THE DICK STONE BLOG

Focus like a laser...

2012-02-20T19:00:00.000Z

Being focussed is a good idea- think most people would agree. This blog is focussed on radio techniques- I don't tend to blog on the latest industry news, topics or opinions etc. So if you come here and read this, you know the kind of thing you might get- I'm not going to rant about the latest whatever. Doesn't mean I have an opinion of course, but it's not what this blog is about and why I started writing it. Focus, and staying true to that focus. Occasionally things I see, read, hear really get my goat and I really want to vent. Focus also requires discipline.

In order to cut through in today's over-crowded and cluttered world, you need to be focussed in your content and your station. We could talk about station positioning and focus all day long, but lets concentrate on content focus primarily for this blog entry.

Who does your station target? Geographically, emotionally, demographically, attitudinally? That is your content filter, right there. Doesn't mean you can't stretch them, introduce them to new things, expand their horizons but you have to frame it in a way what would work for your target. Your target will also alter over the time frame of your show- take breakfast for example. The 6am listener would be different to the 9am listener of course. That's for second filter, so you can determine where to place the content in the show. You can map it out into a grid so you know the kind of content that would sit into which section of the show.

Filtering your content choices by your target and the time frame of when they listen is one thing, but the delivery of that content requires the discipline. Don't wander off topic. Don't be tempted by the devil sitting on your shoulder whispering in your ear when you deliver the link trying to pull you off track- you know that voice in your head saying, "here's a good idea". Focus. Discipline.

Celebrate World Radio Day...

2012-02-13T19:00:00.001Z

Today is World Radio Day- Feb 13th 2012.

If you are reading this and work in radio- I trust you spent the day with a very big cheesy grin from ear to ear. You should, for out there in normal-ville there are many who seem intent on saying how radio is doomed. I've commented o this before, but on World Radio Day, seems a good time to reflect again.

They said when TV was invented that radio would die- Wrong.
They said when the Cassette Walkman was invented that radio would die- Wrong.
They said when CD's were created that Radio would die- Wrong.
They said when Breakfast TV was invented that radio would die- Wrong.
They said when the internet was invented that radio would die- Wrong.
They said when the iPod was invented that radio would die- Wrong.
They said when the iPhone was invented that radio would die- Wrong.

"They" are a variety of people of course. Most have a particular grudge against the medium of radio- either they don't work in it, are challenged by it, don't understand it, are afraid of it, are envious of it, or have been bruised by it's success. We all have our own jaundiced view of course and that's natural and normal. I have one too!

The fact is though that in the UK, All Radio Listening is at a pretty healthy 90%- it fluctuates between 90% and 92% each release but is remarkably stable. Just under 47 million people listening to Radio each week. I'd wager that any other industry would give their hind teeth for such penetration. Radio is incredibly powerful and universal. I think at time we forget that fact- we should start all presentations with it when we speak to anyone externally!

A very experienced and well respected man, Walter Sabo put it this way, "Radio is the second switch. We go into the kitchen we turn on the light, we turn on the radio. We get into the car we turn on the car, we turn on the radio. Radio is the second switch". Check out the video of him saying that here. Scroll down to the first video clip. Feel inspired?

On World Radio Day 2012- here's to radio- you beautiful, inspiring, creative, fascinating, imaginative, fun emotive, compelling, powerful thing you!

Here's the to Prize Pig...

2012-02-06T19:00:00.000Z

We all know who they are... the one who win EVERYTHING, Enter EVERYTHING and turn up at EVERYTHING... and I love them!

You should love them too... they certainly love you. In reality we create systems and arrangements to limit their input and taking part. We speak ill of them and cast them aside very easily.

No other business does this. My local Chinese Restaurant knows my name- I go in there quite often and they say, "Hello Mr. Stone" when I enter and know the kind of things I tend to order and what I like. hey ask about my family and leave me feeling special. I'm a regular user of their services and I have talked them up and recommended them to my family and friends, both for their food and friendliness. As a result I know they have had more business, trial and sales.

If they treated me the ay we treat our regulars, what would that be like? Rude on the phone, giving reasons why I can't buy from them today because i bought something recently. Maybe told I couldn't have a table because they would like to give someone else a chance?

I can't imagine Apple calling banning those people who have just bought n iPhone from buying an iPad, or iMac. Or being rude of indifferent to a customer who has a wide variety of their products and is evangelistic about them.

OK, I know radio listening and entering contests is different from buying an iPhone or a Chinese meal- very different of course. It's free, and therefore the purchase is an emotional one not a monetary one, you "buy" the station because it connects with you. You enter the contests because you want to win of course.
In some ways therefore, radio listening is more of a personal commitment than any of the purchases I mentioned. You purchase it with a little bit of you rather than cash, or with your time, which you can't get back.

I've heard people say that they don't want the prize pigs on the air because they stand out, and people recognise their names and voices. Really? I can think of only a few who I could recall, and unless their name is unusual (and therefore stands out) it's unlikely that the average listener would be able to remember it. In fact in all of the focus groups, meetings and discussions with listeners over the years I've never heard any of them say something like "they always have the same winners".

I get that when you look down the database of winners and rank it surname it can be pretty galling to see the list of things that few people are walking away with. However, if any of these got a listening diary you would be sitting on some great numbers! Is the cost of their evangelism (and they clearly like and listen to you) is the list of prizes, is that too big a price to pay for their devotion?

If you want to limit and reduce the amount your average prize pig wins, here is the best tip- generate more of them. Give them some competition for their winning ways. In other words, get more of this type of listener. In fact, lets BAN the phrase Prize Pig, and replace it with RAVING FAN. It says more about the mindset of the vast majority of them and might change the way we feel about them when we talk. Generate more Raving Fans and you naturally limit their prize haul, and as a result you get more listening too.

So, lets change them game when it comes to the regulars, treat them as loyal, raving fans who interact and love what you do, rather than the pain in the backside. Develop and generate more raving fans and bring your ratings to life.

How NOT to get a job...

2012-01-30T19:00:00.000Z

I know, I know- I've blogged on this before- things you should and shouldn't do to get a gig in radio if you were a first time entrant. Truth is there is always something new to add when it come to tips and so as we sit here staring towards the horizon of 2012, let's have a bit of fun.

Now I've written this with tongue in cheek a bit, and I don't suggest that the responses below are what any self respecting programmer should follow, nor is it an endorsement of this terrible behaviour. It IS though meant as a bit of fun, and a grain of truth of the kind of thing many people would like to do, if only they could!

So, with all the caveats in place and with sensible eyes fitted with appropriate humour specs, here are the best ways NOT to get an opening in radio, along with joke response suggestions for any programmers reading and receiving such enquiries... sort of.

1. Send a generic and short feedback form via the station website, ignoring the instruction on the webpage that you sent it from about where to direct any potential work experience requests. RESPONSE: Email back a web link to the contact page of the website that the email came from with a simple "The information you require is here".

2. Send an email to the personal email of the programmer but address it with Dear Sir/Madam. RESPONSE: reply with generic impersonal email addressed to "Dear Insert Name here" and sign it from Sir/Madam.

3. Send email to programmer but get name of radio station wrong. RESPONSE: Reply using a different name than the respondent or reply as if from the other station and suggesting they contact you at your station.

4. Send an email to Programmer but also include other stations in the "TO" field so a catch all email. RESPONSE: Reply as 2.

5. Send unsolicited email to programmer with 25Mb+ demo attached. RESPONSE: reply with a fake automated email suggesting email inbox is full or ensure any logo image in signature is as higher resolution and file size as possible.

6. After getting a response from a station asking for you to send a demo, take a month or so to get around to sending it. RESPONSE: Reply with "All of our operators are busy at the minute but your email is important to us and someone will reply as soon as an operator becomes available".

7. If your reply says stay in touch, send the PC at each station weekly emails with your availability. RESPONSE: Reply each time with your own availability to send a generic "Thanks but no thanks" response each week. "I can say no thanks on Monday afternoon, Tuesday and Wednesday but Thursday I'll be too busy to ignore your email this week"

8. Send a very short email to address of programmer asking for work/work experience without any explanation of your desire, interest or displaying any passion- along the lines of "Can I have a car sticker" type emails. RESPONSE: Reply with a short "No"

9. Send a snail mail letter to station with demo on CD and don't include any email address on paperwork. RESPONSE: Reply with with letter typed in Typewriter font and sealed with wax.

10. Send email to programmer with all the reasons why you should be taken on and list of what is wrong with station in your opinion. RESPONSE: Reply with thanks for insight into programme strategy as it had not occurred to you.

Of course not all of the above is based on experience of the kind of things I have been sent, well nearly all anyway. If you want to make a good impression- tread carefully and THINK. Ensure you email doesn't look a bit like spam, or a half hearted effort. Give a whiff of "off the cuff email" and you deserve an off the cuff response. I've had a few emails like number 8 above in my time, with little time or attention given to the contact and the response is usually along the lines of "well you have not taken much time, so neither will I".

So, my advice is to do your homework- find out a bit about the station you are sending an email to and who you are sending it to. If you get a negative response, move on but don't give up. Perhaps wait six months and send another email or make a further contact. If making contact six months or so later my advice would be not to just reply to the rejection email, start a fresh one but mention that you made contact before- reason being that if you have your email trail at the bottom of your message, I would look and think there must have been a reason to say no before and so default to that perhaps. Equally don't send fresh emails as if you have not made contact before. I can think of a few contacts over the years from people who have sent numerous messages or letters and each one is as if we have not made any contact before, which is just a bit weird if not just rude! Open an Excel document and plot and plan for contacts- think of it like developing a sales lead.

If you want to send a demo, ask before you send it. Reason being that if I get a large file in my inbox unsolicited it will kind of hack me off a bit and the benefit of asking shows you consider the impact and it also gives you two, instead of one, contact points. Additionally it means when you send the demo I'm expecting it and so are more likely to listen.

Maybe it's just me, but I like MP3 files rather than links to your website or Soundcloud etc. The reason being that I might not have something for you right now and if I like your work I'll drop you in my Talent Folder, so that when I need someone or someone I know needs someone I can go and listen to demos and forward them on maybe. If you remove or change your file online, or move web host etc or if I'm not online when looking, I can't hear your stuff and so might choose someone else because you've put a hurdle in my way.

So, good luck and here's to the talent! There is great talent around if you take time to look and listen and those of us lucky enough to work in radio should spend the time to develop the radio stars of tomorrow.

No money left...

2012-01-23T19:00:00.000Z

Today is the MOST DEPRESSING DAY OF THE YEAR!

That's what people say about today since we are already long way from the last payday, and there is one week left before the next one. How did you reflect that this morning on the air? How are you going to reflect it all this week?

Bit late now to start dreaming up ideas since it's already here, but that is where your planning come in. You should have been planning what you were going to do this week way before Christmas last year. So how can you shake up your process and get ahead of the game a bit?

Start by having a cut off- work at least one month ahead- so you should have your ideas sorted lets say for Valentines at least - so you can now start to focus on what you are doing for Easter right? Gather a small band of mentalists who you work with and lock yourself into a room and think about what you can do over the Easter period. Decorate the room- bring in chocolate and make it feel like Easter- (I remember doing one for Christmas once in July!). It's also good fun!

Once you have done that, give some thought to the May Bank holiday's within the next 2 weeks- then hey presto- you are ahead and running. Nothing special in any of this I know, but you would be surprised how often it doesn't happen, or the mid-term planning falls away. Not too surprising since radio is largely reactionary and we have the ability and benefit of moving fast when we have to.

So with that in mind, don't make all your plans fixed in stone though- unless you are trying to get them sold of course- so you can change and alter depending on the mood and feeling. Light on the feet and able to move fast- that's what you are looking for.

Couple of Brainstorming tips I've used (some stolen from this book- well worth a read- there is LOTS you can use)

Make a list of the most rubbish ideas you can think of- all the cheesy lame stupid ideas. Two reasons really- you get them out of peoples head and also sometimes you can give them a slight 3 degree twist and make them workable.

If money and red tape was no object, what you really want to do? Fantasy, magical spectacular things- scribble them down and dream. The after the event try handwork out how you get 99% of the benefit with 1% of the cost.

Final Filter

The bit that doesn't happen too often is the review of the ideas. Once the fun has faded and the cold light of day hits you- run through your ideas and see which ones are actually workable, or even right for your target or station style. I remember not so long ago a team getting very excited with an idea and it had a bit of momentum. I knew that there was something about the concept that wasn't quite right, it really didn't quite fit the station. The review was the point where we could tinker with it and adjust to make sure it worked on all levels.

Inside the Box.

One of the things in the book I linked too above, is "Think Inside The Box"- I know you often hear that you should do the opposite! The point is this- there are some realities that your can't ignore no matter what, so rather than starting so wide that you waste effort and energy coming up with ideas that you just wouldn't be able to achieve, start within the boundary of your limitations. That way you will have more realistic solutions and ideas. There isn't much point trying to reinvent the wheel after all.

