Catch A Ride On The "Inbound" Train

Inbound marketing is "the next big thing" and there's no medium as well positioned to take advantage of it like local radio.

A great example, thanks to Newcap/Moncton GM Dan Fagan and PD Adam McClaren's XL96 team.

McLaren:  "Check out the hashtag #XLSuperFan on Twitter.  It’s pretty impressive watching people share their memories and feelings related to the music we play."

Here's the incentive that made it happen, starting the conversation on both Twitter and other social networks as well as on the station.

Marketing To Grow Loyalty

Loyalty marketing (social, data base, telemarketing and target campaigns) should also be a cornerstone of any country broadcaster's long-term plan. 

There is, however, another tool that is so inexpensive and easy to do that many stations overlook it as a good barometer of problems that might require more extensive quantitative research and/or marketing:  ask your listeners! 

Set up a panel of your active listeners, and meet with them on a regular basis.  We recommend airing an ongoing campaign of an nouncements on your air to inform listeners of the existence of your "Listener Advisory Board." 

Set up a link on your website for people to "sign up." 

Send a weekly station newsletter to the entire data base.  Do online research, set up a "get a clue" voice mail line for listener complaints/suggestions, and con stantly invite opinions on station programming on it.  Air listener-voiced comments and/or read their letters in regular promos to let people know you really do pay attention to their gripes and compliments.

Choose listeners at random from the panel to meet for a light dinner (restaurant or hotel trade) monthly with station staff and/or independent research people.  AOB will be happy to perform this function for you if a qualified moderator cannot be found at a local college or university marketing research department.  Keep us informed on problems and results if you choose to conduct the panels in-house.

Keep the groups small - less than 15 persons.  Use the panels to test potential marketing campaigns, TV commer cials, contests, morning show ideas, special programming, poten tially objectionable commercials, new music trends, etc. 

Recognize that you are NOT doing research, since the participants are aware of the station that is asking the questions.  However, since the bias in groups like this is to normally be quite com plimentary, when negatives come out they must be taken very seriously.

Actually, it has been our experience that country fans feel a sense of ownership of "their" radio station, and as a result when they are convinced that honesty will be taken seriously and result in changes on the air, they can be brutally frank and protective about the airwaves of their favorite station.

And, isn't that the way to make them feel involved and loyal to keep 'em listening longer? 

Besides, what competitor can take away your listeners when they feel like they all sit on your "Board of Directors"?

Little Or Big?

Yeah, it's not a huge thing, but you have to hand it to Astral-Pembroke, Ontario's Star 96 for finding a clever way to push Movember without saying a single word.

If you can't immediately see what I am talking about, click on one of the graphics to enlarge it (or on the station link, above).

Sometimes doing something really viral requires subtlety.

Creating great radio isn't about doing one or two big things.

It's about getting a thousand little things right.

Negative Advertising

If you haven't checked out the Houston country battle lately, it's time to do some listening and thinking about what you'll hear.

For several years on KKBQ/Cox PD Johnny Chiang has been saying things like:  “We play the most music guaranteed in Houston, KILT plays the most commercials, up to 15 just last hour! We are the new 93Q.”

Now, something new on KILT/CBS PD Mark Adams' imaging:  “Did you know the other station talked about KILT 28 times yesterday? [Various mock announcer voices] Yesterday, in the 12 noon hour, Kilt played… In the 4 o’clock hour, Kilt played… Friday morning, Kilt played… Kilt played… Kilt played… [V/o] Wow. WE don’t even talk about us that much!

It's a political year.  Barack is already talking about Mitt and Romney is responding in kind about Obama nearly every day.

We all say we hate negative ads and yet, admit it, just as I do, you love watching Frank Luntz conduct focus groups for Fox News which will take what real people say, whether factual or not, and turn them into effective messages which get votes.

The difference, of course, is that an election is one day when a candidate needs specific people to be passionate enough about an issue to take a specific action.

Let's watch the Houston numbers in the coming months and see what these new tactics do to real listening, in addition to perceptions, which drive elections and diary ratings but do they impact actual usage, 24/7 too?

Obviously, Johnny and Mark appear to think they do!

Bark If You Want To Cohost A Morning Show

WAXX/Eau Claire's Alex Edwards is in the midst of a very public search for his new co-host and as a part of the promotion he set up a survey for listeners to describe what they want to listen for on radio in the morning.

