Q100, Atlanta’s Biggest Challenge When Bert Leaves
Coming this Monday, the all-new Molly and Steve Show (laser effects). They lit up Binghamton, and now they’re bringing their number one morning show (extended echo to accentuate “number one”) to the ATL. Molly and Steve – they’re real with more fun (canned laughter), more prizes (cash register sfx), and War of the Roses. The all-new Molly and Steve Show – you won’t wanna miss it – starting Monday right here on Q100 (jingle, up tempo song).
Human beings gravitate to routine and structure. The Bert Show on Q100 in Atlanta has been a part of that for decades. And poof, one day soon, it will go away. What will happen to his massive, loyal following in Atlanta and across his network of stations? However the station handles this moment could determine its success for many years.
Maybe you’re going through this, too. I’d like to help. But first, can I take you out for bite to eat? My treat.
I have a friend who owns a bunch of restaurants where I live in Raleigh. Almost all of them are successful. I asked her how that happened. While location and the food experience are important, she shared a template for launch which both fascinated me and is one I’ve adopted when introducing a new show to any audience.
It’s the soft launch. Low profile, zero hyperbole, none of the hype. All of that chest-pounding about how great things will be is for all of us, insiders who want to communicate that a show is so damn good, they’ll be damn good for listeners, too. You must earn your stripes, and she reminded me that the higher the expectations, the greater the chance of failure. Promotion heightens expectations. Listeners hate hype and hyperbole and eventually reject it because it’s never that good upon a first listen.
Her soft launches are very quiet. They open and whoever finds them gets the experience as the host team, kitchen crew, and wait staffs find their chemistry. Figuring all that out quietly and with little attention and no klieg lights shows her where the speed bumps are. Once that’s all smoothed out after a few months, and word-of-mouth starts, is when they consider promoting a more mature product.
I’ve launched tons of shows over the years. My most paramount rule and the companion to every decision we make, is to do no harm to the existing cume. They’re there for many reasons: loyalty to the old show, habit, they like the music, there were features they enjoyed. When people wake in the morning, they like routines. And they hate when those routines are disrupted. So, acknowledge this and go slow lest that cume scatter. If we lose them, it costs money to get them back. Protect it.
Goal #1 is to endear the new show to the exiting audience. Here are the general rules I ask shows to follow when they’re new to the station or market:
- Topics should be familiar because you aren’t. Familiarity is so important when people wake up. Play the hits when it comes to topics. Nothing unfamiliar. Topics: what’s going on locally, what’s up in pop (popular) culture, stories of your life that show you’re just like them, and music/artist-based content (so the show weaves itself into the larger station brand).
- Affirm and earn images that you’re fun, genuine, friendly, and authentic in every break.
- Character development is very important. Introduce yourself by being honest and sharing your life. Letting them get to know you helps form that connection which leads to being familiar and loyalty. A goal should be the audience saying, “they’re just like me and I feel like I know them.” You don’t get that done in one break.
- Be interested in them so they’re interested in you. Lots of phones, lots of storytelling. Put the focus on the audience. Nothing is more powerful than you getting them to talk about their favorite subject – themselves.
- Avoid the point-of-fatigue that happens in breaks by under-staying the welcome. Short breaks lead them to wanting more.
- Music is your friend right now. Lots of music holds their hand through the transition.
- Be careful of the treatments to your strategic content so listeners don’t think, “They’re trying too hard to impress me.” In three words: don’t be wacky.
- Benchmarks, especially now, help provide that structure I noted above. They give you the best chance to define the show and get into the listener’s morning routine.
- Respect the past. What fits the brand and what expectations do longtime listeners have? Meet those in every break.
- No promotion of the show just yet because promoting something heightens expectations by users. This is a soft, quiet launch.
My restaurant friend said that, while food and location are important to each of her places, it’s the dozens of people she employs who make that experience come to life. She’s worried about them and the other group of people – those who float in to eat who have no formed opinions of her restaurant (aka listeners). Managing all of that takes precedence.
That conversation re-wired how I think about debuting shows. The talent you’ve hired might get frustrated at the slower pace, but it sets up the existing cume (who hate change) to have a better chance to react positively to what you’re doing. Whoever follows Bert is in a unique spot to save that audience. But only if they’re strategic will they have their best chance to protect what’s there.
It should be the Molly and Steve show because they’d kill.
Want a one-sheet of the above rules? Grab that here.