Infographic: How to Create Amazing Content for Every Show, Every Day In Seven Steps

Facts are forgettable. Stories are sticky.

But going from that knowledge to daily creation can be challenging.

Here are seven steps to help you create and  tell a story that's both relevant and entertaining:

Try it out and let me know how it goes.

New From Nielsen: The Replacements for Maximi$er and PD Advantage/Desktop

Starting this week, many programmers will be breaking out their quarterly ratings for the first time without Maximi$er.

Nielsen has just retired the legacy software along with PD Advantage Desktop and Data Express (ADE). Former Maximi$er clients will have access to PDA Light (the Max replacement) while former desktop PDA Advantage clients will have access to PDA Web.

If you are a programmer upgrading from Tapscan or E-Book only access, you’ll love the deeper dive into your numbers that you can take with these two programs.  Long-time Max/PDA users should feel comfortable fairly quickly – especially with PDA Web.

For a quick overview of what to expect, here is Nielsen’s summary of the new products: 

Besides delivery, there are several changes and additions in the online version of PD Advantage Light and PD Advantage which too has migrated from the desktop.

In both cases, station data lives online rather than being available for download (thus the automatic retirement of ADE). This means of course that users must be online to generate reports. 

Navigating the online version of PD Advantage will look very familiar to users of the desktop software. PDA Light’s navigation on the other hand is different from Max although it's intuitive – especially if you were a regular user of Maximi$er’s Programmers Package. 

Now, here’s a closer look at PDA Light and PD Advantage Web.

PDA Light

After logging in, the user is presented with a new reports screen (legacy Maximi$er on the left and the new PDA Light on the right). 

All the Maximi$er reports are in PDA Light with the exception of Report N (Total Day-To-Day Listening) and Report O (Specific Day-To-Day Listening). 

Format Norms and Top Performers (formerly a PD Advantage-only report) will be added to PDA Light later this year – a nice addition for comparing local vs. national performance.

Some of the “clunky” parts of Maximi$er have been streamlined. For example in PDA Light, demos and other report criteria can be selected using “blue links” at the top of report pages; this makes comparing demos and dayparts easier since users won’t have to leave a report screen to change parameters as in Maximi$er.

Meanwhile the process for changing base weeks is nearly identical to that in Maximi$er. And, just like in Max, you can trend up to 5 books on one screen.        

Report formats, like this for Daypart Trending, can look a bit different though the important content is nearly identical.

In another change, Diary Comments will now be released simultaneously with the quarterly data eliminating the CD delivery method. If you’ve reviewed your diaries in person, you’ll find the sorting options familiar, enabling you to quickly see your comments separate for the entire market.

With the exception of Diary Comments which date back only to fall 2015, all other data will go back 3 ½ years for trending purposes.

While it was not the most critical of the Maximi$er reports, I’ll miss report N which was an easy way to check Horizontal Cuming.  Plus, for travelers, only having access to data online will be an inconvenience.

Still, there are a number of Maximi$er upgrades that I like a lot, particularly the addition of Format Norms and Top Performers.

PD Advantage Web

For former desktop users of PD Advantage, 16 reports from the legacy version have migrated to PDA Web with some reports having new looks or additions. One of these is the Cume/TSL Report (“Grid of Pain”) which now offers multiple cume and TSL scenarios on how a specified ratings goal can be attained.

The Leading Indicators Report has a new graphing option and there’s also a new Audience Sharing report that expands on what’s in PDA Light. Also there is a newly added HD/Streaming Station report.

At this point “Workplace Zip Code” and “Mostly Spanish Breakouts” reports are presently unavailable in PDA Web though the latter is available in Tapscan.

As you go through your first analysis using the new software, feel free to call for help either in interpretation or execution. 

And of course we’d love to hear/share YOUR observations and experiences with this new software. 

Special thanks to Nielsen’s Jennifer Bratten, Manager Client Support, who provided me with a guided tour of both products, patiently answers my questions, and generously shared her slide deck so that A&O&B stations could be better informed. Also, Jennifer hosts Nielsen’s online training sessions. She’s an excellent presenter with a wealth of information on how to get the most from Nielsen’s products. Nielsen Audio clients can see and sign up for future sessions here.

7 Components of Todays Radio: A Quick PD Checklist

As part of her “Radio Matters” presentation at the 2015 Nielsen Total Audio Conference, the RAB’s Erica Farber shared this slide about radio's composition.