Say your name...

2012-01-16T19:00:00.000Z

If you want to rate better, there is one simple thing you can do more of...

SAY THE NAME OF THE STATION MORE.

We are measured by Rajar Diary, which relys on RECALL- the respondent remembering what station they heard and giving them credit for it. The label at the top of the Rajar diary doesn't say anything other than the station name. When it actually come to filling in the diary- the key thing is the STATION NAME.

Now, zoom out a bit and listen to your station. Are you in absolutely no doubt as to whom you are listening to when you listen? If not- you are robbing yourself of listeners and credit. When they fill in the diary they might have heard you, but don't give you the credit for the listening because you didn't brand it correctly.

Do you say what the weather is going to be like? If so, I hope you are doing "Station Name Weather" rather than just "Location Weather"- if not, you're losing a chance to tag your station name- and therefore a trigger to memory when it comes to filling out the diary- with the number one topic of conversation in the country.

Some jocks I know seem to think that branding the station is a bit messy, or they forget, or somehow just don't want to do it as it's a bit formulaic. Talking to them though they all say they really want to rate well and would do anything to get better numbers. Firstly, no-one said that it had to be delivered in a formulaic way, or without creativity- just that you have to do it. The reality is that when it comes to filling in the diary the Jock Name isn't at the top of the page, the station name is. Teaching the listener the station name is job number one, then reminding them that they are listening to us is job two- everything else comes after that.

It's probably the one thing that I hear being missed the most, and annoyingly it's the one thing you can fix the easiest.

In the states with PPM markets the thinking was that you didn't have to say the station name as much- and what has been found is that actually there isn't much change since people need to know which station to come back to, and put on to start their day or whatever- so station branding is just as vital.

So, you want to rate better? Tell me who to tick in the book more often!

Happy New Device...

2012-01-09T19:00:00.000Z

Well here we are in 2012. Happy New Year.

By now you are probably sick of people at work saying, "Did you have a nice Christmas?" and have taken to replying with the stock, "Quiet but nice" response. Either that or they have stopped asking and just take your expression to mean you don't want to be asked!

Something has changed since 2011. Something has happened since December that you should bear in mind when it comes to thinking about content to talk about on air. Many of your listeners have had a NEW DEVICE for Christmas- now it could be a radio (probably DAB), but most likely a new phone which will no doubt have Internet and apps or new computer or iPad. Like anyone who gets a new device, they want to USE IT and find new uses for it- in fact they are on the lookout for excuses to use it all the time. How are you reflecting this when you talk on breakfast for example? Are you suggesting your App, your website, your content more than you did in December? Are you giving them reasons to use you on their new device or place the idea in their mind? Are you talking about your app, your website or making the direct link to playing with your present with it? Why not? Listeners with a shiny new device are very eager and on the look out for reasons to play- spell it out to them, point them in YOUR direction.

Many people will have had a new device of some sort, and so talking about what content you can provide, the benefits and tips is a nice bit of "me too" content, right when your listener will be eager to hear it. Be the curator for them and provide them with the stuff they need to know. You are already a trusted friend when it comes to other content: showbiz, news and music- so lean on this for your guide to using their new device sine you have an open door.

The other reason is that people are now strapped for cash, so focusing on their new product is a positive response while we wait for that January pay day.

So, short blog- much to do and get sorted for 2012- head down and get on with it!

New Look for 2012

2012-01-02T12:00:00.000Z

Well did say that January was a good time to refresh- in fact the perfect time and so by way of following my own advice- a refreshed outlook on this blog.

When I started writing it about a year ago, my desire was to blog on radio techniques- and that isn't going to change. From time to time I might blog about something topical but this really isn't the best place for me to vent on the hot issues in media today. I'll try to keep to the schedule of one new blog posting every week- usually on a Monday it seems, so standby for 52 more blog postings or 2012 on radio techniques and things to watch out for.

And I hope you like the new look and feel of the blog- thought I'd do something that is a little different- so expect some sketch drawings to illustrate all blog postings this year- not always good pics but always good fun.

Happy New Year- Happy New Blog.

Your perfect time to refresh is coming...

2011-12-12T19:00:00.000Z

Just like in September, when things get back to normal- January is the perfect time to refresh things. The audience is accepting of change on a grander scale at the beginning of January, so make the most of it and ditch the bits you have been wondering about for a while, and refresh the things you want to keep too.

It's a time when you can start something new, and listeners very much accept it- particularly since before Christmas you have adjusted your programming anyway to reflect the festive period- so their memory of what you did in "normal" times is dimmed.

I always find it useful to have three columns- Replace, Reveal and Renew when it comes to content on air. The Replace is pretty straight forward- stuff which you are unsure of, or needs to go lives in this pile. Renew- all the bits you want to keep get renewed- an added lustre applied. Could be refreshed production, an alternative angle or added bit of something. The Reveal is the new stuff you have not done before- the brand new for on air.

In order to Rut Proof your programming or show over a longer period, you can apply the rule of 3's.
Every 3 months select 3 things which you have never done before and put them on air.
Take 3 things that you routinely do that you think are a bit tired and mark for delete.
Take 3 things that work quite well and amplify them in some way.

Last blog of 2011- have a great Christmas and New Year- thanks for all the retweets and comments. Roll on 2012 and all that brings!

It's Christmassy are you?

2011-12-05T19:00:00.000Z

Every year in December a little thing called Christmas comes to town. Every year there is always one or two radio stations who miss the trick and don't connect or try to carry on as normal and ignore it in some way or other. News Flash: YOU CAN'T !

Listeners are influenced by it in every single aspect of their daily life. Think about it- their TV viewing, online, shopping, local environment, city or town, circle of friends and their family all display something of a Christmas nature- and thus do things differently because it's Christmastime- how can you reflect that in what you do? Promotions? Marketing? Music? Contesting? Events? Online?

I'm not saying that all stations should play tons of Christmas songs from Dec 1st or anything- far, far from it actually- but you can't ignore it either - and as we know from every other aspect of programming, trying to get listeners to change their lifestyle to suit you is NEVER going to work. This isn't just about playing Christmas songs though, it's about reflecting a change in listeners lifestyle and atmosphere- and you can do that without playing a single Christmas song even! Equally you can play a ton of them and never really connect with the listener's attitude at this time of the year too.

Brands far larger and with far greater budgets to spend on understanding the lifestyles of their target customers and clients than ANY radio station, bend and shape what they do when it comes to Christmas- even the hyper cool ones do it- open your eyes and look about. Step into any high street fashion shop in December and you will hear Christmas songs being played- and usually the old classics too! Wander into Jack Wills and you can hear Bing Crosby and the odd Perry Como and the same in Fat Face, All Saints, River Island, Next, G-Star, River Island, H&M, as well as Starbucks, Costa, etc. The mix of old and new might be slightly different from place to place but they are all reflecting what the lifestyle is like in December with the music, but also with the look and feel inside the store, decoration, staff clothing and products on offer etc. It's a combination of the parts that makes the difference in the over all impression. Now I get that not everyone wants to play Bing Crosby of course, but like I said, it's not just about the music. What other content are your delivering that sets the tone and the mood that is relevant for your listener and their lifestyle? Don't immediately think that the music is IT, and then the job is done.

Now I must confess I like Christmas- but even the most die hard sit in the mud Scrooge would have to admit that Christmas permeates everything- so ignore it at your peril. Of course you have to ensure what you do is in keeping with your brand values and style- everyone can't do the same thing in the same way clearly as I've said.

So what of the opposite perspective. Going balls out Christmas! That too can have disastrous outcomes- although to be fair in the UK we have not had much experience of it until this year I suppose. In the US a few stations in most markets flip format from around Thanksgiving to "All Christmas"- but they go all out- no half measures. Take KOST in Los Angeles who, like the rest change their web page, content and logo for the festive season. If you are going to do it, go all out!

In fact if you check at Million Watts.com you can see just how many stations flip format across the US. In New York for example the lift in listening that 106.7 Lite FM (WLTW) gets, takes it to number one for the Winter and Holiday Arbitron books. A lot of these stations employ this tactic in order to rate- since the rest of the year they don't score too highly- although some, like Lite, do of course. They have taken a business decision, looked for a market to own and gone for it.

In the UK this year on DAB we have Smooth Xmas, and it will be interesting to see just how much this cuts through- although it probably won't show through in Rajar due to methodology, reporting periods etc. It's an interesting example. On Sky there has been a holiday Music Choice channel for many years too.

So take each part of your offering- on air (each show and element) and look at what you can tweak. Take online, and look at the stuff you can add. One by one make sure you reflect the surroundings in which your content (on and off air) is being consumed. One more little thing- make sure you timed it all to come off on Boxing Day- nothing worse than sounding all festive and Christmassy on Dec 27th! No-one wants to hear or see it then.

My point is this- you just can't ignore it- you have to have a strategy and one which embraces Christmas in a way that is right for your target based on some facts and some experience, following the crowd, or simply hoping it will go away won't work and could mean your listeners think the very same thing about your station.

Think like a tweet...

2011-11-28T19:00:00.000Z

Whilst I've blogged before about radio and it's obsession with Twitter, there is one additional benefit with Twitter.

The 140 character limit gives you a great vehicle to use with talent on being economical with words. When it comes to resetting a topic on a breakfast show for example- likening it to a tweet, helps get the message across in terms of brevity. If you had to tweeet what you are doing, what would you put? If it takes longer then it's a bit too complex- rethink it. It's a bit of a blunt tool to use, but I'm finding useful to change a way of working.

We know that the perception of saving someone time is important - people thinking that you are saving them time, even if you are not actually, plays into their mindset of having too much to do and not enough time to do it in. The lifestyle of the majority of radio listeners works like this- with the exception of some of course, but I wouldn't want to be stereotypical and suggest it was the 65+ audience as I know a few retired people who are extremely busy!

The end goal is to make content that is easy to consume, so thinking like a Tweet helps to boil down your concept or thought into a single line.

Speaking of Twitter.

We have to be both careful and mindful when it comes to use of Twitter on air. Whilst I'm not suggesting for one minute we try and stay in the past (far from it) we should be careful about being too ahead of the curve and actually making our output out of focus for the audience as a result. The facts are that whilst many people are on Twitter, the percentage of the audience might be actually quite low- particularly when compared with Facebook for example. So could you envisage talking on air continually about something else that only a tiny percentage of your audience might be doing?

There are some huge upsides for Twitter with Radio- we can communictae with listeners directly etc and generate a closer bond with them- True. There is one downside when it comes to content creation though.

We are an AUDIO medium. When it comes to listeners we want AUDIO from them. They used to phone us and we got audio there and then. They then stopped calling and started texting. This added an extra step, in that we had to phone them back to get the audio from them- and quite often they didn't answer the phone of course and it added a delay. With content coming in from Twitter or Facebook for that matter, you don't have contact info- so you can only reply and hope for a direct message with a contact number so you can get that all important AUDIO again. The end goal for us, has got further away and more difficult to gather. The end result being you just end up with more jocks on air reading out Tweets or comments, which just isn't as entertaining. So as we move from Phone to Text to Tweet- we run the risk (unless we put in extra effort) that we move away from the one thing we are after and is the lifeblood of our medium- AUDIO.

Callers, I want more...

2011-11-21T19:00:00.000Z

Putting a caller on air has a magical effect. It connects your radio station to it's audience in a way that it never could if the jock just said the same words. It gives the caller a sense of showbiz- they will never forget that they appeared on air and will tell all their friends and family about it. It promotes more callers.

Get the right caller- treat them the right way, and you will cement a relationship with your listener that a million words in an ad campaign could never do. Callers give you a sense of pace, urgency, colour and NOW. If you are a CHR station- why would you not use that key tool to your ultimate advantage- it grows ratings! CHR radio invented putting callers on air in music radio.

How do you get callers? Two ways- you get callers on the air for one, because callers breed more callers, and you say the phone number. You should say the phone number AFTER you have rolled a caller on the air- because you are then teaching the listener what to do- put simply... if I want to do that I should ring this number and I could sound just as good.

Great callers can establish your station's personality, your station's demographic and your station's position in the mind of the listener. They can take a bland format and bring it into colour and life. Of course, it all depends on how they are managed and treated once they get to air, but you get the gist.

If listeners hear other listeners being treated well and not humiliated on the air, they think "this is a safe environment" and will join in too. You reap what you sow. Not everything has to be contest related, it can be just "stuff", get listeners to ask you a question, to set up some content. They will accept coaching off air- after all they are new to being on the air and so they want to be told what to do.

Great callers can really make or break great output- they can also add a great big cherry on the top of the cake and set your output on fire!

TXT- don't read enless text messages out, ring back the texter and get them to TALK TO YOU- we are an audio medium and so getting voices on air breaks up just the jocks talking.

