I’d like you to ask yourself a question and please answer it before you read on. If someone who never heard your radio station would ask you to describe your station, what would you say? Think about your answer, don’t cheat and skip forward until you have that conversation in your head.
How many of you described your station using a list of the type of artists you play or by a certain female demo? In asking this question to many programmers and marketing directors recently, most used those types of examples to create the picture of their station.
Now, think about this. Do you think the two top female media brands use those types of descriptors when talking about their brands? Does Oprah say I have a TV show that appeals to women and we do shows about health, celebrities and self improvement? Or does Martha Stewart say I have a magazine that does articles on cooking, gardening and crafts? I don’t think so.
What would happen if we changed our thought process and quit thinking like radio people and really adapted to the changing media landscape? That is, what if we began thinking of ourselves as a women’s entertainment brand? Just like Oprah used her TV show and Martha used her magazine, we used our radio station as the anchor.
But then we developed all of our media channels to become a true women’s entertainment brand?
Oprah has the TV show, but she also has the off channel shows, O the magazine, the website and all kinds of other community and charity involvement. Martha has the magazine, TV, radio, books and retail tie-ins with countless marketing opportunities. Neither woman ever limited their thinking to one channel, but instead, they are constantly thinking of ways to use all media to drive the brand. The brand is what connects with women, not the channel it’s delivered on.
In order for radio to survive and thrive, perhaps an adjustment in our thinking is required. Instead of relying on playing the same 700 songs over and over again, maybe we should begin thinking more about what goes in between the songs. Maybe we should begin to think about the total entertainment and connection experience. And just maybe we should realize that if we don’t begin to expand the experience we give our listeners, the amount of time they spend with us will continue to decline.
Radio is still too much of a one way communication channel. We put out the message and hope someone cares. But, if we begin to expand the content and create ways for our audience to connect and communicate with us, we can begin to be a brand that women look to as a total experience. Not just a place to find their favorite songs.
And we can begin to reclaim the revenue that leaving traditional media and going to new media. We have to embrace change and let us work for us, reinvent ourselves to make sure that as a business we continue to be relevant.
If you want to talk about the future and how to make your radio station into a brand, not just a tune machine, give us a call.