While primarily part of a larger, advertiser-directed initiative, the PD in me also saw this slide as a quick programming checklist.

How are you doing in each of these areas?

Watch the RAB "Radio Matters" video here

Nielsen Audio Conference Tweets: #nielsenaudioconf

World Statistics Day, Back to the Future, and the "Signal and the Noise" of TSL

Last week was a geek-fest.

First, World Statistics Day on the 20^th and then “Back to the Future Day” on the 21^st.  For me, last week also included an in-depth, somewhat geeky discussion with a station about Time Spent Listening.

That was a trifecta that begged for a blog.

While World Statistics Day didn’t go completely unnoticed, we were tripping over pieces on BTTF2 predictions that did or didn't come to pass.

The focus on predictions, statistics and the TSL discussion reminded me of an excellent read from a few years back: Nate Silver’s The Signal and the Noise: Why Most Predictions Fail – But Some Don’t. It's long on everyday examples from weather to baseball to poker and more. It's deep enough to be challenging (especially if you're like me - a non-statistician who like stats) yet it's not so deep that you’ll drown.

Statistics play a role in most businesses; they certainly do in radio with ratings at the forefront for most programmers. 

Part of a consultant’s job is to provide the greatest understanding of the factors that impact/impacted ratings – not just to explain what happened, but to predict and recommend what changes (if any) could lead to better results.

The examination of ratings data is often the process of separating the signal from the noise: what factors were the primary drivers and what factors were ancillary or irrelevant.

To inspire you on your next analysis (ratings or otherwise), here are few quotes on signal and noise from Nate.

“Immersion in a topic will provide disproportionately more insight than an executive summary.”

If you really want to understand something, you’re likely going to have to spend time under the hood. 

That’s not a new thought of course, but a good reminder that – especially where ratings are concerned – the deeper you dive, the more you’re likely to discover.

Silver suggests using past as well as collective experiences to form probability theories before diving into data.

"The Bayesian approach toward thinking...encourages us to hold a large number of hypotheses in our head at once, to think about them probabilistically, and to update them frequently when we come across new information that might be more or less consistent with them."

Armed with a list of as many possible factors/scenarios that could have contributed to the outcome allows you to “stop and smell the data” which, Silver says, leads to better decision making - the reason you’re doing the deep dive in the first place.

A case in point was the Time Spent Listening discussion. The rise or fall of TSL may be related to your most obvious on air components like music, commercial load, or talent.  But it's also very possible that any of the other 13 variables associated with TSL could be major factors, including 100+ QHR diaries, format partisans in the sample, weighting, how early your first cuming occasions occur, etc.

Before jumping to a conclusion about what drove an increase or decrease, examine each variable your scenarios suggest and determine 1) whether or not that variable was a factor and, 2) if so, to what degree.

As you work your way through the data, new information may challenge or strengthen your original assumptions.

As it turns out, the TSL drivers in the station discussion last week did ultimately prove to be something different than the original hypothesis. 

“Information becomes knowledge only when it’s placed in context. Without it, we have no way to differentiate the signal from the noise…”

Trending data is a quick way to add context. Compare not only your most recent performance to past performances but also format averages, audience composition, sample, and any other relevant data.

As Silver notes, “most of the time, we do not appreciate how noisy the data is, and so our bias is to place too much weight on the newest data point.”

And about those times when, to the best of your knowledge you did everything right, yet the outcome was disappointing?

“…sometimes the only solution when the data is very noisy – is to focus more on the process than on results…Poker players tend to understand this more than most other people…Play well and win; play well and lose; play badly and lose; play badly and win: every poker player has experienced each of these conditions so many times over that they know there is a difference between process and results.”

Focusing on the process isn't a “pass.” Instead, it’s an opportunity for self improvement and a review of the procedures that have been associated with success over the long term.

Bottom line: the next time you’re working through a report, seek to eliminate the noise by:

1. Committing the time it takes to do a deep dive
2. Creating multiple theories about what might have driven the results and a corresponding checklist of data to examine
3. Evaluating and providing context for all the data relevant to your theories
4. Review the process with an eye toward self-improvement 

As Nate points out, "Good innovators typically think very big and very small. New ideas are sometimes found in the most granular details of a problem where few others bother to look...sometimes we let information that might give us a competitive advantage slip through the cracks."

