to strategically, brands can become cluttered, busy, and listening can be less satisfying.  It’s on us to clean that mess up so our fans have a good experience when they tune in.

Why It Matters:  Radio is fighting for every quarter hour.  There’s so much competition for ears and eyes, that if we don’t offer up a clean listening experience, the audience could leave.  Think of it like the backseat of a car.  One where you might find empty water bottles, Cheerios on the floor, empty McDonalds bags, and the jumper cables you used last month.  If that’s yours, clean it up and friends will wanna ride somewhere with you.

Let’s clean things up so listeners have pleasant and easy listening experiences.  In our last Planet Reynolds, we touched on several areas to do that – your plot, character development, the content you choose, and your benchmarks.  Find that here.

Let’s move on with new areas for strategic clean up conversations:

Show Imaging, Teases, and Promos:

  • Is it time to update your show’s imaging? What’s the theme or core message?  Does the production value feel very 1980s?  Or does it reflect the vibe of today’s audience who abhor hype and hyperbole?
  • When was the last time you had a teasing exercise? Find a few stories and write teases.  Wanna extend listening or compel an image there’s something to miss? Elevate your writing skills.
  • Do you run promos outside the show? What’s their focus?  An image?  Or your signature feature so you continue to build equity for it?

Show Prep:

  • Evaluate your entire show prep process. How can it change to get better content and better treatments of that content?  Prep should happen the day before a show when you’re at your most creative and have access to resources.  That’s when you come up with your best stuff.
  • What will you do tomorrow to keep your fans from straying? New treatments to high equity topics help keep your P1s engaged.

Digital Efforts:

  • Look at the last week of social posts. How many are the reason people engage you there?  Hint:  they always, always, always come for content.  Never try to coerce listeners to leave social media and turn you on.  It doesn’t work and you’ll become newsfeed clutter.  You grab them with content.
  • What unique feature(s) can you do on social to accrue images so when they’re in the car (where most radio listening is done), they think of you?
  • Lori Lewis is my go-to on social media. She’s super smart and was just interviewed in Barrett Media.  It’s worth the three minutes.  Read it here.

On the Streets:

  • We don’t get out much any longer, mostly because everyone in radio is doing fourteen jobs. But those that do have an edge.
  • Can you develop a year-long campaign to meet people in your market, so they give you a shot? Can the campaign be monetized by sales (you’ll be a hero)?
  • Finally, go to where there are tons of people. Shaking hands for 30 minutes at places where there a lot of potential listeners has a much higher ROI than sitting at a Jiffy Lube on Saturday for two hours (no disrespect to Jiffy Lube!).

Okay, I’m tired of typing so let’s leave it there.  Hope the last two Planet Reynolds have helped you advance your game.  I’ll leave you with a fresh exercise to hear your content as the audience does.

Aircheck Roulette:

Ask someone not associated with your show to choose one 15-minute segment from any show last week.  Listen to the content done in that quarter hour and honestly answer these ten questions:

Were we local?  Were we on a Hot Topic?  Did we share our honest perspective?  Did we share a story about our lives that connected us to the typical listener?  Did we do something with the topic besides just chatter about it?  Did we leave listeners wishing the break had gone on longer?  Did we provide in the first 15 seconds a hook, so they leaned in to hear the rest?  Was there drama in the break to keep listeners engaged?  Was audio available around the topic and did we use it?  Was it fun?

The more yeses you get to the ten questions above, the more I’ll admire you.  Tell me about it (better yet, send me the audio) so I can revel in your epic-ness!

Doing some or all of this puts you in a growth mindset.  It ends up being addition by subtraction.  Clean stuff up, have strategic conversations in all these areas, and when listeners turn you on, their experience will be so rewarding they won’t leave or if they do, they’ll come back for more.

Go get it.

Cleanup On Aisle Four (Part 1)

The BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front):  The new year brings an appropriate moment to re-affirm your content strategy and clean up your show for a better listener experience that results in higher ratings.