So, how do you start? Call back a few people who have texted perhaps? Call back some people who took part in, or got in contact for the last contest the station did and see if they would like to be on air? Use callers in a different part of the show for content later- so if you run a contest at one point and know you are talking about a particular bit of content later or the next day etc- ask them about it when they call for the contest and record it for later. Once you start getting callers on the air, you teach the listener that you can call and get in touch, and magically they start to call and communicate with you. I remember when I was on the air, I started EVERY call with the question, "What's your name and where are you from?"- within a week everyone who called started with the answer without being prompted.

What's the biggest impact you can make in your on air programmig right now?

CALLERS!

What constitutes clutter...

2011-11-14T19:00:00.002Z

I remember a ton of stations in the US a good few years ago, shouting that they were "CLUTTER FREE"- meaning less of the bits you found irritating and getting in the way of the bits you did want. The battle against clutter rose to the forefront for a while there, but of course never really went away.

What constitutes clutter? One man's clutter is another man's content after all. At the time of the high use in the US it was mainly jock talk and "Clutter Free" tended to mean the station has a sweep of music with ids really. From a programmer's perspective the fight and watch for clutter is ever present. Is a junction too busy, too many elements? Is a link too muddled, too many voices on breakfast? Is a story too confusing, too many angles or asides? Most of the time the battle against clutter is small scale stuff, since the big building clocks have all been moved and sorted- the ad structure, the clock for speedlinks or stop downs and talk breaks, the news schedule- the finer stuff like the length of production, and how busy it is is where you can make changes. That's the area which can actually have the most effect too.

Production which is very creative but actually gets in the way of the message is really clutter. The production shouldn't get in the way of the message after all.

The job of the programmer when they listen to a station is to listen for those things, the flow, the jock talk of course, but also he ease with which he message is delivered and how quickly and cleanly its delivered. The outdoor advertising industry has a "4 second read" rule- ie, you have to be able to get the message in a 4 second read as you glance at the billboard or poster. Radio should have a similar policy and I operate one myself actually. Not quite the 4 second thing, but basically can I "GET IT" from one listen- if I just hear ONE link or ONE sweep or ID, can I "GET IT".

The avoidance of clutter doesn't mean all creativity is dead so the message can remain clear and clean- just that creativity should be focussed in the direction of delivering the end goal. After all, otherwise it IS a distraction.

So, with all that- is anyone actually CLUTTER FREE? The reality is that every station, no matter whom they are , has clutter, or at last some elements in their output that either they wished they didn't have but have to have for whatever reason, or something which someone listening will consider clutter as it doesn't match their needs. A listener who just wants the music, for example, will find news, ads, ids, jock talk clutter to some extent. I once had a message from a listeners asking if we did CD's of just the songs that we play- clearly to them the rest was not required!

The fight against clutter also ebbs and flows. You might think you are running pretty clean and only when you stop and take a fresh look do you find you have become messy again and need a clear out and refresh- there is an inevitable creep that happens to all stations no matter how hard the resolve, things get added and you pick things up along the way. Occasionally cutting loose and refreshing, stripping back and getting back to basics is a good thing.

Long live radio...

2011-11-07T19:00:00.000Z

NEWS FLASH... another warning that radio is about to die....

NEWS FLASH... wrong again!

TV was going to kill radio.
Video (so wrote Trevor Horn) was going to kill radio.
MTV was going to kill radio.
The Walkman was going to kill radio.
Breakfast TV was going to kill Breakfast radio.
iPod was going to kill all radio.
iPhone was going to kill radio.
Internet was going to kill radio.

Tomorrow it will be something else and the next day something else again and so it goes on.

Some real news for you, radio is in rude health and doing quite well actually. Take a look at the Rajar numbers for ALL RADIO and you will find over 90% of the population listen- now of course the number of stations has grown dramatically over the years of course, but radio as a medium is immensely powerful. Compare that the something like newspaper circulation, which is shrinking.

Who is it who is saying that radio is doomed? Usually not people who are IN radio- it tends to be other media who of course have their own reasons for wanting a medium with the reach and power of radio to weaken. Rarely of course is that vested interest explained before making the claim.

If the radio had been invented before the printing press I wonder how different things would be? As an aside, there is one thing which I wish would change- a fixation with what is in the newspapers, as if that is a barometer of what is news or worthy of discussion. As we know, the circulation is shrinking and yet we seem to still use the appearance in a newspaper as an initial test of something's validity. "Getting press" seems to be a thing in itself and when you consider just how much has changed, it's incredibly outdated. I wonder what would happen if for a period of time- say 3 months, radio stations just ignored "what's in the papers", and looked elsewhere for content. Removing references to "The Papers" or mentioning something that is "in the news today" because it's in the papers would have a dramatic effect I think, especially when radio reaches over 90% of the UK population.

I wonder if our fascination with the next big thing is a bit of another case of "something new and shiny"- something comes along and all of a sudden we get fascinated by it and think that what we have always had is a bit dull- when the reality is that it clearly isn't! It's good to look at new things, don't get me wrong and we should explore and strive for fresh developments in all that we do, but let's hold off on pronouncements of the death of radio before we have a few more facts to back it up. There is not a lot out there that can cope with the vast numbers that broadcast radio can deliver after all, if 90% of the UK population tried to jump on an online stream, that\s 47 million people a week- it would simply crash- many stations couldn't cope with even a tiny percentage of their analogue broadcast audience streaming them online at the same time.

After writing this blog I watched a short video from a hero of mine, Walter Sabo. I have seen Walter speak a couple of times and have a couple of CD's of his sessions at the Morning SHow Bootcamp in the US over the years- he talks sense and makes things very lcear every time I hear him speak. Watch the very first video in this video blogs, about radio being the Second Switch and redefine what you think about this great medium of ours. http://www.sabomedia.com/sabo_video.shtml

So- if you work in radio- celebrate RADIO. Speak up and correct those who seem to like to try and predict the demise of radio- they are wrong and have been proved wrong time and time again... the definition of madness seems appropriate for them really.

Postscript.
I wrote this blog way before going to the Radio Festival in Manchester, and was timed to publish in advance. Whilst there I found many similar views expressed and of course some opposing views too. Debate is great and I enjoy it, always. The passion, energy and brainpower spent on radio by those who care and take a view can only lead to a prolonged and vibrant future.

Elvis is in the building...

2011-10-31T12:10:00.000Z

As the UK radio world gathers in Manchester for the Radio Festival, we welcome Elvis Duran- truly an icon in world radio, and my mind turns to Breakfast, talent and inspiration.

Read this blog entry I made a few months ago, which demonstrates why Elvis is a master craftsman of his art. He isn't a Jock, he isn't a Personality, he's a PROGRAMMER- who is on the air. I have a few videos and audio clips of Elvis over the years, and in each one there is a demonstration of an underlying thought pattern- a programmers brain working on the best way to deliver the concept to the listener.

That is what makes Elvis unique- he is a really good programmer who can also perform on the air. Like all programmers he can make some mistakes and errors of judgment etc- I'm not saying he is perfect in every way, but when you have a sharp programming mind putting together the content, crafting it and performing it- you are probably as close as you are going to get!

So, how do you learn from all hat? What can you take away?

If you are a breakfast host.
School yourself in programming theory and reasoning. Become a programmer and think like one- take an interest in the thinking behind what happens on air on your station. Act like a programmer, and digest, read up, and immerse yourself into what it takes to be a programmer of a radio station. Programme your own show as if you are the PC, counsel yourself on the performance on air and thinking about the construction and delivery of the show as you are doing it from a programming standpoint. Two things will happen- you will be better on air- the discussions you will have with your actual programme controller will rise to a new level and become more productive and you will make yourself a lot more hire-able.

If you are a programmer.
Look for breakfast talent that has a programmer mentality- even if you have only one in the tam hat has it- and by the way they need to be the main person, as no point having a frustrated programmer who knows what needs to be done and can't enact it. It's a BIG ask- not only do you need to find someone who is entertaining to your target, have an ability to perform in the busy and stressful world of breakfast, have a sharp wit, but now also have a programmers brain. I say again- that's what makes Elvis unique and why there are not many of them, but when you find one you know you are going to win. That makes the challenge worth doing!

I'm reminded of a quote from Walter Sabo, who I've mentioned before in my blogs- "The best radio people in the world are not those that know RADIO best but those who know THE AUDIENCE the best." It's true of performers on the air and it;s true of programmers too.

Demos- bet you get loads...

2011-10-24T19:00:00.000+01:00

A Demo Tape. It's a must-have of course and I' not going to repeat my earlier blog about demos- because you can easily read that here, no instead I've been pondering the change over the years.

When I was a wet behind the ears programmer with an office under the stairs (true) things were very different to now and it only really dawned on me recently when I told my usual lie to a prospective jock who was on the circuit and trying to get a gig. My usual lie? I have to admit that yes it is a usual lie which is what prompted the blog and the pondering.

Almost every time that I meet a jock looking for work- either in student radio or currently doing the rounds and the like- they say ask a question. One which is also sometimes repeated on emails too.

I bet you get a lot of demos don't you?

My lie- which in my defence is out of habit- is a stock, "yeah" (actually probably something a bit longer and more profound and brilliant of course, but basically just a "yeah"). The truth is actually not as many as I used to get back in the office under the stairs with a cardboard box under my desk with cassette tapes in - which I was always too slow at replying to by the way.

In reality, I suppose I get only slightly less than I did back then, and of course on email now and the cardboard box is replaced by a folder called "TALENT", into which only the ones who display it get posted. The collection in there though grows slower I think though and perhaps that the main thing I've noticed- there is a greater waste... and there seem to be more clones. There have always been clones- hell when I first began sending tapes around trying to get a job on air I was a fan of Les Ross and so my style was influenced quite a bit, before I developed my own and learnt that no-one was looking for the second Les Ross, they wanted the first Dick Stone.

That is the big learning lesson if you are putting together a demo- are you a second someone else or are you really the first YOU? Influences are fine of course, and everyone has them- pinching bits of one style or another, but am I (or the listener for that matter) really interested in a Moyles-sound-a-like? It doesn't mean you have to break any moulds either- I'm fine with good solid performance, demonstrating doing the job solidly and consistently, every link doesn't have to pull up trees. That said use your own personality, the think that makes you unique and different to everyone else you know- do I hear that when you speak?

A word on personality too... I've heard people saying, "Yeah let me hear some more personality in your links". What utter bollocks! Usually they are mistaking personality for talking more- what they mean and really want to say when they utter this line is- can you talk a bit more and not just do it quite as straight as you did, and that's fine if thats what they want of course. The fact is that you can display personality in just a few seconds- the way in which you say a word, your turn of phrase, your accent, the rise and fall of your voice, pace, energy and volume. Putting a little more of yourself into the link is probably what they mean- feel free to play with it a bit and not constrained by formatics and style guide- that is probably what they mean to say. So, don't confuse "personality" for "length of time talking"- even if that is what people seem to be actually saying.

So when it comes to a demo- make it YOU not a 2nd someone else.

Oooo it's shiny....

2011-10-17T19:00:00.000+01:00

If you are a programmer at a radio station, be prepared for the distractions of something shiny, new, exciting!

All too often you can be pulled off track by THE SHINY, when all about the place seem fixated with the new toy, or concept or thing. Your job at this point is to bring the focus back on the game at hand- the nitty gritty, to see past the shiny surface and get on FOCUS.

This materialises in many ways- it can be presenters who get bored with the basics and look for the new trick and forget the nuts and bolts, or colleagues at work who again forget the basics and think we have them covered now and can move on.

I've blogged before about maintaining a focus on the absolute basics at all times- almost to the point of monotony. Stay fixed on the very basic building bricks of great output. Far too many have tried to re-invent the wheel and you know ultimately that it is a false game.

What are your segues like?
What are your music rotations like?
Is your station branding consistent and placed correctly so you get credit?
Are you saying the same on air as you appear in the diary?
Is your strap or slogan demonstrated?
Are you cluttering the message with flash effects?
Do I "get it" in a one link listen?

You can't market your way out of a hole- you need to have the content to back it up, and that comes down to basics once more so make sure they are right, clear and consistently focused on at all times. Don't get distracted by the shiny...

Structure gives meaning...

2011-10-10T19:30:00.000+01:00

Once you RIP your content, you know what you want to do on the air and know how you will get out of it- what next?

It's best to have a structure, just with all stories they work better with a logical sequence- a beginning, middle and end. When it comes to structure in links it takes a bit more thought, but essentially is just as simple but just as important.

For breakfast shows, with a greater content level the structure becomes even more pressing- confusion can really distract listeners and destroy content without somekind of consistent structure which can hold the link together and enable the listener to easily consume the content you provide.

Think of it like the pathway around a supermarket, if it is difficult to find the things you want and you don't seem to be able to find any logic- you shop elsewhere.

The pattern I have used is as follows... (as drawn by me!)

The BIZ- The business ends of the link, Station ID, Show/Jock name, strapline, time, weather drop perhaps.