It Gets Late Early Out There

Wisdom can come from anywhere.

As a baseball fan - and especially a Yankees fan - learning of the passing of Hall of Famer Yogi Berra was sad news indeed. 

I was visiting a station rife with baseball fans when the news broke.

Their break room has something very cool in it – a chalk board where anyone in the building can initiate a conversation or leave comments on the "subject of the minute."

“Favorite Yogi-isms“ was one of the chalk board topics Tuesday.

Marrying baseball and radio, I wrote on the board, “It gets late early out there.”

Yogi of course was referring to the afternoon shadows that creep into left field at Yankee stadium and add to the challenge of playing.

But if you believe that sources of inspiration know no boundaries, consider this radio (and life) interpretation: “Too often, time moves faster than we project/would wish/can keep up with.”

Today’s great idea implemented today is powerful.

Today’s great idea (or dream or goal or best intention) put off until later – perhaps not so much. Maybe not at all.

Thanks for the reminder Yogi. It DOES get late early. In left field ... and everywhere.

A number of years ago I wrote a piece on decision making based on Yogi's "If you come to a fork in the road, take it." Read it here.

Read a nice NY Times piece on Yogi’s career and quotes here

"Back When Radio Was Good" - A Week with Beats 1

Initial reviews of Beats 1 have ranged from “brilliant” to “meh,” but many who’ve written about it – pro Beats 1 or not – have taken the opportunity to snipe at radio: “Beats 1 sounds like radio used to sound when it was good.” Or, "will Beats 1 make radio cool again?”

There are a lot of places to start a discussion about Beats 1. But setting music, (lack of) commercials, and expectations aside for the moment, Beats 1 does have an excitement about it that’s driven in large part by the talent.

You don’t have to listen long to realize the Beats 1 talent have significant mic presence. The “song-sweeper-song-talent” sequence has been replaced by stretches of “song-talent-song-talent.”  

And for the most part, the talent (especially the three "anchors") - pull it off.

It seems that the rule of thumb might be, “you can always talk about the music,” except that there were instances of excellent picture painting too. 

London-based Julie Adanuga delivered an interesting tease/pay-off on Beats 1’s first day with the tease (“Grab your ID - you’ll need it in a bit”) and then a song later began a club music set by delivering the radio version of a Vine clip as she told us of our arrival at “the club,” that we were all on the guest list, and told first-time club-goers, “this is what it feels like” to be in the club.

It could have been terribly hokey; instead it was visual and fun - and quick.

If you buy into the “throwback criticism,” Cousin Brucie describing the elevator ride to the top of the CBS building and the 113^th floor as he opened the “Love Hour Half Hour” on CBS-FM might come to mind.

Similarly when Beats 1 NY talent Ebro Darden did his gritty “we’re on the streets” segment and “took us through the Boroughs,” New Yorkers might have channeled the 60s spirit of WWRL-AM.

Also apparent was the talent demonstrating their interest, knowledge and passion for the music.  

Talent as advocate-cheerleader-champion of their station's music and artists is a frequent coaching point today.

Check out Kid Leo “back when radio was good” as a critic might say, selling the music.

Audience acknowledgement was a significant part of the launch. I was repeatedly recognized as a member of the Day One Crew and told that we were on a Day One Journey together. Phrases like “thank you for being a part of history” and “if I had kids I’d tell them about this” might have come off like hype except the talent seemed genuine about it all. 

In aggregate I was made to feel like I was part of a movement. “Beats 1 Worldwide” and “Broadcasting around the world” along with the requisite personal and geographical acknowledgements added to the feeling that we were part of something akin to a new counter-culture where the whole was more than the sum of its parts.

A footprint so big that anyone in the world might be listening along with you undoubtedly contributes to this feeling. But local radio has a long history of creating in-market communities too. Howard Stern’s audience would probably agree.

That’s not to say that the Beats 1 talent doesn’t get off the track; there's inside talk that can be tedious and irrelevant, talking over music to the point of being annoying, repeatedly shouting a word or phrase that comes off like a failed effort at creating excitement, occasions of too much self-indulgence, and breaks that sound undisciplined and unprepared. These were disappointments.

Still, comments like “when radio used to be good” - at least in terms of the talent-generated excitement - remind us that an air staff of passionate, creative, music-loving, listener and format advocates, who are uniquely entertaining and integral to the overall programming, help define a station in a non-duplicable, extremely positive way.