Why It Matters:  We are not in the radio business anymore.  We are in the experience business.  Years ago, Best Buy was awful to enter.  Salespeople hovered because they were on commission.  The stores were dingy and old.  They were on the road to becoming the next Circuit City.  Then, they got smart.  They redesigned the stores to be brighter, installed interactive areas, and took the salespeople (who all knew we’d just go to Amazon to buy whatever we were looking for) off commission so they were there to genuinely help.  They improved their in-store experience so we enjoyed going there.  We need to do the same.

Ever open that catch-all drawer in your kitchen looking for the menu to the Chinese restaurant only to wade through zillions of paperclips, pens and rubber bands, scissors and coupons, and 14 other menus?  The start of a new year is a great time to clean it out, so things are streamlined and what’s left matters and stands out.

If you are a Brand Manager or leader of a show, here’s Part 1 of things to work on.  I’ll do half now and the balance in the next Planet Reynolds.

What You’re All About:

  • Everyone might have a different sense of your content strategy. With time we lose focus of things like this.  Affirm it so everyone is on the same page.
  • Do a short listener profile so you know your target audience, discussing, too, how their values match yours.
  • Understand why the audience comes to you. What are they looking for when they turn you on?  How are you at delivering that?

Review Character Development:

  • What are the attributes of each person on the show – the major connection points they offer to develop loyalty with a like-minded group of listeners?
  • How are the cast members different from one another? Especially if you have two people of the same gender, how do you help them create separate personas?
  • How do you generate story-based personal content to drive who you are? How can that be elevated to get more so you become a personality-driven show?

Playing the Hits:

Content must be strategically chosen. Where will you find that?  Planet Reynolds readers know I believe four areas are best:

    • Pop Culture (because pop = popular = familiar).
    • What’s up locally if you are a live and local show?
    • The appropriate parts of your life so the audience can connect with you.
    • Music-based content so you are part of the larger station brand and not siloed.

Benchmarks and Icons:

  • Review your benchmarks and features. If your benchmarks have been on for a while, should you update their presentation, so they have a fresh coat of paint?
  • What new features can you add to the show in 2025, so your fans are always getting a fresh, innovative product?
  • What’s iconic about your brand? If a focus group were done on your show, what 1-2 items would come up unaided by typical listeners in the room?  How do you help make that happen?
  • How do you make your show’s signature feature even bigger? That’s not about the prize you attach to it (if a game) but how do you increase its exposure so more people know about it?

The 15-Second Game:

Let’s play a fun game to wrap up Part 1.  Grab ten random breaks from last week’s shows and listen to only the first 15-seconds of each, then stop the audio.  Is enough done in those 15 seconds that would compel listeners to stay for another fifteen seconds?  In other words, are you doing content by then or forcing the audience to wade through paperclips, pens, and tons of menus?  If the morass of up-front promotion and process chatter stands in the way of getting to actual content (the reason the listeners come), clean it up.

That’s enough for now.

Part 2 comes next where we’ll cover promotion of your show, its imaging, show prep, your digital efforts, and a street campaign.

I do this because I want radio to be an epic, unique choice for listeners.  If you have questions on the above, feel free to reach out here.  Doesn’t matter to me if I work with you or not because I believe in radio.

Steve’s Big Five to Start 2025

The BLUF (bottom line up front): I’m not one for resolutions because I’ll break them before you finish this sentence.  But the beginning of a new year is an appropriate time to reset your strategy and commit to understanding that the growth of your show lies in a game plan to evolve.

Why Does It Matter?  Because everything evolves.  Everything.  Any brand we use has changed over time (lettuce in a bag, Windex wipes, Apple Pay, etc.).  You must, too, if you wish to have higher ratings.  Because if you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you got.

Here are five things to consider and work on to help grow your show.  The onus is on us to change lest your fans grow fickle and bored and seek out something else in the moment that provides them with connection, entertainment, and fun.

