Spy Gate ...

Because of station clusters, personnel turnover, radio boards, music monitors and old-fashioned gossip, it's harder to keep secrets from the competition. Hacking isn't the only way to gain an edge; a casual conversation with the shared sixth man (listener/groupie) could give you a heads-up on the opposition.

The Unknowing Spy...

It was no accident I was able to beat my competition to the punch on occasion. Years ago, I stumbled upon an insomniac female listener who loved talking to my competitor's overnight air personality. Fortunately, she also happened to be a friend of our receptionist and a huge fan of our station. One day while she was visiting I thought it was my duty as a PD to make her acquaintance. During our conversation, I discovered the other station's overnight personality would talk to her about upcoming promotions. One day I overheard her telling our receptionist about a contest my competitor was going to start airing.

Receptionists Are Important ...

Of course, I wanted as much detail as possible, so I gave the receptionist some questions to ask her listening friend. I figured the overnight guy would spill the beans to her and he did. I put our direct competitor's contest on our airwaves before he could. A month later, I did it again with another contest. The crosstown programmer got so paranoid that an inside source told me he stopped handing out contest memos to his folks. For a long time after that, I resorted to verbally explaining contests to my air staff; I was afraid the Radio Gods would subject me to Karmic payback.

The Audience Will Let You Know ...

To take ownership of the contest, I tripled up on impressions ... recorded and verbal. The station did a perceptual study soon after and I enjoyed hearing participatants discuss how much they loved that promotion; many of them thought the other station had copied it from us.

Warning ...

I only pulled the promotional pirating thing twice; they were inherited situations where my station was behind our competitor in the ratings. It worked each time and allowed my stations to eventually pull even with the competition. A word of warning: If you are ever tempted to pull this stunt, explain the purpose to the Market Manager/GM, Sales Manager and promotions. Also, check with the company's lawyers or legal department.

Conclusion

Radio wars have always been about one-upmanship. If you can get your competition off its game and lose focus, it could give you an edge. One of my favorite quotes, "If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking." - General George S. Patton.