The payoff from the time and effort spent on finding, valuing, coaching, and encouraging genuine talent, is a more entertaining radio station with a passionate audience that feels connected.

And that's hard to “beat.” 

Taking a Bite out of a Market Leader: What a Sandwich Chain Can Teach Us

Taking a bite out of a market leader

Shifts in listener and consumer loyalty happen all the time but they always seem newsworthy when “suddenly” a top performer is dethroned.

In reality, many of these abrupt declines may have actually been months, years, or even decades in the making. 

Some of these are the end result of one or more competitors' long and persistent “creep” against a leader, or a leader being too static for too long in a changing marketplace ('slow to react' was one of the points in a recent Washington Post article on Subway that inspired this blog).

Format and market leading stations must continually negotiate the tripwires that can give toe holds or growth opportunities to competitors.

• Commoditization stemming from a growing lack of differentiation in the listener’s POV; that is, listeners don't perceive a sufficient number of particularly unique and important-to-them benefits gained by listening to your station vs. a competitor
• Listeners believe the "listening cost" of your station exceeds its value
• Failure to accurately assess a challenger’s strength or appeal in a timely manner
• A delayed response or inability to adequately respond to "Values Drift;" listener values/standards have evolved but the leader has remained static 
• Time pressures have severely limited creative and/or forward thinking
• The status quo remains status quo for too long;  new services, features, products, or offerings are minimal, or there’s a lack of excitement about initiatives that are launched
• Lack of employee passion for the station, format, listeners or even self
• Eroding relationships with listeners for any of the above reasons

These are rarely intentional over-sights. I haven't walked into a station recently and found GMs, OMs and PDs looking for ways to keep busy. Finding time to just think is a challenge.

Still, in the spirit of ipsa scientia potestas est ("knowledge itself is power"), consider regularly scheduling a meeting of station creatives to talk through these (and other) bullets, share listener Intel, and have a "what if..." discussion.


Do it over a sandwich if you like.

Keep Summer Listeners Coming Back: 5 Retail Tactics For Your Station

“Summer vacation" - who doesn't think that sounds like a good idea?

Just don’t start too soon if you’re in radio - and especially if you're in Country Radio. 

Last week, Inside Radio featured this graphic from Nielsen as part of an article on Memorial Day weekend format flips. It shows the noticeably heaver 6+ May and June radio listening trends for the past four years.

I asked Nielsen’s Tony Hereau how Country compared and he shared the following.

While radio’s average 6+ AQH Persons starts a decline after May, Country’s best 25-54 months begin after May peaking in June, July, August and September (again, note the chart above is based on 6+ while the chart below is based on 25-54).  

A retailer eyeing these charts would likely think about how to convert these seasonal increases into year-round customers.

Taking a page from their playbook, here are five retail tactics and their radio equivalents your station can launch regardless of format.

Retail	Radio
Lower purchase barriers making it easy to buy	Be present on as many platforms as possible.  Be minimalistic in terms of time, effort and information you require of listeners who want to engage in your contests or sign up for your database.
Provide superior value	Insure your Entertainment Value always exceeds your Cost of Listening (EV>CL). The EV is nearly all-encompassing: from talent to music to promotions and more. Meanwhile the CL goes beyond commercial load.
Up-selling and cross-selling	Use compelling teases and promote-aheads to drive additional occasions of listening. Be visible and high-touch so you can ask for more listening in person.
Providing “Social Proof” that demonstrates shared values and behavioral reinforcement	Create believable “peer endorsement” in social media and imaging
Finding ways to say “thank you”	Appreciation is powerful in driving repeat usage and WOM.

This fall, don't just talk about what you did on your summer vacation, brag about what you did before it.

Using a Mental Scale to Balance Your Creative and Analytic Thinking

I can’t recall a time in my radio career - as Programmer or Consultant - when I didn’t think that the PD's chair was the best seat in the house.

The PD's office remains the place where magic happens (or should). It's the place where the merging of analytic and creative thinking produces an offspring called "awesome radio."

It's a daily tightrope walk. Too much left brain and the station is boring. Too much creative and the station isn't strategic. 

But with the right balance, "awesome" and "magic" can happen with regularity.

Unfortunately time and personnel pressures have a way of delaying or even derailing things - especially creative thinking.

