Rebellious Creativity

A decade ago, Jim Collins published Good To Great. Often quoted, the book was obviously based on the difference between the "good enough" standard and extending to exceptional heights; doing basics elegantly, then graduating to standards that create separation between you and your competitors. The original validation for programming success was ratings and revenue, period. One without the other meant "not good" and certainly never "great."

But consider (spoken-word formats aside), everyone plays music. Almost everyone staffs talent. And that's where much of radio has stagnated. You hear it every day: "Sittin' in with ya on a Saturday," "Comin' up next hour," "Want more 'details?' hit us up online," "Keep it right here!" "That's music from..." and my personal favorite, "We'll be right back after we pay some bills!" Stuck in this monochromatic world, legions of station talent are delivering one-way, non-reciprocal content for listeners who are Nielsen classed "Heavy-Deep" P-1s; that relatively small segment of your weekly cume who amass 65% to 70% of your total Time Spent Listening!

Assuming you agree every radio station playing songs must necessarily be two-dimensional (the music and the content) and yes, a healthy percentage of them are "good," though a huge percentage of stations insist on sustaining packaging from the past, predictable imaging, misuse of clock management (production assets jingles, liners, music-menu promos), and worst of all, seem completely void of talent coaching. Regardless of market size, a given radio hour often has all the excitement of flight announcements at LAX.

Recently in a large California market, we were working with a good talent at a legacy station. Loaded with skill and potential, following a half-hour's coaching session the morning ringmaster off-handedly remarked, "I've been in this market for 20 years; this is the most concentrated coaching I've ever had." If you find that hard to fathom, be comforted knowing it's relatively easy to change.

Then what's stopping us? First, think of the non-music elements of your cluster brands as the "3rd Dimension." It's that layer of station connection that can make a listener "look at their radio." Sound-crafting, promo writing for intimacy, visual referencing, and most of all, frequent references to a large audience of one; using the most powerful word in all media: "you" (or "your").

Which of the following connects best with someone? "On the way next hour, music from Aerosmith and the Stones on 99-9 KADG..." Or, "In the next 20 minutes, emotions are sweet, every breath will be watched, and Puerto Rican Girls are just dyin' to meet cha ... next ... on 99-9 KADG!"

It's a lot of work to coach talent. Many admit they've never truly been coached. The corner office at corporate may even view this as unnecessary or a luxury of sorts. But in today's crowded spectrum of 'choice' it's creativity over resource, talent over "jocks" and the unending goal of being different in a sea of sameness.