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The names of some
things imply the exact opposite of what they really are. Life is
that way sometimes. Some examples are that we park on a driveway
and we drive on a parkway? In the same context, the people
that use your station are called "listeners" but "listeners" don't
actually listen very much. As much as we'd like to not
believe this, radio can be very much like an appliance, a light bulb
or a microwave oven. We can't really expect them to listen intently
to everything we do, like we in radio do. That's why Research
can be misleading, because listeners will say one thing, but do
another. It's not because they aren't telling the truth. Research
asks them what they think, when in reality, they don't think as much
as they react.
The job of an air
Talent is to provide what the listener cares about, and then attach
your "brand name" to it. The only thing that matters to your
listeners are only things that matter to them. It really is this
simple. The hard part is keeping it this simple and not get stifled
by paralysis from over-analysis.
When you talk about
something on the air, make sure it's something the Listener CARES
about hearing. Don't do it just because you want to talk about it,
or just because you thought of funny line on the subject. It's not
about YOU. It's about creating a connection in the listener's mind
between your station and what the listener already wants to hear.
That's why we do Traffic reports and Weather because people care
about them. Coach your air talent to work the hardest on discovering
and talking about things that their listeners actually care about.
If the listener doesn't care, they won't hear. You'll be better off
playing your jingle into their favorite song than talking about
something that your audience doesn’t care about.
Now is the time to
reconfigure your station so it accentuates the listener’s life
instead of using the listener to accentuate your radio station. This
will change the way you image your radio station, they way you
promote it and all of your promotions as well. We’d be more than
happy to talk to you about how to do this and what it can mean.
Brian is a 30 year radio veteran
who has successfully served many companies over the years as Program
Director, Operations Manger and VP of programming. After many years
of success working for individual radio stations and clusters, Brian
Joined one of the most trusted consulting firms in the country,
Audience Development Group. For the last 15 years Wright has enjoyed
building alliances with scores of stations in the US & Canada
helping them grow in ratings and revenue. Contact Brian at
brian@audiencedevelopmentgroup.com
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