In the quest to be an Outside Thinker:

  1. Inventory your show and compile the list ✅ of things that listeners can only get from you. Now, go grow those points-of-differentiation so you’re even more unique.  I love Frostys and can only get them from Wendy’s.  Develop more Frostys.  Or identify your one big feature and make it even bigger to drive more positive imagery into your program.
  2. Commit to making the other personalities on the station stars 🤩 on your show. Then work with them on how to make you a star on their show.  All boats rise if you help one another.  This isn’t just what promos they can run for your show.  It’s can/how do you involve them in your content and how do they reciprocate?  There are many stations where our morning show does this with the afternoon personality/team.  Both show’s ratings go up when we commit to this.
  3. Accept that listeners really don’t hear small things – and that small things don’t really matter much to your ratings. 📈 Big things cut through so go do big things.  Radio has a top-of-mind awareness problem.  Do content in big, memorable ways and you’ll be top-of-mind.  And remember, this isn’t about having better prizes or what you give out.  It is about content.  Boredom lurks around every corner in life for all of us (that’s why we pick up our phones so often).  We are attention merchants and doing big things with the right topics keeps their attention.
  4. Always stay relevant to the moment for content. What do you do with the “now topics” that keeps your fans coming back every day out of fear of missing something?  Be about today.  Helping your fans stay connected to what’s going on right now in the world and your market makes them feel vibrant – especially when you share your point-of-view and then do something with the topic no one else thinks to do.
  5. Stop looking at social media for usable feedback on your show. 🙉 It’s great to read the positives and a bummer to hear the opposite, but don’t let any of that sway you to change the strategy.  The feedback from the few people who comment (good or bad) could be right and they could be wrong.  It’s just how that person reacted to it in that moment.  A strategy is always adjusted dispassionately.  Don’t believe the highs or lows – just keep working your content strategy.  Whatever you see is from a minute amount of your audience so you have to be careful to not make a strategic content decision from it.

Michel Porter said:  “Strategy is about making choices and trade-offs; it’s about deliberately choosing to be different. Leadership evolves when we have the courage to change, refine, and lead with clarity.”

Go lead and you’ll continue to be on the road to epic 🔥.

Steve’s Pet Peeves: Volume 1

Just before the holiday break, on a morning when I had some extra time, I decided to check out some shows I’ve been hearing about.  One placed, in a prominent content slot, celebrity birthdays.  Not that I think this could work anywhere, I felt it was time, as we conclude the year, for a list of pet peeves – the things I hear some shows do that I believe ding them.

Great personality radio is about Conquering Content and Creating Connection.  Check out our first installment of Steve’s Pet Peeves (Volume 1).  These are the little things I hear some shows do that I think are minor mistakes that, when added up, could impact their perceptions (and yes, if you’re wondering, there will be other installments!).

The things some shows do that bug me:

  1. Taking the first break of the show and telling the audience what’s coming up on the show that day (doing a rundown of that day’s content). It’s 6:05.  I’m not coming back because you have tickets to give out at 7:20 or are doing that phone topic at 7:50 or have an email from a listener with relationships drama at 8:15.  I’m here now, connect with and entertain me now.
  2. Lists and surveys and National Theme Days. There are lower forms of content, but this is prep service-driven lazy radio.
  3. Birthdays and This Date in History. Now, that’s the lowest form of content.  My goal in radio is to rid every show still doing this, who believe the audience cares.  They don’t.  We can be better.
  4. Talent who answer the phones on-the-air, “Hi, who’s this?” You don’t answer your phone that way when you pick up, right?  It sounds immensely impersonal.  Get their name and then introduce them to the audience.  It’s much more warm and human.
  5. Tie breakers in trivia games. All that does it make the break longer without making it more entertaining.
  6. “What station just made you a winner?”  You know who asks questions like that?  DJs do.  You’re a real person, not a DJ.
  7. Happy Hump Day. See #6.
  8. Social media posts where talent show how wonderful their life is. The perfect meal, the excellent seat at the game, the most wonderful vacation, a first-class seat, your new 65″ flat panel TV.  Your listeners aren’t leading that kind of life, so doing this is a disconnect.
  9. Talking about any TV show is always perilous (most of your audience doesn’t watch that show you’re talking about). But doing it and not running any audio so I have context to your comments puts listeners not watching that show you’re so excited about at a disadvantage.
  10. Breaks where someone makes a simple mistake (like slipping up on a word or accidentally saying it’s 9:13 when it’s really 7:13) and then that mistake becoming the next sixty seconds of the break. Listeners aren’t hanging on your mistake so just move on and get to the real content.