If you find yourself balance-challenged, try imagining a "Content Scale:" methodological or systematic on the left, over-the-top creative on the right. Compare your project's optimal position vs. where it now stands, then take action if you feel the present position too static or if the creative is blurring something important. 

You can make a mental scale for anything.

Predictability	Surprise and Delight
Position	Emotional Impact
Selling	Connecting
Communication Blasts	Individual Acknowledgement
Fact	Stories
Details	Vivid mental images
Comfortable Execution	New listener-station interactivity
Silo	Interwoven

Of course you won't likely be using an actual scale.  But the scale imagery is a reminder to check your balance of left vs. right brain thinking and actions so you can be strategic but not clinical, and fun and fascinating without losing your brand's vision and essence.

If this has put you in the mood for more creative thinking, here are a few related posts you might enjoy:

Polishing Your Brand With Shared Values

A 5-Point Filter for Evaluating Opportunities

Raising the Content Bar

The Kings of Radio: How Listeners Define a Great Talent

Need a Challenge in 2015? Try these Two

It seems that hardly a daypart goes by this time of year when you don’t encounter some sort of “resolution-for-the-new-year” piece.

This isn’t one of those – at least not exactly. 

Instead it’s a two-fold challenge not just for this year but for years to come: “What new things will you learn and how will you contribute to an ‘environment of high expectations’?”

The challenge is different from a resolution in at least two ways:  the camera angle and the ongoing opportunity factor.

Too often the camera angle on a resolution is directed at elimination while we live in a world of creation.  By continually pointing your camera away from subtraction and toward addition – from adding great content on the air to bringing new ideas to help clients – you'll always be thinking about adding value.

Adding value is related to the cultivation of high expectations.  

Successful athletes often point to how they’re continually challenged to be their best by the actions and work ethics of their teammates. You’ve likely been in, or at least heard about, this type of environment. It’s one that's either stimulating or uncomfortable, depending on whether or not your focus is on making valuable contributions.

Way back when I used to write an annual New Year’s piece that was like a pick-and-choose list of “radio resolutions.”  For fun I reviewed that list (which ultimately had grown to 60 ideas) over the holidays and decided that while many were still relevant and valuable, they really were subsets of learning and of cultivating an environment of high expectations. But presenting them as part of a check-off list gave them an unintended “finite” feel.

So here’s one more thought: when you challenge yourself to learn new things and to be a daily contributor to (or perhaps a leader of) an environment of high expectations, instead of subtracting something from a ‘to do’ list, you open the door for an on-going, ever-growing, dare we suggest even unlimited opportunity for positive growth for you and those around you.

Resolutions are effective for some folks I suppose, but I much prefer the process of addition rather than subtraction.

TSL: Profiting from a Limited Time Only Strategy

“The problem with your business,” the consultant explained, “is that your customers are saying, ‘If I don’t buy from you today, I’ll buy from you tomorrow.’”

That discussion wasn’t about radio, but it certainly could have been.

Each time a listener decides to listen tomorrow instead of today, the opportunity for an additional listening occasion is not only gone now, it's a possibility/probability that there won’t be any listening tomorrow either – especially if the decision to not listen today was rooted in too many “average” experiences.

On the one hand, predictability is important:  imaging (packaging), brand personality, talent, delivering and occasionally exceeding expectations, etc.

On the other hand, if the content never changes and yesterday’s show sounds pretty much like last week’s and last month’s and last year’s, a lack of listener enthusiasm can be manifest in “I’ll listen tomorrow” behavior.

The solution? The PSL – Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Metaphorically of course.

The PSL is a Limited Time Only (LTO) event. It gets attention and creates urgency, while combining the familiar, traditional brand expectations with something fresh.

The result for Starbucks is increased traffic.

How much? According to gobankingrates.com, in the 4^th quarter of 2013 Starbucks saw 5% more foot traffic and 7% more sales - roughly $800-million worth of PSLs.

Knowing anything good deserves pre-promotion, Starbucks allowed some of their best customers to buy the drink early.

Taco Bell is also adept at the LTO strategy marrying familiarity with fervor via limited time menu items. They're also pre-promoters. Fans of the Beefy Crunch Burrito already know that its long-awaited return to the menu will happen nationwide on December 20^th. Check it out on Facebook.

Radio’s LTO time line is different of course - it may only be a couple of breaks.