The TOP- A quick tease, solicit or promote for something later or cross promote.

The BIT- The stuff you have prepared - the substance of your link.

The BIZ- Forward promote or call to action and station id.

The key is that if the TOP becomes elongated because you start to embellish it on air then it becomes the BIT, and you don't do both or the link becomes too confusing, so discipline is required- particularly with team shows.

Whatever structure you use for your links, it provides a coat hanger upon which you can hang your coat of content and keep it in shape.

Just because they are vocal, doesn't make them right...

2011-10-03T19:00:00.000+01:00

I think I've commented on this before, but radio really is unique. I don't know of many other industries that have quite so many anoraks... and so vocal too.

Now I've not spent much time looking, but I don't really know of any Accountant Forums, or Supermarket Forums, lamenting the old supermarket brands, "Oh Morrisons is just not as good as Safeway, I just don't like their colours"- or at least if such a thing does exist the passion level doesn't seem as high. I would doubt that those former Safeway fans email the managers of Morrisons regularly and tell them how much they miss Safeway, or keep running into the shop and telling the staff they don't like it. Facebook doesn't seem active with groups or fan pages championing a former supermarket brand's return. Where are the gangs of Fine Fare fans! Radio seems perculiar like that.

On the other hand, Supermarkets, Accountants etc don't have the level of raving fan that we have either or the abilty to motivate people to a level of action. Raving Fans of any brand are useful as they act as evangelists for the brand and recruit other fans to the brand by endorsement and promotion. We should use that passion more often but equally with care, as you can dip into the well too often of course and lower your level of passion as a result.

The point is, no matter how vocal Radio's detractors are, or anoraks etc- don't confuse them with the truth. The internet has managed to allow those with a passion the ability to gather support of like-minded people it's true, but the fact is that in this case they are still a minority. The speed of "feedback" has increased over the years with email etc, but just because the obstacles to feedback have been reduced and the freedom to comment increased, doesn't mean it's any more true or representative of the wider view.

There are many tools to use for getting an objective view of performance, thoughts and observations on your programme, your programming and your brand. Use as many as you feel comfortable using, or can afford, but always remember balance is the key.

Play the game. Know the rules...

2011-09-26T19:00:00.000+01:00

Today we are all too busy. There isn't anyone I know who says they have time on their hands and spend time sitting around looking for things to do. Today we are all too busy. No matter where you are or who you are, we are connected in one simple way- we don't have enough time.

If I gave you £86,400 then you might spend a little time thinking about how you would spend it and what you might buy or where you might go. There are 86,400 seconds in a day and we can't get any more, it's fixed and whatever we have to do has to fit within that budget of 86,400. Yet we spend a small amount of time thinking how we would spend that time. Everyone is in the same boat and we are all time stressed.

Added to the fact that today's society is built around the idea of saving time. Shorter, faster, quicker, easier are the watch words for most new inventions or improvements today.

Turn on the radio and how do we reflect that reality of life? How do we ensure we are matching the lifestyles of our listeners in the content that we deliver? Any station that adapts to the lifestyle of listeners will surely win, as listeners will see the link and the notion of saving them some time. Of course we have a game to play, because we want people to spend MORE TIME with us not less. We want to drag things out, make people wait around, hanging on our every word and building those hours or Time Spent Listening. Essentially the concepts we use have not changed since the days of Edison and Marconi, yet the rest of the world has changed without recognition. With the busy lives we have are we really going to expect that people will hang about just waiting for us to do something, putting their lives on hold for us? I think we need a refresh of the rules of game.

The reality is of course that if we saved people time, gave them what they wanted immediately without having to wait, then they wouldn't feel the need to go elsewhere as they would be happy at being served all they need right here- and therefore give us more listening as a result.

Think of it this way- we run a Pizza Shop and we are interested in having people spent a lot of time in our shop (bizarre aim but go with me on this). How do we do it? We could spend 30 mins each time they come in slowly taking their order and then making their pizza, ensuring that we tease them all the time that the pizza will be ready in just a minute or at any time now. We might get the full 30 mins from them, but chances are they will tell their friends and family to avoid the annoying Pizza Shop and never return again. Alternative suggestion, serve them well, promptly and satisfy their demand and get them on their way asap with their pizza. They then tell their friends and family how fantastic we are and they also come back again the next time because we gave them what they wanted. Chances are we end up getting more than 30 mins from them and their friends and family, but just in lots of shorter visits.

Running a contest with a "listen for the next time we do XX" type mechanic? What are the chances of listeners sitting around all day waiting for you to do it? What if instead you said you were going to do it at xx o'clock. More chances of lots of people coming back to hear it at the appointment time. If you are after Hours the truth is that the old fashioned idea of "lets get all those listening now to stay listening for as long as possible" doesn't work in this scenario. Better to use the "lets try and get as many of those listening now to come back again at a set time". It's more user friendly and ultimately more successful in building hours.

Getting rid of annoyances and turn off points will build your hours easier than trying to tease a listener to listen for an extra few minutes to hear a pub quiz fact on an artist that they either don't care about or can get instantly on their phone or computer. Give the perception of saving time and people will reward you. I'm not saying that we shouldn't tease content- far from it, but that alone won't build listening without a removal of the annoyances too.

RIP your content- A Nextrad.io presentation....

2011-09-19T19:00:00.000+01:00

If you came to Nextrad.io last week then you would have seen me talk about the age old subject of PREP. And below is a picture of me doing it.

The question I posed was this- How long are we going to be going on about Prep? Ever since I began in radio, people have been talking about Prep, and constantly reminding and encouraging talent to "do some Prep". If you ever bump into a radio consultant, every second word is Prep!

My issue was that nobody seems to spend much time on what actually constitutes Prep and the nuts and bolts of HOW you Prep. My little bit of fact finding tends to show that of those who say they Prep shows, the vast majority actually do RESEARCH or GATHERING OF INFO at the very least. A small band of people go further with it than that, to be fair. Research though isn't Prep- it's research. A lot of "research" is actually just collecting interesting stories from the papers or online via various prep or news collection websites. That's not Prep- it's only part of the Prep process, an important one of course, but not the whole story.

Research turns into Prep when you know what you are going to do with the info you have gathered, formed the link by thinking about how you might use it, present it and then put all that together into something which is ready for on air. All that is Prep. It only turns into something more and something interesting if you have a reaction to it to begin with- what promopted oyu to clip the article and decide to use it?

At Nextrad.io I presented a process that might help... RIP. It's not new I have to say, not revolutionary, but hopefully it will help move from just doing research to doing some prep.

R I P your content

R stands for the bit that most do... RESEARCH. Gather stories, topics and articles and clips that interest you, and will have an interest for your listener. Gather lots and lots- in fact it should be the one thing that you are always doing, always be on the look out for "stuff". Make sure that it is of interest to you and your target audience and know what it is that interests them/you. If it just interests you, but not your audience- don't subject them to that, keep that just for yourself instead- and perhaps your shrink depending on what it is! You need to know what it is that makes you react- Happy, Sad, Angry, Confused, Outraged, Laugh, Cry, Awe, Wonder, Amazement, Shock, Concern.

I stands for INTERNALISE. Read your research, understand it and make it your own. Understand what it is that interests you about the bit and go beyond the limits of the article or clip you researched. Remember to discard the original info or you will start to read it out (and that will sound rubbish!). People in radio are freaks in that if you place a bit of paper in front of them they read it out, no matter how much they try not to- so make sure you only have YOUR OWN NOTES in your own voice rather than the printed bit from the paper or web. The article or clipping is in the WRITTEN form and you deal in the SPOKEN FORM of English- so make sure your notes reflect that if you make them. Next think about how you will use it, about how you would tell someone else about the story or bit that you have... working out the bits that you need to include and the bits that don't help with the topic. Internalise this topic to the point that you know it and feel it a bit and pass that onto me, the listener.I want you to be able to talk as an informed person, an authority about whatever it is you have discovered.

P stands for PRESENT or PERFORM. Get it on the air and make sure that you do the topic, and the hard work justice. Make it count. How will you use it? What audio might you need to really make it work? Do you want a caller to set it up, or add colour or add as a kicker to get more callers later? Do you need some FX? Music? Think about how to do your content justice and prepare the mjaterial you need- run through it in your head so the first time you hear it isn't when you crack the mic in the studio and do it live.Set it up and make it work hard and make it count. PERFORM it so the listener hears it and remembers it as something that was interesting and knows WHY you told them about it- thats where the reaction comes from and the fact that you speak as an authority on the subject projects a sense of security when you listen. Nothing worse than someone delivering a bit of material and deep down you know they don't really know what their on about. Listeners can hear that.

Research, Internalise, Perform- RIP your content and good radio content will not Rest In Peace!

PS. thanks for the Tweets and the comment from Will Jackson on my apparent visual similarity to Peter Gabriel.. (see below)... can't see it myself, although I'm glad I shaved my goatee off!

Consider the opposite...

2011-09-12T20:00:00.000+01:00

All too often our days are filled with problem solving or fire fighting. Some latest disaster has cropped up and we need to deal with the fall out or fix something. Failing that we might be tackling some issue or puzzle that needs a solution applying.

It's interesting the number of times that doing the opposite of what might be considered the right thing to do, is actually the right thing to do. It's also interesting how often it isn't even looked at.

So lets say you have a problem with some old and tired benchmarks on breakfast and you want to replace them. So you have ideas sessions and brainstorms on new refreshed benchmarks or bits... not a bad start and probably the right thing to do. What about doing the opposite and not replacing them? Just take them off completely for a bit and see what grows? Why REPLACE them with something at all?

"We need to do something on air for XXXX demo"... Really? Adding "stuff" could just add clutter, you might find that stripping away layers of crap might actually help more. Rarely does anything become more appealing the more complicated it becomes. The simplist solutions or concepts or the easiest to digest are the ones which tend to work.

When you are faced with a choice of options, or possible solutions- check that you have also discounted the one that is the opposite of the percieved view too, just in case it's a better solution!

oOo

Quick plug for Nextrad.io which takes place this week (Thursday) at The Magic Circle in London. I'm speaking on Prep, and next week I'll go through some of the material I present on Thursday, but to see it in interactive 3D* and living colour, then come along on Thursday.

*3D specs not required as I will be there in person in all available dimensions

Next week, Nextrad.io

2011-09-05T20:00:00.001+01:00

Next week, it's NextRad.io. The conference for radio people who are DOING radio right now. Not a "suit-fest" or a "Political Debate" type conference but a down and dirty hands on radio grunge-fest. Nuts and bolts, nitty gritty, day to day, working in radio type knowledge-bank type conference...

I'll be speaking during the day I'm pleased to say, along with some pretty mighty brains in radio who know a thing or two.

So if you come and see my bit what will you get? I'm aiming that you will have at least ONE practical thing you can do differently on Friday when you are back at work that will improve what you do on the air. If I can manage two or more, then great, but there are few conferences I've been to where the actual practical stuff is what you come away with.

With the people speaking and giving their views and ideas next week, you should be able to come away with a vast numnber of things for your "Stuff to do differently at work Tomorrow" list.

Refresh- the time has come...

2011-08-30T20:00:00.003+01:00

There are two great times in the year to throw everything out and bring in some fresh ideas and content.

January

September

So next week, as listening patterns get back to normal and many people's lifestyles get back to normal what will you do that is NEW?

For some, who's lifestyles are influenced by School Holidays, it will be the first time they have listened to your breakfast show on a weekday in their "normal" environment since the end of July. So in some ways if you are still doing what you always did back then, you can sound STALE.

It's a great time to refresh, throw out the old, the tired and the "Not Too Sure", and bring in something new and people will accept it. In fact they almost expect it!

In some ways refreshing next week matches people's lifestyles- as summer closes and people have a "heads down to Christmas" mentality they have a renewed vigour and "back on the treadmill" attitude- just as they do in January after the excesses of the Christmas holiday.

So, tomorrow, or today- go through your show, and item by item commit them to three different piles...

REFRESH- change the production and sound of something you keep

REFUSE- The stuff that needs to go

RENEW- The NEW stuff that you can bring into the show.

When you make it, stay grounded...

2011-08-22T20:00:00.001+01:00

Success. Some need it more than others of course, but by and large we all like recognition, rewards and a pat on the back. Be prepared though that it doesn't turn you into a complete ****. The expression is "lost in showbiz", when you believe your own hype a bit too much, have had a bit too much good will come your way and begin to expect it. You are entering the danger zone, when your god given talent is about to get squandered.

I've said before, the number one danger for talent is ego. Once it gets into the driving seat, it kills talent. Staying grounded, connected and not listening to all the praise and hype is difficult but can really pay dividends for you. Of course you have to balance things since if you were completely unaware of your own talent and worth, then you would be a push-over and probably not all that successful either. You need a good measure of self belief without the over arrogance of success.