If you do one or two of the above, not fixing them won’t make your ratings go down.  Fixing them won’t make the ratings go up.  But in our quest for excellence, every second counts with the audience.

You got a pet peeve for a future installment?  Email it to me here.

I Wouldn’t Be Here, If They Hadn’t Been There

I ponder lots about how the hell I got here.  Radio’s had its ups and downs for each of us, but on balance the industry’s been good to me.  I’ve found my place.  It’s been quite rewarding to help talent grow.  My favorite part comes when shows I work with have breakthrough moments that change the trajectory of their careers.

Catching up with my friend Greg Strassell from Hubbard the other day, he referenced a gentleman we both know who was having a milestone birthday.  When I met Jay Williams, he was a manager of a station in Boston and the consultant in Springfield, MA where I had my first morning show.  Jay laid the foundation for my love of personality radio.  Jay pushed me a lot.  But that built resilience as he compelled me to reach levels I didn’t know I had by making me uncomfortable. I knew deep inside he liked and respected me.  That vibe compelled his honesty.  Most of his critiques were tough.  I still have all of them, in boxes downstairs, forty years later.

Steve Reynolds, as an original, doesn’t really exist.  He’s a Frankenstein.  Over the years, I’ve been lucky to meet some of the smartest people in radio.  What I am is a little of him and some of her.  So many people have influenced how I look at radio and all have accelerated my belief in talent.  It was Jon Coleman (founder of Coleman Insights), knowing had I not gone into radio that I’d have been a school teacher, who first saw the opportunity for my company with consolidation happening.  When it’s time to wrap all this up, it’ll be Jon I have the most to thank.  Of my Frankenstein composite, I’m more Jon than anyone else.   But lots of folks are on that list.

I bet you’re like that, too.

As Thanksgiving approaches, I’d like to suggest something to each of us, but especially talent.  Who are those people who are always there for you?  Who have believed in you along the way?  The ones who return your messages when you need a friendly voice.  Those who freely gave of themselves when you needed advice or direction, asking for nothing in return?  Who, in the face of the industry’s flux, has always been honest, even when it’s been tough to hear?  Who was there in the beginning?

There is so much we don’t control about the industry’s future.  It’s all being figured out at a pay grade higher than most of us.  As the holidays approach, I’d like to suggest you reach out to those few who you know you can always count on and thank them.  Those who helped you at the start of your career.  And do it old school.  No texts or emails.  Get their home address and write them a note, and send it in the mail.  It’ll blow them away and make you feel good you did it.  You’ll feel like a kid again by putting that positivity out there.

Yea, I know you’re super busy.  But I guarantee you’ll do nothing more important than this as we close out the year.  You’ll change their day when they get it.  Maybe, more importantly, you’ll change yours when you send it.

Besides Jay and Jon, I have an exceptionally long list.  I won’t bore you with it lest the walk off music start from the Academy Awards.

But I’ve got my note cards, addresses, and stamps, and plan on thanking those who’ve given me what I have – those who’ve made me a Frankenstein.

Because I wouldn’t be here, if they hadn’t been there.

The Power of the Purple People

A couple of weeks ago, former Coach Tim Walz asked me to sit next to him at a high school football game in my hometown of Raleigh – he bought me popcorn.  JD Vance stopped over last week to see if I owned any cats.  Kamala’s coming by on Thursday for coffee (I hear she likes a splash of hazelnut).  Trump wants me to stop by the Applebee’s on Hillsborough Street next week to look at some discounted watches.