But, like the PSL or Beefy Crunch Burrito, our version of the LTO should:

1. Be in-sync with and polish core values
2. Have sufficient crave-ability to generate traffic and word of mouth
3. Appear on a regular cycle
4. Be well-promoted
5. Have an anticipated arrival and be missed when it's gone

One break or one month of something special, radio LTO’s are anecdotes for to the ennui-driven decision to listen tomorrow instead of today.

For Country Radio Holidays Are An Opportunity to Connect

A few years back A&O&B asked Arbitron what we could learn about July 4^th listening.

The company's Jenny Tsao was kind enough to dig into this for us and shared some information that is worth revisiting. 

From the data we learned that:

1 – Compared to a full week, 12+ listenership for the 30 PPM markets in the sample was notably lower on the 4^th and adjacent days.

2 – The drops were primarily due to lower levels of out-of-home listening (dark blue bars) while in-home listening (light blue) remained comparatively flat. 

3 – Isolating Country however and 25-54, the format's AQH ratings (pink bars) fluctuated far less across the week than for the market overall (green bars)

This year, Jenny and fellow Nielsen researcher Tony Hereau updated the data for us and again, while total market listening fell to weekend levels on the 4th and the days after, the top country stations maintained more of their audience.

Thinking about this week you might want to consider the following:

1 – Knowing that country’s audience is less likely to suffer a big holiday drop, how will you be staffed (especially if you’re in the southeast which looks like it will experience a tropical storm during this time)?

2 – How will you promote your station’s out-of-home consumption?

3 – How will you take advantage of “simultaneous homogeneity” – events that bring us together – that the 4^th provides and use it to demonstrate that you and your listeners are “on the same page?” 

Whether you consider it good programming or not, you can see what Pandora has planned here. 

And, for Independence Day inspiration, here are nine screen shots of both businesses and stations I grabbed two fourth of July's ago.

Imaging, content, social, promotions - the further your station goes beyond playing “God Bless the USA” and a couple of dozen patriotic-themed titles, the greater your opportunity to delight, connect, bond, and reaffirm that you’re the station that best reflects your listeners' values and lifestyle. 

Happy 4th!

5 Ways McDonald's Can Help You Raise the Bar

What if every break you did, or every piece of imaging you aired, or every idea you gave to a client was subject to a 1-10 scale where 10 meant “set the world on fire?”

Exposing ideas to such a scale is one of the steps in the creative process for McDonald’s lead advertising agencies DDB, Leo Burnett and TBWA (read more in Adweek’s “How to Sell a Sandwich").

Here are five McDonald's take-aways that you can use to help raise the bar for your content or serve as a theme for a future staff meeting:

1 - Create value in peoples’ lives with communications that are stimulating, interesting and relevant, and help develop a deep relationship.

2 - Simplicity, optimism, inspiration, and welcoming are powerful themes that take precedence over execution.

3 - Rate your creative/content on a 1-10 scale where 10 is “the kind of work that sets the world on fire.”

4 - Focus less on what you have to offer listeners and more on “why they will love it.”

5 - “I’m lovin’ it” is an “aspirational statement" that should sum up a listener's response after hearing a piece of content. Make what you do "earn the right to use those words.”

Pressed for Time: A&O&B Quick Links

It’s rare to talk to a GM, OM or PD who isn’t pressed for time.  

Perhaps why this post from Seth Godin caught my eye: running out of time is a euphemism for "it wasn’t important enough."

I’ll bet if we polled 100 programmers and talent, most would place "their show" or "what’s on the air" at or near the top of their "This Is Important" list. And what listeners hear would be a daily reflection of this list.

But, things happen. 

Which is why it's imperative to regularly step back and make sure what's most important is actually getting done.

If you want some radio-centric time management tips, A&O&B has some. 

Read Jaye Albright's recent blog about "near-time" time management here. A while back I posted a piece on having a long plan as well as a daily list;  read that here. If you're needing help re-engaging in show prep, you'll want to read this from Becky Brenner.

Paraphrasing Thomas Edison, avoid being "consumed by the urgent at the expense of the important." 

Polishing the Brand with Shared Values

"Does this polish the brand?" 

That's a question we encourage our stations to ask themselves as they consider any additions (or subtractions) to their products.

It's a good question that encompasses:

• Is this “on brand” (i.e., consistent with the station/brand values?)
• Does it match the values and expectations of the audience?
• Does this enhance or detract from the brand?
• Will this surprise and delight users?
• Is this the best ‘camera angle’ or execution we can use?

