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Compassion Can Get Rating ...
October 3, 2017
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Larger workloads, fewer decision makers, smaller budgets, greater consolidation, less staff and the same music as the competition. Hmmm, what to do? A fellow programmer recently told me, "We need to transmit passion that is received and documented by the listeners -- not by long-term listening, but by having them use our brand more than others."
Connection
Radio has always had the advantage of touching their audience directly, but I can hear you saying "Sam, how can we still do that with all the syndication and voicetracking?" It is a regular push and pull, pros and cons, good cop/bad cop, glass half-empty/half-full, partly sunny/partly cloudy type stuff rolling around in my head. Thank God for all the weary but positive OMs, PDs and VPs who shrug off the doomsday radio prognosticators who continuously tell us how much worse they will get.
Radio folk are part of a small specialize area of entertainment that, like everything else on this earth, is in a constant state of transition. Change is inevitable for everything, but it does not mean head to the bomb shelter and wait for the end of broadcasting as we know it
Community
Just because you have a smaller staff and a syndicated morning show, it doesn't mean abandon the original basic philosophy of radio, which is serve the community. Sending out a van and handing out freebies are not community involvement. Strategize and find ways to maximize efforts to touch as many listeners as possible. Sure, you get to do a little of that through paid remotes, but that's not enough. I always programmed by this formula -- ears, eyes and heart ... branding, ratings and profit.
How It Works
Ears: First and foremost, a music-based format must play what most of its target audience wants to hear.
Eyes: Find ways to rub shoulders with your audience as often as possible. Find existing community events, organizations, and causes needing help.
Heart: Select causes and concerns that touch the lives of people. It's a matter of math, some listeners might have been selected to take part in the ratings process (PPM or diary). Those participants might be directly or indirectly affected by whatever cause or concern your company is involved with. Whether they listen or not, they will know who you are and occasionally might tune in; marketing never hurts the big picture. There are so many variables with ratings, you never know what might get your station a boost. When you touch a heart, people remember it more than all the cash giveaways, ticket giveaways, and large promotions.
You Can Do It
Chasing ratings through community involvement should consist of giving some time and energy in making a difference in the lives of those who listen and those who might. Over the years I've seen several stations, syndicated programming, and some giant ownership groups achieve this in creative and winning ways.
Examples of causes and organizations; keeping music classes available in public schools, health care, breast cancer awareness, literacy, St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, domestic violence, sexual abuse, March of Dimes, sickle cell anemia, non-partisan 'Get Out the Vote', educational needs, youth enrichment programs, or helping the elderly.
A lot of these issues touch the hearts of advertisers as well, there is no telling how much profit might come the stations way just because you show a concern for your community. Creative concise recorded promos, 10-second live liners, and shotgun creative drops can create quiet a branding tool while you are banging the hits!
The Air Personalities ...
Let me make another suggestion: At one of the stations I programmed, I made it mandatory for individual personalities to devote some time to an organization or charity they had an interest in. There are so many charities, mentoring programs, and non-profits in need of volunteers.
However, make no mistake; although I knew it would help others, my goals were always towards increasing the possibilities for branding, higher ratings, and station profit.
My All-Time Favorite Event ...
While programming in Greensboro, NC, I put together a series of community self-awareness community cook-outs. It was an idea based on something another PD had done in another market. However, by enlisting the local housing authorities, apartment complexes and local banks and civic leaders, it organically grew into a huge ratings catcher. The main thrust was to get the areas to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of their neighbors at every age level. I got record labels and eventually sales got some of the local banks to get the food for the events; part of minority community outreach.
They Did It Themselves
The communities organized the cooking, award ceremonies, recognition, cleanup, and the police department for security. We provided the plan, the food, put organizations in touch with each other, sat in on planning meetings, and promoted it heavily. On the day of the event all we had to do was show up in the van, do some callbacks, and MC. We did the events in the neighborhoods where listeners lived and not at a destination site. The whole point was to connect directly to the homes of those responsible for our ratings fate. I would pencil-in two of these a month -- the spring, summer and early fall. It meant higher ratings, increased visibility, and expanded our community brand. Doing something like this was like making a Subway sandwich, we kept adding things as time went on. The advertisers lined-up for sponsorship and commercial avail opportunities. By the way, all liability issues were on the neighborhood organizations.
Conclusion
It's never just a 5-K walk or a charity event, these are promotional opportunities. No giveaway can do what touching a heart can. Ears + Eyes + Heart=Profit.
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