PD “Muscle Memory” – A 5-Point Filter for Evaluating Daily ‘Opportunities’

Using repetition to teach your body how to do something is a pretty simple way to think about muscle memory. Through repetition you can become very good (or in some cases, bad) at something – even if you go for a period where you don’t use those skills.

While muscle memory is actually a type of procedural memory (I learned that while writing this blog), it’s a convenient visual for how to deal with the daily ‘opportunities’ that have the power to impact our stations and brands.

Try using this 5-point filter regularly to help quickly determine the value of something to your station/brand.

1. Is this in sync with the brand strategy?
2. Does this enhance and strengthen the brand?
3. Is this tactically appropriate and is the tactic fully realized or exploited?
4. Will this surprise, delight and exceed user expectations?
5. Are there aspects of this that have the potential to tarnish the brand?

Promotions, programming elements, client requests, talent content, imaging, marketing, and social all can be run through this filter.

Some things won’t pass through the filter at all. Others will after some modification. And even those that do pass right away might be enhanced with some additional thinking on any of these points.

Filters fit nicely into a ‘muscle memory” analogy. Regularly thinking about theese points can help you make the right response when things come to you out of left field. 

Have some effective filters you use and would like to share?

Here's another one of my favorite filters.