Tracy Johnson

Things may look challenging for radio, what with all the increased competition coming from multiple digital platforms. Yet Tracy Johnson sees it as an opportunity for radio to distinguish itself. And the best, most effective way to do that is to grow and develop more unique, entertaining and engaging personalities - the one unassailable advantage radio has over its media competition. And that's what Johnson does with his Media Group. Here, he explains what it takes for radio to get ahead -- and what he's doing to help it.

What made you decide to leave programming for consulting?

I have always felt that personality was the most fun part of radio. It's not only what separates stations, but it's the one thing radio needs in a competitive environment that's continuing to get tougher and tougher. Yet most personalities aren't getting the training, support or coaching they need to develop. Part of that is because good PDs just don't have the time. There is a great need for talent coaches to inject life and enthusiasm into the personalities and I saw the opportunity to do what I love ---work with talent -- and provide an integral service to the industry.

When did you decide to go indie and why?

I left day-to-day radio in 2007, and for the next four years, I worked at Triton as EVP of Audience Engagement. I worked with 200 radio stations to help them to establish a deeper connection with the audience and monetize it. While there, I met some great people. That led to meeting David Corey at Bell Media in Canada (now PD at WKLB/Boston). In early 2011, he asked me to help with a morning show in Calgary, and I found it intriguing. At the same time, a group of stations in San Diego asked me to be VP/Programming. We worked out a deal to consult their stations and help their digital teams. I wasn't looking for a change, but when doors open, you have to go through them!

Have the fundamentals of successful air talent changed over the years?

Not really. As Casey Kasem once said, "Despite all the technical improvements, it still boils down to a man or woman, sharing stories: communicating with an audience." The way we tell those stories always evolves, but the fundamentals are the same. In fact, I believe we're entering a golden age for radio personality. There's so much demand for talent that really and truly is able to build and lead a fan base. Stations that just compete with a better mix of music know that listeners have options and are fast to use them. And every day that goes by without building specific reasons to remember to come back is a lost opportunity. And one day, listeners aren't going to come back as easily. Everyone can play the same music, but the one thing can't be duplicated is personality. Great personalities are the future of radio, not just on the morning show but around the clock. I believe it and I'm betting on it.

Has the PPM era changed the way you program or mentor on-air talent?

In some ways it has changed for the worse, but I believe it's starting to get better. When PPM measurement began, stations were able to instantly measure changes in audience. When the mic went on, some of the audience went away. Some of the consequences were positive.

Broadcasters began to pay more attention to being efficient, tight and focused. But as with many things, there was a massive overreaction. After all, a little tight is good. Wouldn't very tight and restrictive be better? But talk wasn't the problem. The problem was pointless, aimless talk that wasted a listener's time. In the process, we collectively programmed the entertainment value right out of our stations. Then we discovered that there was a technical problem. Meters weren't able to measure the spoken word. And all this time, broadcasters are trying to program to the ratings services. And in doing so, we're losing the audience. Now being succinct is a good thing, but tight and short are not the same. Some programmers are so conscious of the length of a break, but what matters is the quality of the content and forward momentum of the show. A great personality is able to maintain the audience and pay it off.

How has social media impacted your work?

Social media is terrific. It's an extension of the personality and brand. It gives us the opportunity to engage and show another side of our personality brand and that can deepen the relationship with listeners. It also can be used to find new potential listeners. But you have to use it properly and not allow it to distract from the primary goal of having a great show. A lot of shows are multitasking on social media. Some invest more attention in preparing social media than planning their next break. Social media should be used as a tactic to achieve strategic goals, not as a separate strategy. Sometimes, we let the tail wag the dog a bit.

How do you convert them back to where, in essence, the dog wags the tail?

Part of it is to get the right resources. Broadcasters are asking personalities to take on more and more responsibilities, many of which deliver little real value to listeners or advertisers. Using these tools is great, as long as it's building the brand. We need to put more time and attention into fewer things. You don't have to have a presence on every social platform. In fact, you shouldn't, because there's no way you can do them all well.

Another thing is to maintain the expectations of what the personality is capable of and what he or she should be doing in social media. I teach my clients that a large audience on social media is great, but without truly unique content that drives engagement, those Likes don't really matter. Some of my clients are killing it on social media. And by that I mean using it to find new listeners, activate them and engage existing listeners to drive more quarter-hours. But to do that well, and have a serious social media presence, you need experts to work with talent and enhance the brand.

Are radio on-air "superstars" the likes of Howard Stern and Rick Dees - are they a dying breed? Can you even be such a star when you have to sell yourself on multiple platforms?

