Week of November 12, 2007

Friday 11/16, 2007

Do you remember the early images of American Idol winners? My! How they have changed! "Stoking the star making machinery" is necessary for your air staff to cut through today. You can't look bad or appear like anything less in order to be appealing no matter how good they sound. Perhaps it's time to take a good look at your air staff pix on line. Do they look as good as the artists they play? I'm not suggesting that they need an expensive photo shoot in order to make an impression, but if they don't look good, it will reflect on your station. "He/she has a great face for radio" matters today. Make them look good or at least professional. Your advertisers go to your web site too! Have a great weekend everyone!

Thursday 11/15, 2007

Image is everything! On air and on line, people form opinions of you when they see you. Making a first impression on line says a lot about your organization. If your morning show looks bad on line, it may not matter how they sound. Filling your web address with naked women, offensive language, and pictures of your staff that compare to the wanted pictures in the post office will brand your radio station like never before. Be careful! It may cost you. More tomorrow...

Wednesday 11/14, 2007

Are you the GM of radio stations or audio brands? In 2008, the focus will be on more than your AM & FM station. You now must be the GM of a web site that features video, audio, graphics, pictures, and a full media experience. Notwithstanding the costs involved, the true brand that is on the radio is now on your web site. No longer can you position your radio station to advertisers with just radio. If they see your web site pictures with the wrong content on it, it's a pretty safe bet they will form an opinion. Tomorrow...."He has a great face for radio" may no longer apply to your personalities.

Tuesday 11/13, 2007

What is going to change to make your cluster better for next year? If this year is a disaster for you and the stations it's pretty plain to see that business as usual will not do. Perhaps looking inward, beyond the corporate bla, bla, bla to recognize that there might be a perceptual problem with the medium itself. You can't change perceptions overnight. Assuming you will get no co-operation from corporate, you might start with a senior market management meeting. Can you be honest with them? Will they tell you the truth? Out of the box thinking will be necessary in 2008. My guess is you will find at least a few things that you can do better. More tomorrow...

Monday 11/12, 2007

The earnings calls of last week were not pretty for anyone in commercial radio. (Ok, maybe Univision.) as a general manager, you are on the front lines of the bad news. Why are we missing month after month? What can you do in this environment? Let's spend this week thinking out of the box a bit. Starting tomorrow, right here at www.allaccess.com.