Some people have an air of, "the world owes me a living", even when the world is actually already giving them a really good living already- but still they want more. Those types tend to lose support pretty quickly and are only "put up with" for as long as the benefits out weigh the consequences of them being around. They have baggage and once it becomes too heavy, they are offloaded.

Don't get me wrong, every creative person is "unusual" to manage and have a degree of baggage. You can have a compliant and peaceful air staff but they probably won't be very creative or interesting. It's the demanding, unusual, maverick that create something interesting with their slightly off balance view of thr world. BUT, they do still need a sense of reality and balance or the maverick soon becomes toxic.

As a presenter, try and ensure there is someone in whom you trust who can honestly tell you like it is- call you an idiot, smack you in the face and wake you up from the "showbiz dream" and above all that you will believe above all other. So, when everyone is agreeing with you because you are powerful and needed in the station etc, this one person is the one who can tell you that you are an arse and you will go with their view everytime as the true judgement.

That person or collection of people need to know that you are a really lucky bugger, with a great job that many people would die for and can't hope to aspire to- in fact you don't actually WORK for a living at all, you go and PLAY with friends and get well paid for it. If you can ensure you have that grounding, that reality and perspective you will do well, as long as you have the talent to match.

Yes but was it good enough?

2011-08-15T20:00:00.001+01:00

Everyone on air needs one thing- FEEDBACK!

I remember when I was on the air and very show I thought was just "ok" would normally end up actually being better than I thought when I looked back, and every show that I was pleased with normally ended up being worse than i remembered when looking back. Also as a presenter when you have done a good show and feel rather up, you can almost guarantee that some arse will come along and burst your bubble for you too.

Getting feedback is good as long as you use it productively. If you ask for feedback but really mean "tell me I'm good", then you don't really want feedback, you want praise and sycophantic comments. If you REALLY want some feedback then you should be prepared to act on what you hear from others and from the inbuilt critic you have in your head.

I have worked with a few people who regardless whether they got regular "snoops" would record their show and listen back later and critque themselves- good work! If you hear something that you can adjust for the next show, even a slight tweak then you are progressing and getting better. It doesn't matter which shift you might be on, breakfast, morning, overnight, swing- some post show analysis is always useful.

When you listen back there are a number of criteria you can measure against- of course they will depend on your format and market, the direction of the show and station etc, but there are some basics too.

What HONEST percentage of your links today went exactly as you had planned them?

What HONEST percentage of your links today had any planning before they started?

How well have you related to what your listener/audience are doing at the time of listening?

Did you keep people listeing by hooking and teasing so they were scared to miss anything?

Did you brand the station effectively EVERY time so the station tick will come to you?

Out of 10 how would you rate your word economy today?

Have you cross promoted another shift/online?

There is much more too, but just running a daily check and improving your scores over time can ensure you are knocking off some key things that will help improve your basics each day. Add in an assessment of your vibe and attitude and a consideration of your passion, local, topicality and the daily basics are caught in the frame.

It's not about a tick box of course, it's about the effort behind the link and thought- you can deliver a good and bad local reference or music sell and so quantity doesn't replace quality. There is more to being local than just saying a placename of course for example.

Next time you want some feedback, start with yourself and see how far you get and what impact it has on your performance.

The Numbers are in...

2011-08-08T20:00:00.001+01:00

Last week was Rajar week... always an interesting time with claim and counter claim. Putting all that to one side the reading and understanding of Rajar is a fine art. Art it is too, rather than a science (well sort of)- since as a survey which is based on recall the reasons behind a swing, a rise, a dip are a matter of opinion and conjecture of course as no-one has the real truth. There are always underlying reasons and very, very rarely is there a single reason for anything- no silver bullet.

I have lost count of the number of Rajar days I've been through, and they don't get any less nervy. The reality is that in every single release there are some great successes and some great disasters (both are equally as transient and temporary) and a vast number of slight changes up and down. If as a group or cluster you can have one of two more ups than downs, then you've had a good one, but as I've always said- The "Highs" and the "Lows" are temporary- so enjoy the highs when you have them, and the lows will not last too long!

The lag that is built into the release means we are looking back in time, so any reasoning is made with the benefit of hindsight and the practicalities might have changed since the result in any case.

The Rajar survey is one of the most complex surveys in Europe, with individual stations having their own defined TSA's and overlaps all requiring a decent sample in each quarterly release- it's a massive undertaking!

As with any large research project, any minor change in methodology can have a significant effect, shifts in TSA size, sample size, population, sampling period etc all need to be taken into account when you are comparing one survey to another. Of course the Rajar publication code should be stuck to rigidly.
Having said all that, having a deep understanding of HOW and WHY the survey works like it does will help deepen your own understanding of how to programme for the diary and see reasoning in the numbers, answer your own and others questions and make sense of whatever the great Rajar God drops in the lap. Burying your head in numbers on Rajar day is ok to a point, but don't forget your own ears and what they tell you about your station. You can't programme by numbers alone, so whilst they will tell you a lot of detail and give you some insight, they are not the be all and end all.

I hate it when they go...

2011-08-01T20:00:00.001+01:00

Now of course everyone needs a break at some point- indeed some more than others, but a break does us all good. I had a boss once who would always "take a break" and would never call it a "holiday"- same end result I suppose.

So you have a breakfast show that is critical to your station, you nurture it, coax it, tease it, nudge it into shape and stress and worry about every second and moment in the show... what happens when they want to go away?

Two things spring to mind:

1. What is your plan B show and how good is it?
2. What is your holiday strategy?

Now of course your plan B show will be just that- the show that you put in place when the show isn't on, and if it is better than the show that is there regularly then why isn't that show there regularly? In some ways your plan B show can be influenced by Number 2, your holiday strategy. If you have a double header or team show do you allow individual holiday dates or is it One Off, All Off?

I've always operated a One Off, All Off principle- the reason being that it impacts the on air output the least in terms of weeks of the year when the full contingent are not together. A double header both with say 4 weeks holiday per year might not agree on dates and so 8 weeks of the years you are down on breakfast and not firing on all cylinders. The counter arguement is that for those periods "part" of the show is still there and I get that, but I think for anything longer than a day or two with a one off, it will have an impact on the show's sound and overall perception- One Off All Off makes the most sense in terms of on air impact. Like I have just said, the odd one off day- perhaps ok to have one member down but anything longer and you have a problem I think.

Now, of course you need to gain agreement from the team that they are going to hunt as a pack, and take holidays that sync, but that is a do-able thing- even with the most difficult of people most of the time!

When to go? Listeners are habitual - we know that. They listen to the same 25 mins of radio on the way to work every day and know if they are late, on time or ahead of time on their way to work by the time we do X or go to the news or the traffic of whatever- they use us as their clock during the busy morning commute. During school holidays listening patterns change dramatically. Your own drive to work takes significantly less time when the schools are off, the morning rush is slightly less frantic, and households take on a different feel. Ideal time for your Breakfast team to take off- as their is change happening anyway, might as well mask your change.

The thing you really don't want is ther week when everything gets back to normal to be the week when they are off. Difficult I know as holidays become cheaper at that very point. A week either side of half terms is good, particualrly as many counties vary when they take the half term a week either way so if your station covers a wider area than one county then you have some wiggle room there to lessen the imapct of your show being off.

I've also got ensitive to shows talking about them being off ahead of time. I really don't like shows saying anything about being away until the day before, i hate hearing "only a week until we area away on holiday" or something. I think my reasons is that you signal ahead of time to the listener there will be a change coming and it plants the reason for them to make a change themselves, even if subliminal. I just don't like the idea of planting a signal to the listener that there will be a change to the show you like on the way.

As a programmer, and I've blogged about this before- a holiday is vital. Freshen the battery, cleanse the mind and when you come back you will hear things that you didn't hear before when you were jaded with the daily jog.

Programming- That's what I want to do...

2011-07-25T20:00:00.030+01:00

After last week's blog about being new to radio, I was prompted this week to think of the same situation for a programmer, or someone who wanted to be a programmer. What do they do? I was prompted by an email to be honest, from a former colleague, so here goes with some thoughts...

To begin with- a disclaimer... THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE LIST- we simply don't have time, it's merely a list that is as long as we can do right at this minute... right, read on...

So how do you become a Programme Controller, Programme Director, Programme Manager, etc... Well first of all, as with many positions, there are a variety of routes, and equally not all programming jobs are the same whilst looking similar from the outside. In my time, I've been a Programme Operations Manager, Programme Manager, Programme Controller, Deputy Group Programme Director, Programme Director and a couple of others too I think- and all have been very similar to a large degree just with a variation in level of responsibility and number of stations, so the title isn't the thing, it's the list of tasks that it involves of course. The style, type and size of a station can greatly change the role of the programmer as you might expect, but the basic role at the heart boils down to one thing- The person in charge of what comes out of the speaker. So how do you end up doing that?

EAR

I ran, along with some more talented colleagues, a successful PC training program for a number of years and we devised a curriculum that covered some basic areas- talent coaching, music scheduling, clock building, contesting- actual and theory, breakfast of course, market evaluation, research, but also understanding the mind and how radio influences the listener amongst other things. What other items come into play? Before accepting candidates for the course, we needed they had the one thing we couldn't really teach- AN EAR. Did they have "an ear" for radio and what a good one sounds like? Even if their judgement might have been off in terms of what might be thought of as good or bad, could they articulate what made it good or bad to their ear? If they had that, there was something to work with.

So, Number 1- you need to have an ear, and know how to articulate why and what you think about some audio and then what you might do to improve, or more to the point, get the talent to improve it next time.

Passion. How much does it hurt when something goes wrong or off plan? Physical pain? Manic, crazy, angry, punching filing cabinet frustration? Excellent- you'll need that. Just need to channel it a bit in the right area but you're going to need it for sure.

Determination. Associated with the above, but there are going to often be times when your pure programming theory is going to be sullied by a dose of reality. Maintaining the original concept, so that it is still recognisable at the end result requires determination, some skill of negotiation and a bit of cunning too at times too!

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So what of the practical things? Well, demonstrating an interest in programming, by maybe offering to get involved in brainstorms, ideas sessions, would help show a few people around you who might be able to influence, that you have something to offer. It also enables you to try out that vast expansive programming brain of yours. Excersise is good for it, so get it working on practical things involving programming right now.

Another really useful thing- QUESTIONS! As lots of them (at the right time, don't be an idiot!), gain understanding and clarity and express an interest in programming, research, ideas, ask questions to uncover the thought behind the decisions. Choose your timing of course, like I say- being the person who is always the one asking all the questions all the time can be a bit annoying so be self aware. Deepen your understanding and think about what you might have done in the same situation, or the reasons behind why things happen a certain way. If you don't know- well there are a few more questions to ask then!

The next layer of programmers in radio learn in this way. I had a great schooling from some very talented people over the years, who knew a thing or two about programming- so whilst at The Well, I drank! It doesn't mean I agreed with everything- in fact I can remember a few discussions getting a bit heated from time to time as I began to learn more- but that's the idea! Absorb learning from everywhere you can get it, but don't become blinkered to one particular opinion or view of the world, after all as I always say, being a programmer is like being an England Football Manager... everyone thinks they can do better!

OK, repeat of the disclaimer- this isan't an exhaustive list- there is so much more to it, but developing your programming muscle can begin by the above. Programmers can be the difference between success and failure, just as having the right talent on air, the right music etc. Stations take on the personality and sound of the programmer by osmosis.

I'm new, tell me what to do...

2011-07-18T19:00:00.002+01:00

There is so much clutter out there, that it is sometimes difficult for the newby to radio to pick the right track. Passion is a wonderful thing, and something which I both admire and expect from radio people, but equally knowing how to display that and stay on the safe side of "Annoying" is something few actually tell you. How often should you email, or send the reminder note or demo, or ask for feedback etc. It's a minefield actually and all too easy to fall foul of some basics that can paint you as a "pain" rather than a "passionate".

This is an electronic world, and we live in an electronic medium- so communication on email is the main method of communication. Programmers are normally (and hopefully) busy people with many demands on their time and opinion. The program that will be open on their computer will be Mail/Outlook- so remove the hurdle of them having to open another application, like Word and having to write you a letter- it just won't happen, something will occur that will prevent it. If you send physical media to a station (CD, etc), then ensure you include your email address, it increases your chance of reply quite frankly. Your aim should be to remove as many obstacles from getting a reply as you can. Phone them? Chances of you picking the exact right time to call randomly is remote. "It's not that I might not want to talk to you, but I just can't right now" would be the response if you got one, and also there might be not a lot to say actually and actually saying, "There is nothing for you but I'm just exploring the field a bit and seeing if you have any talent I can grow- but equally you might not too", is difficult and a bit too honest for most too. Email is easier, Programmers can reply when they have the time, manage your expectations better, and can think about how best to say what they want to say too.