Ideal Qualities
FUNNY
NICE

What should they be able to do?
TELL GOOD STORIES
UNDERSTAND WHAT LIVING IN WISCONSIN IS ALL ABOUT
TELL FUNNY STORIES
LISTEN TO OTHER PEOPLE WELL
NOT TALK SO MUCH THAT THERE'S STILL TIME FOR LOTS OF MUSIC

What would be ideal hobbies for the next door neighbor?
HUNTING and FISHING
READING
KARAOKE
STOCK CAR RACING

What's the one thing you expect out of the next door neighbor?
MAKE ME LAUGH
MAKE ME SMILE
BE NICE

If the next door neighbor was a dog, what king of dog would it be ?
84 votes LABRADOR
71 votes GOLDEN RETRIEVER
65 votes SCOOBY DOO

Thanks, Alex, for sharing these results with us.

Now, "sit," "fetch," "shake."

Do It Right "Orr" Else

Paul Orr: be certain what goes between your songs stands out ... in only the "best" ways:

• Use local lifestyle for imaging content
• When imaging flows into the music, you have extra momentum
• Listen to your competitors for claims that you might turn 180 degrees and use against them
• Use hooks as themes for imaging
• Hot new thing: produce jingles for song stamps so the integrate with your music and don't sound like "old" jingles
• For random audio: clips from remotes where the talent is very excited, after Listener Advisory Board panels
• Listeners doing imaging adds to ‘personal’ feel of station.
• Set up listener comment line to collect comments
• Sound real; communicate the core values and listener benefits in as real and brief a fashion as possible.
• Listeners are burned on hype; let listeners talk about you instead of us talking about us. No chest thumping.
• Think: brevity, creativity and sincerity.
• Use artists (or listeners) to explain a contest
• Add random but related copy to attract listener attention.
• Archive artist audio for music and contest promos.

Nick Michaels' Philosophy

If you've heard or seen Nick anywhere, at a seminar or even on his own website, you've no doubt been exposed to at least a part of his approach to imaging anything today:

"The secret of all great radio is great story telling. Great radio is made when intimacy and emotion are used to connect the audience to what is coming out of the speakers."

Understanding radio and what makes it different.

1: Emotion

Radio is an emotional medium. More than television, more than print, it is best at conveying emotion.

Radio messages work best when they are driven by an emotion. Take full advantage of radio's emotional nature by writing for it. The power of emotion over facts is evident on radio.

Save the facts for print. Print is where facts can be enjoyed, perused at leisure, re-read and referred to.

2: Give it a face and a name

When writing an image ad for radio, always try to personalize it by giving it a face and a name.

Instead of "When the weather gets bad , turn to News-Radio 1100, First with weather facts and school closings."

Try to build the message around a person not a concept.

" This is Marie Jenkins, her twelve year old son Ronnie has kidney disease. He needs dialysis or he could die. When Marie needs to know about weather, she turns to News-Radio 1100, Because to her, the weather, can be a matter of life and death."

This stresses the user benefit of the station and the personal nature of the message does not cause listener tune out.

3: In an over communicated world a whisper becomes a scream.

The environment into which your message is sent is hostile. Your message must factor this in from the very beginning or it is doomed to fail. Too many messages means only a few get through. Is yours one of them?

4: Don't burden the listener.

Never forget that the listener can only take home one thought. Trying to make the message carry more weight than it can causes the listener to be burdened.

5: Words are the enemy in a message.

Too many words. Wherever possible establish mood with sound not words.

6: Write powerfully, read humbly.

If the words are powerful, you do not need to add any power to them with your voice. Lose all the additional vocal power and let the word power shine through. If the words are not powerfully written, get better writers.

7: Creativity is perspective

Deliver your message from a different perspective. Be different.

Tomorrow: Journal Knoxville PD Paul Orr takes this all one step further for stations in competitive situations.

Stationality: Who Is Your Listener? What's YOUR "Word?"

Yesterday's post included a slide from Daniel Anstandig's 2007 presentation at Dan O'Day's PD Grad School, because Dan made some evergreen points so perfectly.

#1: choose YOUR ''word."

"Comfort," the one that resides in the center of his example bullseye works perfectly for a Christian AC or other soft format.

What one word gives expression to everything you want to stand for in the mind of your audience? Choose thoughtfully.

It is imperative to understand the target listener’s world of experience.


Successful stations give listeners a sense of belonging by validating their values and lifestyle.

It is impossible for us to “out-technology” new technology.

Creative distribution can’t hurt us, but the bottom-line for continual growth is cultivating relationships through your programming.

How can you make a one-on-one connection with your listener in a way that they believe you’re talking to them on a personal level every time they listen?

It’s not only about what your radio station does. It’s about what your radio station means.

Tomorrow, another audio communication expert, Nick Michaels, on how to make sure that this happens on your radio station.

Elements Of Stationality

What parts of your radio station do you employ to develop "stationality" listeners can consistently experience?


.... Everything!

.. with thanks to McVay New Media's Daniel Anstandig.