I live in one of the seven purple states that will decide who the next president will be.  They are here All.  The.  Time.  Asking for my vote.  It’s powerful to be a purple person!

Retail politics (showing up and asking for the vote) is something we’ve gotten away from in radio.  It’s now a powerful differentiator for shows and stations that truly are live and local.  Having actual eye contact, shaking the hands of fans and asking those who aren’t to try out your show.

If you’re a talent who desperately wants to win even more, create space with your competitor with a year-long commitment to meeting fans and would-be listeners in your market.

Here’s what I’d love you to consider:  develop a 2025 campaign to do just that.  Maybe call it One Hundred Thousand High Fives or Fifty Thousand Fist Bumps.  Or come up with your own name.  Then bring it to sales to find a title sponsor so they can make some money (you’ll be more valuable to the cluster if you do).  Then commit to do it twice a month.

Do you need to actually fist bump 50,000 people?  Nope.  But craft in-person appearances to meet as many people as you can.  Your competitor won’t and it will be a difference-maker for you.

Hint:  don’t ask them to come to you.  The “I’ll be at Jiffy Lube this Saturday from 9-11” won’t work.  Ain’t no one going out of their way just to meet you.  Instead, where are people you can go to?  Set up outside an arena before a big game or concert.  Find the busiest intersection with foot traffic and go there at lunch for a half hour.

I know we ask a lot of you as talent.  And I also know what you’re thinking.  You won’t be paid for this. But meeting as many people as you can (wherever they are) and asking them to give you a shot works.  That makes you more powerful as a talent because of the higher ratings and revenue opportunity you created.  Those will be your wins.

I’m not sure who’ll get North Carolina’s 16 electoral votes.  But whoever does, it’ll be because they were here a lot paying attention to us purple people.

You do that, too, and watch what happens.

A.I. Doesn’t Know U

Let’s chat about how A.I. and the one thing it really can’t do to help you be successful.

The three best areas for content for any show, regardless of format, are pop culture (pop = popular = familiar), local, and character development (you!).

A.I. is marvelous at getting you the latest on topical news items and can even shrink them down to bite size.  A.I. can even write your teases, name things, and be somewhat creative.  A.I. will have no problem, with the right prompt, to curate local topics and references.

But what A.I. cannot do is reflect your life or teach you how to tell your stories to the audience, so you connect with them.  And that connection is the key that unlocks every door to your forming a relationship with listeners.

What is character development?  It comes from two areas:  be honest discussing a topic.  That means no concocted points-of-view to create phony conflict.  If I tell you golf is stupid or that Diddy deserves to be in prison with no parole and mean it, I’ll convey to you something about me that will teach you who I am.  If the tone with which I deliver that message is fun or serious, then you’ll get my vibe.

But the best character content comes when you share stories about your life the typical listener can identify with.  If they say “yea, me, too” then it’s a win.  And only you can generate those by having a life and engaging in experiences large and small in your market to find them.

Stories are essential to connect with others.  That’s why country music is so beloved.  Every song is a story, and any songwriter will tell you their imperative is to tell their truth.

In efforts to move your show from being feature-driven to being personality-driven, having those stories fans identify with and see themselves in, will reinforce a bond between you and them that is almost unbreakable.  A.I. cannot get you there.

I ask shows when we start our work what they want listeners to say about their show unaided after we do this for a year.  They all say they want the audience to say they feel like they know them.  That’s a big win.

And no matter how much you use A.I. (free or otherwise), it will never be able to tell your stories in your way.  Because, as the title of this blog says, A.I. Doesn’t Know U.  You have soul, A.I. doesn’t.

Work hard to have a life.  Figure out which experiences will give you stories that will allow pure connection points with the most listeners.  Continue learning how to tell stories better, then do all that.  Because nowhere else in the market can listeners hear your stories, but on your show.

Go use A.I. to make certain tasks doing your show easier.  But understand its limitations today.

When the audience cares about you, they’ll care about your show.  And when you’ve accomplished that, you become something your radio station truly needs and can’t find elsewhere.