A&O&B has always been a believer in paying serious attention to listener values. Understanding these values is a key to connectivity.

For a non-radio example of in-sync product and consumer values, visit http://www.starbucks.com/ and you’ll see a tab for ‘Responsibility.’ 

The drop down menu includes Community, Environment, Ethical and even a Global Responsibility Goals andProgress Report.

So it was no surprise to see this on a recent Starbucks visit.

On brand.  Value-appropriate. Enhances. Delights. Doable.

It's a good example of how to evaluate an opportunity based on values as well as inspire thinking that can polish your brand.

Have a story about something you've done to polish your brand? 

We'd all love to hear about it.

Music Discovery Spans Country Demos Though Who Is Being Discovered Varies Considerably

A & O & B’s Roadmap 2014 - our just-released annual online perceptual of some 9,000 country fans – included an in-depth look at music discovery.

Nearly 58% of the 18-54 respondents said they had “discovered a new artist in the past 12 months that is becoming one of their favorites.” 90% said they had discovered a new artist via FM radio though discovery via social is certainly trending up.

It gets quite interesting when you break out discovery by demo.

Discovery is higher among 18-24s with nearly 70% saying they’ve discovered a new artist in the past 12 months vs. 52% of 45-54s. 52% is no small number but 70% is big.

Who listeners have discovered also looks different by demo.   

Luke Bryan, The Band Perry and Florida-Georgia Line have some pretty significant discovery differences 18-24 vs. 45-54. 

These differences are less dramatic but they certainly exist for Thomas Rhett, Cole Swindell and Jason Aldean. 

There are many other examples.

A take-away for programmers is, given country’s wide demos, that while listeners may be on the same page for things like artist discovery, they are not necessarily reading the same paragraph.

A &O & B’s annual Roadmap online perceptual is a free service to clients who also receive a separate, local report with feedback from their market’s listeners. For information, contact Mike@AandOandB.com or Becky@AandOandB.com.  

Being In Sync: Taking Advantage of Events that Bring Us Together.

If you need any extra encouragement to "capture the moment" at your station, here’s a timely read from Seth Godin's blog.

It's about the dwindling number of "group mania” events like today's Super Bowl and how they serve as vehicles to helps us prove to ourselves and others that we’re in sync and “belong.” We may watch even if we don't care just to be able to talk about what everyone else is talking about.

Similarly, stations demonstrate that they "belong" (or not) in part by the level of attention they pay to these sorts of things. Imaging, content, social, promotions - how far we choose to go will do a lot to determine our perceived like-mindedness.

Crain’s predicts 110-million will tune in for this year’s game. But don't worry if you didn't think you scored a connection touchdown this time. There will be plenty of event opportunities in the coming months starting with the Olympics.

Take time this week to consider all the celebratory/talk-abouts that are coming up in your market and how many ways you can use them to help remind listeners that you're both on the same page.

What On Air Talent Can Learn from Actors and "The Sound of Music Live!"

Acting is hard.

If you don’t believe it, look at some of the reviews otherwise-superstar Carrie Underwood has gotten following her performance in “The Sound of Music Live!” on NBC last week. Even members of the actual Von Trapp weighed in! 

Among other things, great acting involves timing, showing and evoking emotion, always being in character and developing skills for being "in the moment" no matter what.

If you want a textbook lesson from the show, watch Audra McDonald’s riveting performance of “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” . In what is arguably the highlight of the broadcast, Audra is not only totally authentic in that you believe she’s sharing from her heart, she's also appears to totally absorbed in communicating her thoughts to Carrie's Maria and is 100% convincing that this is the first time these words have ever come out of her mouth.

How McDonald does do this? The Wall Street Journal asked and got this response.

“Just focus on what Mother Abbess is really trying to do. And what’s she trying to do is give Maria some serious tough love and kicking her out. She’s saying no, you can’t run from your problems. This is opportunity in your life knocking on the door saying here we are. Here is your life. This is your destiny. And I’m not going to let you run away from it because it seems scary. So If I focus on that I think I’ll be okay. If I focus on–”oh this is a hard song, I hope I don’t screw up,” then I’ll screw up.

Be in the moment and focus on your scene mate.

Those are keys according to my actor-daughter who I asked to weigh in on the performance and what a radio talent whether working with a partner or a caller can learn from actors – especially McDonald’s performance in this scene.