I also would advise against just randomly sending a demo on email unsolicited. Personally, I probably would not thank you for sending me a 3-4 or 5 MB file when day to day I'm bumping my head on the maximum file size of my email mailbox. Instead, send an email asking if you can send a demo- that way you are introduced- and have two email contact opportunities rather than just the one. It's more polite and professional I think. I would also personally prefer a file I can save to my folder rather than a link where I can stream something from your site etc. The reason being I actually think it's more helpful to you. If I have a file stored with your work on it, I can always share it, find it, listen to it, use it, refer to it, email it to someone else, edit a clip from it etc- whether I'm online or not. If you stream it, you might change it, or you go off line, I might go off line, or you might change your site, and also you will be saved somewhere other than all those other files I have with the other talent on, so you might get overlooked. Safe option actually is to do both I guess.

If you are already in radio, at a smaller station and you are not getting feedback and coaching on your on air work it can be really frustrating I know. We all clammer for a positive stroke from time to time and getting a steer is a good thing to get of course- I would say essential. However, I would advise against sending an email to a programmer of a station you don't work for and ask them for the feedback you are not getting from your own programmer, as their thought would be , "Why am I doing your PC's job for them? It's not my fault that you are not getting feedback!", and asking for some from someone else in such a way is a real one way street, with little gain for the PC you are asking. Much better to build a rapport over a bit of time, until you get a relationship where you CAN ask for some tips. Again you are much more likely to get a positive response in such a situation, but don't push it too hard and chase for the feedback, which brings me onto the next point...

How Often Is Too Often? You want to get things sorted NOW, of course. I understand that. There is a fine line between being proactive and being a pain in the rear end. I have advised a few people over time with their email and contact frequency particularly when they run close to being painful and tipping the balance- which is the one thing you really don't want to do, since it's very difficult to get back on the right side again once you've gone too far. I once had a guy who I had never hired before and not really met properly who kept sending me his availability every week on email along with audio. Needless to say, I created a rule in Outlook so his emails went straight to delete and avoided my inbox. Spamming your way in is NEVER going to work. Keeping "in touch", rarely means weekly!

It's a fine balance, but you don't want to come across as too intense. Passion seldom comes from frequency. It's more often all about content and style. So what you say and how you display yourself rather than how often you get in touch... that's the goal.

Where do they suddenly go?

2011-07-11T19:00:00.003+01:00

Changing presenters on established shows is never an easy job. Too much is at stake- audience retention and loyalty, egos of those involved, feelings of those involved and so much more. Changing the guard can be difficult, awkward, clunky and also sudden! The old radio saying, "you never know if you have done your last show, until you've done your last show", is often the reality.

Now, assuming it's not a "sudden " change, do you let presenters say they are going on air? Do you keep it quiet and just change? I've done both actually, and for different reasons and it's important to understand the reasoning before you do anything. It's part of your change strategy.

We were once changing a show in a market that we really didn't want to change, we wanted it to stay and were sad about the end. We were also worried about the loss as a result in audience, so we didn't highlight it much if at all. The rationale being that some people would notice the change obviously and think it was temporary and in the process also get used to it, at least a bit before they realised fully it was a permanent change. Given that we hadn't highlighted the change, they would give the new hosts a better period of grace and importantly some uninhibited trial as a result and not make such a direct comparison of the previous show. It worked I have to say by and large. Had we highlighted the cnahge and the end of the old show, then the new guys would have had a much tougher time, with lots of, "oh you're never going to be as good as..." even before they started.

I've also signalled to the audience that "THE END IS NIGH", and let the show have a final show and make a thing of the end. Different circumstances clearly and the reality was that the dying show was indeed dying, and we actually wanted everyone to know it was changing, so their trumpeting it was doing the station a favour in actual fact. Again, it worked pretty well in giving a boost to the new show (and actually the pass along audience too in the last quarter of the old show, when lapsed former fans came back to listen one last time to the old show).

The one thing that I've had the most success at when changing shows at stations is something you don't get very often- an endorsement from the old show to the new show. It actually works really, really well if you can get it. It has to be genuine though to make it really work for you. Getting the trusted favourite or incumbent show to endorse and promote the new show with genuine passion and goodwill makes everything work really well- holding the listeners hand during the change and saying "everything is going to be ok, I like the change and I'm happy, so you can be too". I've only managed to do it once, with a good deal of success but it's worth doing if you can manage it and IF your show change environment makes it possible. Of course not all circumstances make this a remote possibility!

There is one more thing too, everyone is a person- with feelings, emotions, thoughts and cares- so treat them well. After all radio is a village and we all bump into each other all the time, and before long you will meet up, work with each other or cross paths again somehow and how "they" treat you will depend on how you treat "them" and visa versa.

What's nextrad.io?

2011-07-08T10:18:00.000+01:00

"What's next...." One of my favourite phrases from The West Wing- along with "I have a thing". Well on 15th September I have "a thing", the Nextrad.io conference- a radio conference for radio people. You can read all about the conference here, but as there has been a tweet and announcement I thought it worth dropping a quick blog to give it a plug quite frankly!

Why am I speaking at the conference? Well, honest short answer is because I was asked. Longer answer is because this is a conference that isn't about the politics of radio, the latest news and hot potato and controversy- it's a conference about the art and science of actually DOING RADIO, at the pointy end of the stick, as it were. Radio conference for Radio people- roll your sleeves up and get stuck in learn something and get involved kind of event- and those are the ones I like more than any other. Not that there is anything wrong with talking about the future, the politics and the rest, but there are very few hands on, down and dirty details centred events that aim to make you do something different when you get to work the day after.

The format of the day should bring out the facts, opinions and learning points, and get to those points quickly (a lesson there in itself for all radio people!). So, if you are wondering if you should go I hope you can make a judgement from that. I hope I'll meet you there.

Are you listening or hearing?

2011-07-04T20:00:00.001+01:00

I've mentioned before that I consider it insane if you ever step into a programmers office and find the radio is NOT on. If you wander into a mechanic's workshop, you don't expect to see him in suit and pondering over an excel spreadsheet. We are RADIO people, so the RADIO should be on at all times. Thats step one.

Step two- what are you doing? Are you LISTENING or are you just HEARING "stuff". Listening is active not passive, and so requires attention. Did you notice the last segue? The last speedlink and break? The music flow between the last two, three, four songs in a sweep? If you didn't you were hearing just some "stuff", not listening.

If you are a programmer, you are paid to LISTEN- you are a quality control- the guy or girl who puts the "QC- PASS" sticker on the product before it leaves the factory. If you fall asleep on the job, who is checking the quality? Who is focusing like a hawk on the detail and the ingredients and mix to ensure it is absolutely right? Who is stressing, itching, obsessing on the bits of the output that everyone else takes for granted? That is YOUR job.

Now, of course like all human beings, our minds wander from time to time- we drift away and I get that and accept it, but just like the person who falls asleep on the train, you should also be able to snap out of it and remember where you are what you are doing. I'm not talking about doing a detailed monitor with timings of every individual element in the hour (but that has it's place), I'm talking about making sure you are on duty and listening not just hearing the output.

A friend and former colleague of mine, Duncan Campbell once said to me (and I've stolen it and used it myself too from time to time), that radio stations are like new born babies, leave them alone too long and they can't survive. Listening is a requirement, but so is doing something about what you uncover as you listen. As you listen to your station and spot something that needs a tweak or fix- Jump into gear and get to it straight away- don't wait. The reason being that there will be something else you spot in a minute or two and you need to be ready to react to that too...

I had a meeting the other day in another office which went on a bit and towards the end of it, I found myself getting a desire to leave- not because the subject matter was dull- far from it actually. I felt incredibly uneasy because I couldn't hear the station- it was a real pull and eagerness. If I'm holding a meeting, the radio is always on, so sorry but you never actually get my FULL attention, most of it but a small percentage is also listening to the radio in the background.

It's my breakfast and I'll cry if I want to...

2011-06-27T20:00:00.003+01:00

"It all begins in the morning", so begins a lecture given by the legend in radio that is Tracy Johnson that I sat in a few years ago. But once once have a morning show that you are happy with... what then?

Pulling your show into the shop for a service is not only useful, but a requirement I think on a regular basis. All too often you become familiar, used to the daily in and out and immune to the listener fatigue or irritation that might be happening each day. You need to get close to it, somehow- whether you bare a PC or a show host- find out how you are being recieved and fix it.

Get someone in, clean and fresh to your station to take a fresh view- then let them steer the meeting with the team- if you trust them to not veer off into areas you fear of course. I rather like getting someone in fresh to go through the show- it gives afresh perspective and more often that not they say things that you want to say but feel you can't really. The truth comes out and to be honest it really needs to from time to time. If it ruffles a few feathers, then that's good too, and if it's someone else doing it them you as PD can still maintain your relationship with the talent whilst still getting the changes required too.

My advice, build in to your show the redundancy - the out of date - the point where you get a review- it's worth it and helps keep you fresh and on the ball.

The danger lies within...

2011-06-20T20:00:00.000+01:00

What is the biggest danger any station faces?

In my view the most pressing and most compelling danger comes from within your station. It manifests itself in many forms and breaks out in a few places in the station. It can take away your lead, your progress and plunge you into decline.

C O M P L A C E N C Y

It's actually more than just complacency, it's a thought that you have completed dealing with the basics, and you can now move on to other things- THAT IS THE KILLER STRIKE RIGHT THERE.

The minute you move away from a concentration on the basics- (that's the nuts and bolts, getting the links right, the branding right, the attention to the detail and the fixation on thatl), that's when you open yourself up to the world of failure. That is not to say you should not do anything other than the basics- of course not, but NEVER for one second think you have them all covered and think the job is done and you can focus elsewhere now.

I've seen this with a station a few years ago, who had a focus on the basics for a while and had a bit of a mantra type fad for a bit and then for all good reasons at the time, got bored with it and moved into something else- as did the audience!

The best stations in the world focus on the basics continually, and ensure they absolutely get them right all of the time. It matters, it's important and it makes all the difference. They do other things too, create sizzle and the froth of course, but when it comes down to it- the basic nuts and bolts of the output are bang on every time.

The consultant calls...

2011-06-13T20:00:00.001+01:00

I've often wondered why consultants in radio seem to have a bad image. You hear derogatory comments in stations before, during and after the visit or whatever, and the words "Radio Consultant" seem to be the embodiment of everything that is horrid.

I've worked with a number of consultants and whilst there is always a variety in style, quality, information- you know kind of like you get with PEOPLE- I've always found "them" to be useful. I use "Them" as if there is some rare and strange breed of people, a race of Radio Consultants, circling the globe telling everyone the station on the other side of the planet/country does this or that. Of course that's all rubbish- for the most part Radio Consultants are experts in their field- now some are just failed PD's who couldn't get a gig and so set up shop to pay the mortgage, that's true but the reality is that they would go bust pretty damn quick if they didn't have anything to offer. In my experience there are different facets offered, so some might be great on numbers, some great at talent and breakfast show development, some might have a particular polish in marketing or competitive attacks and defence in markets. Over time all of the consultants I can think of have developed their speciality.

The truth is also that stations hire a consultant and then abdicate some responsibility- or try to, thinking that the consultant comes with all the answers and they can just sit back and plug in. Alternatively they hire the wrong consultant for the wrong speciality. Think of it in the Medical world- a Consultant is a specialist in an area, so if you have a Heart problem you go to the Cardiac Consultant, not the Ear, Nose and Throat guy! Just like in the medical world too, you have some responsibility- so you have the lose weight, stop smoking, eat better etc- you don't just pass all the work to the consultant and expect a recovery.

From a personal level, you can learn so much too. Think of it as a great way to tool up on some skills and insights and learn a few things that you didn't know before. I always viewed the consultant as a great resource for personal and professional gain, and I've made some good friends too.

Of course the image of "stealing ideas and sellig them to your neighbour as your own" will always be around- but the reality is of course that it is exactly what we all do anyway! Lazy consultants roll into town and blame everything on the PD and lazy PD's blame everything on the Consultant. Thus was ever so. I just think we ought to grow the collective midpower in our industry rather than find a reason to denegrate it when we see an opportunity.

So if your station/group ever has a consultant, grab the opportunity to make it work for you and them- after all you both want to create some great radio, you just might have differing views on what that sounds like, but surely we have the intelligence to work through that.

Gravity works...

2011-06-06T20:00:00.001+01:00

Competative radio battles inspire me. I love hearing stories of the cut and thrust of rivals across town. All the stories gain some extra detail over the years too which make them all the more exciting. I get bound in by the tug and play- the trying to gain the upper hand and the close hand combat.

Now I'm sure as I say the stories have been embellished, but they are great storires aren't they none the less. So the sending of a wreath to the competitor on ratings day when they went down, parking two of your own street vehicles either side of one of the competitors cars so they can't open the doors, and even one I heard about where they were in close proximity and so would launch fireworks at the competitors building! Some are true, like creating a character on air with the real name of the opposition show host or boss so you can give him embarrassing and negative character traits and annoying catchphrases, just so at some point someone will do it to the person in question- just to niggle them! All is fair in love and war they say, but also you can't circumvent the laws of gravity.