Use A.I. for what it does well.  But know that if you can’t truly reveal who you are to the audience, they will never get close to you.  If who you are isn’t part of your content package, A.I. won’t be able to compensate.  Because A.I. doesn’t know U.

While both are important, radio’s substantive wins will now come more from art than science.  Go be an original.

Promo No No’s

Apple has new devices for sale.  Even though they’re one of the world’s most recognizable brands, they’ll still market the hell out of them.

This week, let’s tackle marketing your morning show.  No, I’m not gonna suggest you buy a TV campaign and billboards (even though they could probably use them).  You don’t have the resources, and I know that.  So, I’ll save the space.

But let’s engage on how you use your station to promote your premiere talent and their shows.  Namely, promos.

I love when brand managers decide to run promos.  The question I always ask is:  what are you going to promote?  What’s our marketing message?  I tend to get back a mish mash of everything:

“Let’s promote their next day’s content.”  Or “we’ll talk about the prizes they have to give out.”  Or “we should do some character development outside the daypart, so the audience knows who’s on the show.”  I get several other suggestions.  None with a strategic theme that helps the show win.

I’ve learned much over the years about show promos.  My thinking on this has evolved more than anything else associated with its success.  Let me wade through all the options.  Most of them are promo no no’s.  I’ll land on the one I think is most viable.

  1. Let’s promote the plot of the show. This is a “promo no” because this is too esoteric for the audience to get.  It’s just words to those hearing it.  They must consume the plot in action to feel it.  Think:  if you saw a promo that Seinfeld was “the show about nothing” you’d scratch your head.  But watch it and you get it.
  2. Let’s promote our characters. This is a “promo no”, even with clips.  It’s so hard to feel someone in the short time allotted to promos.  How can I get what you’re all about in a 20 second clip from the show?  I really need to hear the story or break in real time to get a sense of who you are.
  3. Let’s have the station voice tell the audience how fun and real the show is. This is a “promo no”.  I worry all the audience hears is hype and hyperbole.
  4. Let’s tell the audience the content they’ll do tomorrow. This is a “promo no” because free flowing content breaks are not appointment listening.  One minute after you’ve told them, thousands of other messages bombard their brain and they’ve forgotten what you said.  And anyway, it’s not likely I’m coming back tomorrow because you’re doing a phone topic at 7:30 or will read that letter about the relationships drama at 8:15.  If you’re really, really, really doing something unique and special tomorrow, this doesn’t apply – promote that!
  5. Let’s promote the prizes you can win tomorrow. This is a “promo definitely no”.  That promo talks to only contest players, which is about 2% of your audience.  We need to worry about earning images with the other 98% and that’s about content.
  6. Let’s run clips of the show to reinforce images. Hmmm…I’ll take it.  Any promo that proves via clips how fun things are, how real the talent is, how relevant the content is, or how unique/different the show is will work.
  7. Let’s promote the show’s signature feature – the guaranteed moment everyone loves and is entertained by. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.  We have a winner!  Every show needs to be known for something.  If your signature feature works then promote the hell out of it every hour.  Burn it in further.  Make sure 100% of your cume knows of this fun daily benchmark.  The more who know, the better your images, the more tune-ins.

Promos can play to one’s head (“we’re going to do this thing tomorrow at this time”) or one’s heart (I have an emotional reaction).  Play to their hearts with promos.  Make them feel something so it resonates:  I don’t like the brand of car I drive.  I love it.  My laptop doesn’t just get the job done.  I love my MacBook Pro.  Go for that.

Human beings are not logical creatures.  We are emotional beings.  Emotional attachment forms relationships. Continue to build your one thing and make me feel it.  I promise it’ll work.

Number seven is the smartest route because every positive image earned from a signature feature transfers to the show.  If the feature is fun and relevant, so is your talent.

Good things come to people who focus.  If we do a combo of the above, none of it will stick (and much of it is non-strategic).  But if we put all the klieg lights on one thing (your big thing), then it stands its best chance of cutting through, being remembered, and having a positive impact for you and the show.