“A good actor notices everything their partner does and responds with a point of view backed by how he or she feel about what the other person is saying or even how that person is saying it. Actors look at things and react according to how it makes them feel.”

I asked for an example of how an actor or an air talent could practice something like this.

“Look at a lamp and ask, ‘Do I like this lamp? How do I feel about the color/texture/design? Does it inspire me to want to decorate? Does it remind me of my ex's lamp who I hate and therefore want to pick up this lamp and smash it against a wall?’  That's one way an actor can practice being ‘in the moment.’”

Several years ago talent coach Tommy Kramer and I did a presentation that included several talent sharing tips via videos. “Listen, really listen to what your partner is saying” was one of the tips from J and Julian – then of Chicago’s B96).

Arguably one of Carrie’s best moments was also the “Climb Ev’ry Mountain” scene. Her welled-up eyes looked pretty convincing.

Perhaps she was focusing doing exactly what an actor does: focus intently on what her scene mate – Audra - was communicating. That in turn may have maximized Audra’s own performance.

Maybe none of that was true at all.

But if it was, it really makes the point about the power of listening and responding to the moment.  

Beyond the Trophy: More Reasons to Enter Station/Personality of the Year Competitions

A while back I posted 5 reasons why your station should enter Station/Personality of the Year competitions (click to read).

Here are three more just in time for the Academy of Country Music’s Station of the Year and On-Air Personality of the Year competition which is open for submissions through December 6th (get information here or give me a call, text or email).

1.   As a programmer, putting together a ‘best of’ audio, ratings, and community service presentation makes you think about how compelling your station/show actually is. What are the stand-out aspects? Are there opportunities to further leverage your strengths and do what you do best even more frequently?   Does your talent shine and are they sufficiently showcased? What community efforts have you led that are so unique and meaningful to your listeners that awards judges will be impressed? How are your ratings vs. one year ago and beyond? Win or not, you can use the time you spend entering an award competition to help create an even better station or show – something that pays benefits all year long.

2.   Relatedly, use your presentation as a coaching and leadership tool to challenge the entire staff.  For every event in the coming year, challenge co-workers to help make it bigger, better, or improved in some meaningful way.  Remind the staff of the challenge throughout the year by using it as a theme for meetings or by publicly acknowledging co-workers for special efforts. You’ll reap a product benefit while making your next submission a true collective undertaking that all can take pride in.

3.   Re-purpose your presentation to create a multi-media sales piece. Add video from your talent, PD, GM and SM. You can even embed a sales contest at the end of the video to encourage viewership and interaction. Create an edited version and post on YouTube for listeners and fans.

It’s a great honor to take home the trophy of course. But you’re also a winner just by participating in the process.

I hope you enter.

Congraulations to KUZZ AM/FM, Bakersfield, the reigning ACM Radio Station of the Year/Medium Market. The team is shown above including Jerry Hufford (second from left), Tom Jordan, Toni-Marie, and Mel Owens along with Gary Allan.

“Re-Attention:” The Challenge of Getting Attention Again Once You've Lost It

Getting attention is hard enough.

Getting “re-attention” may even be harder.

Maintaining attention infers that attention is ongoing.

“Re-attention” however suggests that there’s been a break in the level of interest, and that the reasons for this disconnect have to be identified and then reconciled before a relationship can be reestablished.

There can be positive reasons why attention gets lost (a new product attribute grabs attention from an old attribute for example), however it’s easier to conceive of negative ones including consumer ennui, declining value/performance/relevance, complexity, shiny new objects, a product failure, or at some point a negative consumer-developed disposition that isn’t addressed.

Here are some thinking points on attention (or lack of it):

• What are your listeners passionate about and what are they oblivious to, and how does that fit with your station vision?
• What aspects of the station, if they had heightened attention, could increase listening?  
• If attention has been lost or not developed to the desired level, what are the potential reasons and remedies: a personal enthusiastic appeal, initiating a relevant conversation, creating a “second first impression,” promoting a new found benefit/feature that creates an improved end-user experience, using credible testimonials, providing new information that will result in reconsidering a negative predisposition, or...?
• How is attention best maintained once it’s been reestablished?
• How long is “long enough” to see results?
• Is the “gain worth the pain” to get attention back for this particular issue? Sometimes the answer may be “no.”

Jump into the process by thinking about what does and doesn’t get your attention when you listen to your station or a competitor.