No matter what the minor/fun side trick might be, heavy objects will fall to earth- the bigger fish will eat the smaller fish. I've been on both sides of the competative battle and nothing is more frustrating for the challenger, nor rewarding for the victor than using the gravity of the market- "rolling over on them". The chances come along all too infrequently as they require the smaller and challenger station to either have a strategic failure or expose their hand and they require fast action. Here's a couple of examples of what I mean- firstly imagine two stations in a market- one large (Station A) and in the lead and one smaller and challenging, (Station B).

Strategic mis-fire.
A strategic mis-fire in the smaller station is when Station B tries to run something or own a perception that already is known in the market to belong to Station A. It could be a music position, or a contest, or other initiative. Station A, without much effort re-enforces the existing perception in the market (ie, reminds the market of their ownership of said position, contest etc) and wins the battle.

Expose Your Hand Too Early.
This is when Station B lets slip they are planning something- could be anything,a contest for example. Station A gets wind and launches it first, beating Station B to the game and taking credit. I knew of a couple of stations that did this to each other continually to each other in a tight market, until one played the winning hand and pulled everything off the air, leaving the other sounding cluttered and busy.

Another example might be a station that becomes well known in an area for a contest or bit- and another station elsewhere copies it in another market and becomes more well known for the same concept.

It's a tool in the arsenal of a programmer and marketing team that can be used from time to time risks- as it can backfire on you. The other down side is that you are focussing on your competitor a little too much rather than your listener.

The stories are great though!

My fingers are in my ears- I'm not listening...

2011-06-06T18:30:00.000+01:00

Quick follow-up blog on something topical. You might have seen the comments that France has decided that mentions of Twitter or Facebook are now banned from French airwaves as it is deemed promoting a commercial enterprise.

There is the story here on the Media Guardian so you get the background. After my recent Blogs on Twitter and Facebook and Matt Deegan's blog on the subject, I thought it an interesting story.

What will be the impact do you think? Will the usage of Facebook and Twitter decline in France now it's not given the oxygen of publicity in the media? Probably not even in the slightest. Will the French media become more irrelevant? Perhaps or perhaps something else might happen. It's important to stress that it only prevents mentions on air, not prevention of using those social media sites to communicate with listeners and viewers, so silently they will continue to harness the power of social media but not connect the circle with on air references.

Perhaps it will actually drive more traffic to the operators own sites, since they will not be able to drive it to someone else- actually no bad thing as I've discussed before.The operators will be forced I guess to only promote their own sites for online interaction and then drive any social media initiatives through there unless they just say, "follow us on Social media", which would be pretty pointless as a stock phrase unless you use it as a "follow us on Social Media- click on StationFM.com to find us". That would be quite interesting to see over time, as you hear the mention and promotion of Twitter and Facebook disappear from the air.

Having said all that, there is more than a little "head in sand", "trying to stop the tide", "sticking your fingers in ears and so I can't hear you", about it all though it has to be said.

Choose your partner carefully...

2011-05-23T20:00:00.000+01:00

Everyone has to start out somewhere. Those first baby steps into the world of radio are a misture of fear, awe, nerve and wonder- ok maybe a bit OTT but you get the gist. The proliferation of radio stations though is a double edged sword- more opportunity but more variety in quality.

This blog entry was prompted by something I saw online a while ago. I saw a young keen newby to radio eager to get advice seek information from someone else who really didn't know what they were doing by all accounts. A real case of the blind leading the blind. It caused me to think of the potential damage that could be done to a young career by misguided advice and direction, but when you are starting out you really don't know enough information to make an informed choice about who to ask- everyone can seem like a font of knowledge.

The job that is required during the formative years of radio life is to effectvely "knock the rough edges off" your skill set. Refine and grow, experience and learn. Try and fail and try again with a different approach. You need somewhere to run with the training wheels on so you can make the mistakes you need to make in order to learn. That is what you should be looking for, but that also requires something else as a given- that those around you know what a good one sounds like and can steer you in the right direction and not do the opposite of cementing your error into habit, making it much harder to stop later and also effecting your chance of success down the track.

Go for Quality everytime. Getting guidance and experience from an expert or a professional is always more beneficial than an enthusiastic and eager layman.

So, the issue is to pick your partner carefully. Decide carefully and don't just take ANY offer of "work experience" or free help or whatever. One week spent in some places can be worth a year spent elsewhere after all. Reach out and try and get a few people to give advice so you are not putting all your eggs into one basket as well and ask good questions.

And Facebook is just as bad....

2011-05-16T20:00:00.003+01:00

So a few weeks ago I wrote a blog about radio's use of Twitter, and Matt Deegan followed up with an excellent blog on the obsession, as he called it, with Twitter- (thanks for the name check Matt). I agree with all his points and thought it worthwhile revisiting a couple of points that leapt to mind whilst reading his blog.

One important point that Matt makes in his blog is not using Twitpic or yfrog etc for pictures. The point he makes it that you should instead work out a way to post those pictures on your own site. The same is true of Facebook. I sometimes sit open mouthed at some who load up all their station pics to their Facebook account and then wonder why their own website isn't generating much traffic or revenue! Pictures are one of the biggest drivers of traffic to many stations websites, so don't give away your precious page impressions to Facebook! Host the pics on your own site and LINK to it on Facebook. True also for Flickr and any other photo hosting website- you are freely and willingly giving away your web traffic- and check the small print as you might also be giving away your copyright too! I came across a bizarre situation the other day where photos were hosted on Flickr and linked to them from the Station website... so driving traffic from the station's own site to Flickr... madness!

Matt's point about Twitter usernames is a good one, and another example I can give to back up his point. In the US a good few years ago I went to a seminar about building your power online which was aimed at breakfast hosts. Basically the seminar was all about Breakfast jocks at the time, building their own websites and making them both content potent and revenue generating. Now, can you imagine hiring a breakfast team today and them saying that THEY would run their own website for the station's Breakfast Show? Effectively that is exactly what is happening with both Twitter and Facebook accounts up and down the dial. Breakfast teams, and other dayparts using their own accounts which they maintain themselves for station business. It's happening because of two reasons- a lack of understanding of Social Media in Programme Management and secondly, because it is happened by stealth. Slowly and quietly it's happened and the norm has been set before the station really caught onto Twitter or Facebook.

In San Diego the legendary Jeff & Jer were "let go" just over a year ago from Star 94.1, a station that renamed itself from My94.1 specifically for them only a few years earlier. It took them a year to get back on air, not a little to do with the economy, but in the meantime they did "Shows from Jerry's Garage" online with full web streaming video on their own website. They generated their audience for it from all of social networking connections they cultivated when they were on breakfast at the station previously- so when they got their next gig they were able to direct them all to the new station and BANG- they were number one! Fancy that happening to you and your station?

Last year, my own social media policy was that EVERYTHING went through the station account- no Breakfast fan pages, or "I'm Johnny Jock on at the weekend" fan pages- everything on the one station fan page or Twitter account. So when it came to migration, they were all in one easy to manage place and it also meant we had big numbers too. Basically this is "Branding 101"- take a read of Laura Ries Blog on the topic of branding, you'll find the articles useful and will put you on the right page when you think about how your promote your station brand on Social Media etc.

All that glitters...

2011-05-09T18:00:00.001+01:00

As we enter Awards season in radio I thought I'd drop a brief topical blog for once. Tonight the Sony Radio Academy Awards take place at London's Grosvenor Hotel. It's sometimes a career highlight to "win a Sony", and many people view this evening as something special, myself included.

I remember attending my first Sony Awards many years ago, when I was asked to make up numbers on a table with colleagues. I had a fantastic night and vowed there and then to make it back under my own steam. That was the motivation to get the job done. I'm pleased to say that I have be lucky enough to attend many times with a variety of success across the years.

This year I have had to great honour of being a judge in one of the categories, and I have to say it has been a great experience listening to some brilliant radio output. It also took quite a bit of discipline to listen to the volume of material too I have to say, but a job I undertook diligently knowing the effort and time taken in both crafting the radio output submitted but also putting together the entry for inclusion.

If you have never been, listen/watch the stream of the evening now, and get excited about radio. It doesn't matter if your choice won, or you agreed with the outcome- it's a celebration of our medium of radio and that happens all to frequently so enjoy the moment. Then tomorrow go about making some brilliant radio so that next May you are sitting at one of the tables waiting for your moment.

It's all down to Prep...

2011-05-03T20:00:00.003+01:00

Ever since I first walked into a radio station the word PREP has been in the air in some form or another. Every programmer I have ever met utters the word in most meetings, and quite right too. I've blogged before about Prep and so I'm not going to repeat that, take a look at the history on the right if you want to read it. This time I want to focus on what is and isn't prep.

Subscribing to a "Prep Service" isn't prep. A prep service normally gives you a list of things that happened on this day, famous birthdays today, the number of days until significant events happen in the future and occasionally amusing but often not, "lines" about topical events. That's not prep- that's a diary service with a few naff gags. Prep shouldn't really be linked to the calendar as a matter of course. Now, let me get this straight- I LIKE Diary Services and I think they are useful and can give you a bit of info or thought starter- they are good to have but not a replacement for actual PREP.

What are you going to do at 8.10 tomorrow or the day after? What is the topic? How are you going to set it up? How are you going to move it on? How are you going to tell the story and if there any other material you could do with to tell that story in a more compelling manner? What else could you do with it? Where might level 2 of the story or topic go? How might that sound? Who could you bring into the story? How are listeners supposed to feel or respond as a result of hearing it? How can they join in? Is there a visual or online angle you could look at to reach a new audience or give the on air audience something which could take it to another level? Answering those questions, amongst many others, is PREP. It isn't writing out the link in advance (unless you want to and feel comfortable doing that and that is how you normally work of course).

Every show should have a GRID or MAP. I remember chatting to Dennis Clark (aka legend,consultant, producer of Ryan Seacrest now in LA) and we were comparing various grids from Z100 and Ryan Seacrest and a few we used too. The GRID is the bible for the show, it shows you when and what should happen and is the index to that days show. We use something on Microsoft Sharepoint, so it's a grid within a grid- you have a day view- giving you a running order and grid for the days show which you can print and take in with you, but you can also pull out and look across the week and see how the flow of the show goes from day to day. It allows you to get a better view of the show and where and when you place types of content and can allow you to rotate topics across a week if required- it also allows you to prep more than one day in advance- so if tomorrow is full and the topic isn't time dependent, put it into the day after. You can do this on a white board. The main problem being that you can't easily have that in front of you whilst you do your show and enabling the different views is a bit awkward and you need strong arms!

Prep is your friend, it helps you when you feel crap and it helps you succeed when you feel great. I heard it best described as Prep is like a safety net beneath your content- so you can only fall so far.

Talk is cheap...

2011-04-26T16:00:00.043+01:00

Most people in radio are extremely paranoid- since a lot of them used to be on air and as such put themselves out there every day, their personality, their lifestyle, their thoughts, thier humour, and so any critique would feel like a personal critique. That said, I think we need to get a little perspective when it comes to some feedback.

Ten to fifteen years ago before the explosion of internet, smartphones, Facebook, Twitter and the rest etc complaints or listener feedback would come via two forms- Phone and Letter (with the occasional face to face in reception!). Old fashioned yes but requiring some effort from those wanting to rant. It meant that by and large the volume and varasity of any feedback was tempered by the resistance of the effort required. I kind of thought of this like a maths equation:

It probably gave you a balanced view to a degree. Your average person giving feedback, "Outraged of Tunbridge Wells" type would have time to think, consider and reflect before lifting pen or phone and making a call or writing some prose. Those who were shouting at the wind, when faced with the effort of putting pen to paper would think, "actually I'm not THAT bothered".

Now we have INSTANT reaction- and it is a reaction and largely risk free for the person reacting. Hit the website and fire off a form, add some fake contact info and no-one will have comeback- you can shout into the wind all you want and as loud as you want and as many times as you want. You have your own Harry Potter invisibility cloak, no-one can see you for the most part anyway. Talk is Cheap. The benefit is that we get a reaction almost in real time- which was probably there ten years ago but just unheard, the difference being that now we don't get the considered, calmed down reflective point either, and nobody goes back onto the sites and fills out another form retracting their previous rant with a new considered viewpoint once they had time to think about it a bit.

It means we have had to refine our judgement a little- the art of the pinch of salt. Being paranoid types as I said above, we've had to develop a thicker skin. I remember in the days of letter and phone response getting a feedback letter would gnaw at me for a few days, it would sit on my shoulder and whisper in my ear until I got it sorted. You just can't do that today or you'll get an ulcer!

