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The quest to develop great
interactive radio is really a process NOT and event, a marathon NOT
a sprint. It requires almost constant vectoring, much like the
Apollo moon flights where they realigned their direction over a
million times to land on their target
Today’s radio
programmer can spend too much time in the analytical world of radio,
forsaking the greater quest of creating a radio environment that
connects emotionally with their audience. This is easy to do because
mechanics are cut-and-dry/black-and-white issues. Creating a radio
station that connects emotionally with your audience is a much more
vague and psychological issue, which many do not know how to do.
The most productive role of today’s
radio programmer is to create a number of Featured Unique
Emotional Links, or (F.U.E.L) for their
audience. So, the more FUEL you have, the further you reach into a
person’s mind, to harness more top-of-mind recall and satisfaction.
While good mechanics are a documented part of a radio stations
success, they really serve as an accentuation for your F.U.E.L or in
a purely mechanical reference; your mechanics are your F.U.E.L
injectors.
What are Featured Unique Emotional
Links? They really are the things that people remember about your
station, that they don’t get anywhere else, that generate some type
of emotion, love, hate, dislike, like but never indifference.
It’s the difference of giving away TICKETS to concert and... “Treating
your listeners to personally experience the company of one of
today’s hottest stars...” It’s the difference of telling
listeners they can register to win a car and... “Telling
listeners that they can have the smell of a brand new, fire engine
red sports car in their garage with a set of keys in their hands to
drive it...” It’s the difference of saying that you are giving
away a famous person”s guitar and... “How would you like to
famous person’s guitar in your very own hands and know that it’s now
all yours...?”
A big source for your F.U.E.L also comes
from an ample supply of short-burst audience interactions.
This audience interaction is best when it fits in with the seamless
flow and thought process of your announcers and elements of the day,
instead of creating an overabundance of question-and-answer
sessions. Using the out of context phone method really helps in this
area. This is when a person calls for one reason and you extract the
information YOU want from them to use at a later time. It could be
something as simple as a reaction to the weather or a concert. I
recommend that all Leighton stations have a minimum of 4 audience
interactions per hour to get the impact you need.
Nothing creates listener momentum like
the listeners themselves, nothing! When listeners hear you interact
frequently with people just like them, they get to know you better
and feel more comfortable with you, even if they, themselves, never
call you. People like to come to a place where they feel
comfortable and they will come back often.
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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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