In radio, we tend to focus on the big picture issues. Sometimes we’re so focused on the big things, we lose sight of the small things. The details. The things that would only take a few minutes to fix and would make your radio station better. Here’s a few “details:”
Wash the station van every Thursday before a busy weekend of remotes and appearances.
At appearances make sure your jocks are all in station gear. I always liked having my jocks in a “staff” shirt. Something different that the listeners won’t be wearing. It will make your jocks stand out among listeners.
Make sure your segues are tight. Many jocks just let the system do the segues and the pre-programmed “next starts” aren’t that tight. Go back through all your elements (sweepers, jingles, promos, etc) and make sure you are tight with the next starts. It will increase the momentum of your station.
When running promos, make them timely. Always record three different versions, “this Monday”, “tomorrow”, and “on now.” That will create immediacy. Make sure the sales people are doing the same thing with their client’s spots.
Speaking of promos, don’t run a morning show promo on Friday. Nobody wants to hear about Monday on Friday. Let them look forward to the weekend and not think about going back to work.
Always have a recorder with you and get listener audio. You can use it in either imaging or for your show.
Speaking of audio, when a winner comes to the studio to pick up a prize, ask to take them in the production room to record some station audio. If they say yes, they will appreciate the tour and the opportunity to be in the radio.
Take some time today to focus on the details. You may not need to sweat the small stuff, but sometimes you need to pay attention to it.
Monday, July 26, 2010
Monday, July 19, 2010
4th OF JULY MOTIVATION AND INSPRIATION
With the 234th Birthday of America a few week's ago, I thought it would be a good time to motivate and inspire you with some famous Presidential quotes.
“Whatever you are, be a good one."
Abraham Lincoln
“Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.”
John F. Kennedy
"You ain't learnin' nothin' when you're talkin'."
Lyndon Johnson
“When you are in any contest you should work as if there were - to the very last minute - a chance to lose it.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower
“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.”
John F. Kennedy
“A man is not finished when he's defeated; he's finished when he quits.”
Richard M. Nixon
"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effect."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"I have never been hurt by anything I didn't say."
Calvin Coolidge
“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. In this life we get nothing save by effort.”
Theodore Roosevelt
"I never saw a pessimistic general win a battle."
Dwight D. Eisenhower
"A good leader can't get too far ahead of his followers."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Whatever you are, be a good one."
Abraham Lincoln
“Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men.”
John F. Kennedy
"You ain't learnin' nothin' when you're talkin'."
Lyndon Johnson
“When you are in any contest you should work as if there were - to the very last minute - a chance to lose it.”
Dwight D. Eisenhower
“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.”
John F. Kennedy
“A man is not finished when he's defeated; he's finished when he quits.”
Richard M. Nixon
"Happiness lies in the joy of achievement and the thrill of creative effect."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
"I have never been hurt by anything I didn't say."
Calvin Coolidge
“It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed. In this life we get nothing save by effort.”
Theodore Roosevelt
"I never saw a pessimistic general win a battle."
Dwight D. Eisenhower
"A good leader can't get too far ahead of his followers."
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Monday, June 28, 2010
TAKE A MOMENT TO CAPTURE THE MOMENT
Radio is immediate. Radio can react at a moment’s notice. Radio can capture the moment.
One of the biggest assets to radio is its mobility and the way we can capture the moment. Radio can turn on a dime and get something on the air fast. The moment can be BIG, like Mother’s Day, Christmas or even summer. But it can also be a brief moment in time like Tiger Woods’ press conference, the Bubble Boy over Colorado earlier this year, or the final episode of Lost. Better yet, it can be something local that is only happening in your town. The best radio stations can read the moment, react to it, capture it and find some way to relate it on the air to the listener.
It’s something you have to train your brain to do. Start by looking at everything in your life, your town, even in the news as if it’s something that could be translated on the air into a bit, sweeper, promo or a charitable campaign. Capture the Moment.
I always keep a note pad by my bed and in the car. If I see something that could translate on the radio, I write it down. You have to move quickly. What’s topical now probably won’t be in a few days, maybe even a few hours. Get your entire staff to be on the lookout for things that you could put on the air that would capture the moment.
Some of the Jack formatted stations are among the best I’ve heard when it comes to capturing the moment. Since most don’t have personalities, they do it in their imaging. If you want to hear a great example, listen to www.wbuf.com in Buffalo. Joe Russo is the PD and does a great job of being topical and capturing the moment in his imaging. Plus, a majority of it is local. WBUF is probably more topical and local with NO personalities, than many stations with full staffs.
Most stations today don’t have the staff or the time to dedicate to capturing the moment. If you do and your competition doesn’t, you become more memorable and a better radio station than them.
Take a moment to capture the moment.
One of the biggest assets to radio is its mobility and the way we can capture the moment. Radio can turn on a dime and get something on the air fast. The moment can be BIG, like Mother’s Day, Christmas or even summer. But it can also be a brief moment in time like Tiger Woods’ press conference, the Bubble Boy over Colorado earlier this year, or the final episode of Lost. Better yet, it can be something local that is only happening in your town. The best radio stations can read the moment, react to it, capture it and find some way to relate it on the air to the listener.
It’s something you have to train your brain to do. Start by looking at everything in your life, your town, even in the news as if it’s something that could be translated on the air into a bit, sweeper, promo or a charitable campaign. Capture the Moment.
I always keep a note pad by my bed and in the car. If I see something that could translate on the radio, I write it down. You have to move quickly. What’s topical now probably won’t be in a few days, maybe even a few hours. Get your entire staff to be on the lookout for things that you could put on the air that would capture the moment.
Some of the Jack formatted stations are among the best I’ve heard when it comes to capturing the moment. Since most don’t have personalities, they do it in their imaging. If you want to hear a great example, listen to www.wbuf.com in Buffalo. Joe Russo is the PD and does a great job of being topical and capturing the moment in his imaging. Plus, a majority of it is local. WBUF is probably more topical and local with NO personalities, than many stations with full staffs.
Most stations today don’t have the staff or the time to dedicate to capturing the moment. If you do and your competition doesn’t, you become more memorable and a better radio station than them.
Take a moment to capture the moment.
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