Mental Playlist: Down With The Sickness

My first PD job gave me the chance to launch WFBY in Clarksburg, WV. The day of the launch, a co-worker and I wandered down to a local café. If you were never in downtown Clarksburg in the mid-'90s, you may think this was a kitschy little place, with books and fancy coffee. If you were ever in downtown Clarksburg in the mid-'90's (and who wasn't?), you know that this was really a deli case, a soda fountain, mismatched chairs and plastic green tablecloths chock full of cigarette burns and the aroma of a dish rag gone bad.

We were alone in the place outside of a young man sitting at a table near us. He had ordered a soda, but had brought his lunch in a paper bag. He was obviously a bit lonely and looking to talk. Having just launched the station, we were tired, smelly and delusional. But there was no way we were going to pass up a chance to convert a listener. A few minutes into the conversation, the young man very calmly says "excuse me," picks up the bag and gets sick into it. Loud sick, wet sick, the kind of sick where you can feel your feet in your stomach. He chose to ignore it and tried to pick up where we left off.

Please note, at no point in time did that bag go into the garbage can, and at no point in time did a napkin, paper towel or wet nap cross that young man's face. We were looking at a guy with a bag of sick on the table and a little snack in the corner of his mouth. His circumstance had changed and it affected our relationship.

We left the rest of our lunch.

Has your circumstance changed and are you trying to move along like nothing has happened? Did your morning show leave? Have you changed your music position? Has an obvious change been made?

Own it and talk about it. Get out in front of it before your competition does. Make sure your audience knows why this is a positive and why it will enhance their experience with your brand. Make sure your advertisers know how this will benefit them.

You set the stage; the competition doesn't get to define you. And if there happens to be some sick along the way, wipe your mouth and clean it up.