We can still create radio superstars. And we are. There are great personalities thriving on the air today. Ryan Seacrest, Elvis Duran, Brooke & Jubal, Roger & Marilyn (Toronto), Kyle & Jackie O (Australia), DeDe in the Morning (K104/Dallas) and many more are just a few today's superstars. It may seem harder to break through because of so much competition for attention, but it can be done, especially if we use technology and social media properly.

In some ways it can be easier. Find a talented personality with commitment and drive, add resources and support. It will happen. There are success stories in many markets. I work with a four-person show in a top market. They'd never worked together before. In two years, we took this brand new show to #1 and they continue to dominate the market. And it's happening in a lot of places. One of the ways we make that happen is changing the focus. Instead of a goal of trying to turn really good air personalities into celebrities, we aim to create celebrities who happen have a radio show. When you look at it from the outside in, it changes the way we program, market and promote personalities.

Are the successful characteristics of personalities who are voicetrack/syndicated stars different from local on-air stars?

Not really. All things being equal, local personalities win, but all things aren't equal. Listeners don't really care where a broadcast originates from. If the only thing live-and-local personalities do is say "we're live-and-local," what's the point if the actual content is so generic it could come from anywhere? That's not local. The audience looks for entertainment that makes them smile, engages them and makes them feel something. If the personality who does that also happens to be local, it's a bonus. But just being local doesn't win. If it did, Amazon wouldn't be able to take business away from local retailers.

I'm not against voicetracking at all. In fact, I love it if it's used properly. The problem is that, because it's efficient, broadcasters are asking too much of some voicetrackers. They can't put on a good show because they've tracking five other shows in different markets, formats and time slots. They're going through the motions, just checking it off a list of things to do. But using the technology to time-shift or make it more efficient can be a very effective way to communicate. I'm working with some shows now that have begun performing their show an hour early, recording most of their breaks. They can then polish, edit or re-perform it. They can still come on and do live breaks for contests, games or take phone calls as needed. This also gives them time during the show to interact on social media. This is a great way to use voicetracking.

You just hosted a webinar about dealing with sensitive topics. What was the basic gist of that?

The public is certainly more divided and louder with their opinions than ever before, which can be both a good and bad thing. They're quick to fire off a complaint to the GM or comment on social media. And most broadcasters don't want to deal with that. So they try and avoid it. The result is a sanitized show that isn't nearly as engaging. And this is at a time when listeners are looking for perspective, leadership and a provocative point-of-view. Eliminating negatives doesn't work.

Where shows get in trouble is when they're trying to be controversial just for sake of it. There's no perspective; they're just spouting an opinion without a point of view. Jimmy Kimmel has done a couple of things in the past few months that have been remarkable. His takes on gun control and health care were personal and emotional ... and controversial. His ratings spiked, even as that raised awareness exposed him to lot of people who would strongly disagree with him.

Many radio personalities know how to do it -- that's what the presentation online was about - but a lot of personalities don't take the time to develop their thoughts and think it through. This is partly why stations won't let their jocks say anything. You have to be smart about the way we broach some of these topics.

Besides the webinar, is there anything else you do to educate personalities?

I have a new online training course for air talent coming in January called My Audience Magnet. It's a thorough course for all personalities, from those who have never been on-air to someone who has been on-air for years. There are 57 lessons on video with a ton of complementary materials - workbooks, extra resources and tools, downloads, assignments, etc. - to develop character brands, manage the performance, develop content and learn to tell stories. It's a how-to for personalities who want to build or deepen their relationships with the audience. Check out the YouTube trailer here:

I've been working on it for a year and I'm really excited about it. The beta will be out in early December, where a few select people will troubleshoot it. Once that's done, we'll make it public. And I'm also proud to offer the course as a scholarship prize for Ria's Rising Stars at the 2018 WWRS convention.

And what of the future? Are you already integrating the future impact of the smart speaker into your consulting work?

The smart speaker and all the new technology coming at us are just new barriers we need to manage. This is not new for radio. We have faced similar challenges for decades. In the '80s, it was MTV, the Walkman and CDs. Why would anybody listen to the FM signal when you can listen to music on digital quality? Why listen to the radio when you can see music with pictures? Then it was the mp3, Satellite radio and hundreds of thousands of radio stations online. And social media, and YouTube and video games, and on and on.

All these new technologies and products put the industry in a more crowded and competitive arena, but that just means we have to adapt, adjust and be smart about how we embrace them. We have to keep our eyes on the consumers, the audience. It's incumbent on us to do everything we can to engage and delight those people - and we do that through personalities.