We also need to understand the difference between "Feedback" and "Complaint". The email with "I don't like your breakfast show since you changed it as it's not as funny as the guys on before. Everyone agrees!"- is feedback and can be put in the same folder as the random "I think you are s**t" emails. When people complain about your breakfast show not being as good- it's still just feedback. The "I was alarmed when your breakfast show said...", is a complaint. Incidentally I love the "Everybody agrees with me" lines people put in emails and comments.

So, what's the point? A few of us probably need to "Man up!", but also we probably need to slightly less pandering too from time to time and some systems need to change. There will always be "Angry From Manchester", but without the "Effort" balancing the feedback equation above we need to apply the pinch of salt routine in order to redress the balance at our end. Our old friend Perspective would also help too when looking at the longer term volume of feedback.

It's all over Twitter mate...

2011-04-18T20:00:00.004+01:00

I guess I'm a bit of an early adopter, I've had a Twitter account(@DickStone) for a good many years now, long before it caught on, same for Facebook too etc. so I can't be accused of being against what those newspaper hacks lump together as "social media". That said a thought struck me today.

I remember going to training sessions where we would gather many breakfast shows years ago and two stock phrases were, "the phones lit up", and, "we got a lot of press out of it". When any team recounted what they had done, these two phrases were banded about liberally by way of justification or success measurement to any given activity. I've always found it amusing since, "phones lit up" actually probably meant 4-6 lines as that was the most that any studio had coming in at any one time- so hardly the massive success that it was trying to decribe? The other line of "got a lot of press" always meant the local paper took a picture and either cut you off it, or didn't use the picture and mentioned "a local radio station" instead- again hardly a singing recommendation of success. Even so, those two phrases were thrown in during every recounting of activity from any station.

I wonder if, "it's trending on Twitter", or "we got a lot of re-tweets" is something similar. I hear the first one as a ringing endorsement for material- we must mention this as it's trending on Twitter! Now thats to say that that line is used as the only recommendation given to the subject matter at times. For stations that target sub 35 year old listeners, Facebook has a very high penetration, but less so with Twitter. In fact many people who are active Facebook users don't Tweet at all from my experience and understanding! So for a topic to trend on a medium that is of interest to only a small percetage of the target is probably shaky ground for topic selection and inclusion. At least when that is the only justification given to the use of the topic. Newspaper hacks are eager on Twitter as they see it as a way to get insight on the celebs and as a free source of gossip- which it is very good at to be fair- but even then there is a sense of the celeb world eating itself with everyone following everyone else and disappearing up... well you can imagine!

Now, I'm not saying that we shouldn't push, promote, use and abuse it. I happen to be a fan of its use, but perhaps we should keep the stock phrases to a minimum and put its use into context and apply other measures as to a barometer of a topic or subject's interest to the listener rather than just Twitter trend you know like we did prior to Twitter appearing on the planet. Knowledge of the target, common sense, insight into the target, and the old favourite... editorial judgement. Twitter trending rank has a place in all of that but as yet, in my view, doesn't replace any of it.

Find the inspiration...

2011-04-11T20:00:00.002+01:00

It's not always easy to be motivated. lack of sleep, cold, tired? Yep we've all had those times when finding the motivation to go through the basicsa one more time is a challenge. Thats when you need to know what gets the inspiration going. What are the creative levers you can pull that can help you overcome the lack-lustre feeling. Spend a bit of time working out what does it for you- it might be a particular station, a recording of a station from a while ago or some foreign shore, or a picture of a memory. Doesn't really matter what it is, just make sure you spend some time to study it- really investigate so you can pull it back into your memory with ease and when you do it is GRAPHIC- like turning up the volume and the brightness and colour. You'll find it works best on those days when you really need it that way.

Radio is a medium and industry that relies on personal motivation more than most- jocks on their own in studios etc, giving a bit of themselves on the air every day, so spend the time to work on your motivation and inspiration, it will pay you back several times over when you really need it.

You make your own luck...

2011-03-14T20:00:00.002Z

There is not such thing as luck... only a state of readiness meeting an opportunity. In other words, if you are ready, then when a moment of opportunity comes along you will grasp it and make it work for you.

Now this will come in every day work of course, but also on air for every jock. I have a video of such an event, from a jock who knows his stuff- Elvis Duran from Z100 New York.

The video is from 1990, long before any computer playout system- everything is played off cart and callers and other bits are recorded on quarter inch reel to reel- and Elvis sports a nice line in Mullets! This clip though shows a case of "luck"- finding a good caller who is on target, and taking the opportunity to put her live on air, as a way of promoting the contest and running it over the intro of the next song and hitting the vocal on a tight format station. I don't want to make too much of it, but it demonstrates the art of a good format jock. Guiding the caller with open and closed questions, "You need to take this $10,000 just a little bit more seriously don't you think?", talking over the answer when needed to move on, "another chance to play with Kid kelly later on ok?", and steer the call finally ending on a station id to the vocal and all in a matter of seconds.

A format link, with personality, great skills and demonstrating having "a state of readiness" for when it meets "a moment of opportunity".

I've added some titles to show the points in the link as above.

It's only a short link, but demonstrates so much. Make your next link on air do the same- create your own luck by developing the skills to be able to manipulate every situation into one where you can produce something great.

Advice for a programmer....

2011-03-07T20:00:00.003Z

The other week I was interviewed by a student for his Uni course, something which has happened a few times and I quite enjoy. It's not something I readily do, as I don't really have the time- but his email arrived and caught me at a good time and he got a positive response.

There are many things I enjoy about doing this- reflecting on what it is I do as a job and why. Not something I tend to spend much time on in any given day- unless it's a really bad day, then I think about it quite a bit!! I also enjoy the questions, as whilst some might be straight forward there are always a few that stop you in your tracks and make you think a bit before you answer and I like that a lot.

If you are a programmer, and get asked to do something similar, then accept a couple of requests or so- whilst you end up giving something back to someone just starting out, you will also learn a fair bit yourself so it's not a waste of your time. Thats not my tip though, that's an additional one for you.

My advice is to develop the ability to listen like a listener not like a programmer. In fact try and do both at once and compartmentalise the thought processes of each... so yo can see (or hear) what the listener hears whilst at the same time taking the back off the link and looking at the internal workings. What I mean by this is listening so you hear what they hear and not what a programmer hears- don't get hung up by your own programming brain and thought- suspend that and hear what a listener hears... so a link of your breakfast show for example, your PC brain might hear a lack of a forward sell or a missed id point, whereas the listener might only hear a fun bit between the hosts. I remember a story from a consultant once about a US legendary jock (I can't remember the name), who played his own choices of muisc, which were quite frankly awful. He had huge ratings and a very loyal following despite these crap songs. The PC brain says this is wrong (and indeed it is), but what did the listener hear? The answer came from talking to a few and listening differently. The reality was that they too thought the songs were awful but they liked the presenter so much they listened to them because HE liked them! The two sides of listening come together so you know what they like and what is right from a programming perspective and you can remove some of the barriers to a better listening relationship.

Just like in the last blog, radio programming is a combination of science and art, and if you lean to much on the science you become stale and predictable.

A collection of stuff...

2011-02-28T20:00:00.002Z

In planning various blogs- most of which I think about whilst walking the dog by the way- a fw things come to mind which probably don't warrant an entire entry of their own. This is where they tend to end up- in a collection of random thoughts which I've gathered over the years from a few far more intelligent people than me.

1. "Radio Stations are like new born babies- leave them alone for too long and they don't survive." If you are a programmer this is one for you. Treat your station like a newly born baby and tend to it's every need. Don't leave it alone for too long or it may develop complications which might prove serious.

2. As above. NEVER turn the radio off in your office. I've mentioned this one before- I personally believe that the station output should be on at all times, including through any meetings you have. Turn it down to a level that allows the meeting to be heard, but ensure it's there all the while.

3. Always get the phone. I remember taking over a PC role in a station once and there were 45 untouched voicemails on the PC's phone (he had only left the day before) and they went back a few weeks. Turns out he ignored them or couldn't work the voicemail for some reason. Get the phone when it rings, ring back missed calls and answer voicemail.

4. Tackle the shit- first. Every day, or every now and then you have a crap job to do, or something you might not want to do or look forward to. It's awfully tempting to avoid it, and do the nicer jobs first- don't. Get it underway and tackled first thing or you will end the day with it still not done. Everyone has crap things they need to do, get get the head down and get on with it and reward yourself with a nice job when it's done.

5. Don't get distracted by the competition. You can't change what they do on the air, so don't waste too much time listening and seeing what they are doing. Far better to spend the time listening to your own station and changing the bits which need tweaking. You need to be aware of the competition of course, but don't overdo it.

6. Walk the halls. The spirit and magic of your station atmosphere comes through the speakers. Get out of the chair and walk about, feed the spirit a bit and it will be worth it.

7. Take your holiday seriously. You work hard, so ensure you take your holiday too. You need to refresh the ears, brain and body. When you come back you will listen with renewed vigour and insight. You will hear things you didn't hear before.

8. Every now and then- scare yourself. Don't be reckless, but try something new. The cliche is "there is no such thing as a mistake, there are only lessons". That's a bit crappy, but the sentiment is ok.

9. Find something that inspires you and indulge yourself a little every now and then. It might be a book, a website, a blog, a foreign station, a TV show or whatever. If it makes you feel inspired- USE IT TO KEEP YOU SHARP.

10. Don't get swamped by process. Radio is a combination of science and art remember and get too involved in the science and you attempt to programme by slide rule or process you end up being seduced and think that is the silver bullet- and you forget the art and become boring. There are a lot of process managers who love nothing more than creating systems and spreadsheets, but that won't substitute a good ear.

11. Don't write lists of 10 things.

The narrower it is, the broader it's appeal...

2011-02-21T20:00:00.001Z

I'm talking about Focus of course, but more than that. We all know that something which is focussed has more clarity, is easier to grasp and understand and therefore has a "place" over something which is generic. You can take this to any level and I'm thinking about the macro level- on air here.

I've seen jocks create a contest on breakfast and wonder why it's not taking off or getting many entries or buzz. It's usually down to focus. In this case probably the rhelm of possibilities of the answer. For example, I remember years ago running what seemed on the face of it to be two fairly similar contests- one was "Grand Piano"- where we played a short clip of a song on a piano and if you got it right you got a grand. The other was "Mystery Thingy", which had a clip of something recorded in the tsa. The Piano went stellar, the Thingy never caught on as much. Focus was the reason- as the Piano had a defined area and rhelm of possibilities- a song we played, liteners knew where to start looking and thinking. They immediately knew the focus, what it was about and where the edge of the map was. The Thingy could have been, well, anything and as a result the listener just thought, "Oh I don't know it's too hard- it could be so many things- where do I start?". Think of when you go into a coffee shop and there is a huge board with all the different types of choices- you end up spoilt for choice and can't decide which one to have and you are getting to the front of the queue and need to decide. Narrow the focus (by narrowing the choice) and you can decide quite easily.

The arguement I get back sometimes is, "Well we are opening it up to more people". Of course that's not true- think about the coffee shop again. The intention might be to make a coffee that everyone could possibly want so you wide the choices and get everyone's favourite, but the reality is that you just become too generic and I would guess that given a very wide choice most people would just go for the straight forward normal plain coffee as it's simplier and they can decide within a short time.

When creating content on air, think about the focus and narrow it so your listener can easily get what you are talking about- and therefore remeber it too, and remember you.

What do you mean we don't have pictures?

2011-02-15T19:00:00.001Z

It always amazes me when people pass comment about radio ONLY being an audio medium. Yes we deal in audio, but we have great, great pictures. Far better pictures than any other medium in fact as ours are created in the minds and imaginations of our listeners. With words and sound we can take the listener anywhere without having to build sets, ship a crew and film anything.

The sad thing is when it is wasted and squandered and the chances lost to paint brilliant pictures. The vividness of the pictures we can create are only limited by your own imagination or effort. Tell them stories and paint them with rich colour by adding effective creativity by choice of words, music and additional audio- paint something great.

Watch any Hollywood movie- the background music adds passion, energy and mood- take it away and it lacks all of that. Think of the opening of Jaws- would it be as emotive without THAT music?

Of course like all skills, it can be over used, or badly done and if you did it every link or every time, every day then it would wear thin. Judicial use of the creative skill will create moments which stand out for the right reasons.

Whether you like the style, accent, or content- one of the worlds best at use of fx, music and story telling is The Greaseman. He weaves music and storytelling with ease creating a powerful mix- which is of course not right for some, but you have to admire his raw SKILL. His choice of words to paint pictures.

There are lots of examples on the internet and a couple below as a sample and of course many more on YouTube.

Greaseman Lawman link
Greaseman Jane Fonda Link

I'm not suggesting you copy what he does- far, far from it. Admire the raw skill, see what it brings by adding colour with words etc and take something from it to use in your own way at the right time to aid the link, the story, the audio and paint an audio picture that does more than make a noise, but creates a Theatre in the Mind.

Here's one I prepared earlier...

2011-02-09T21:04:00.001Z

It's all in the prep. Every programmer knows it. Every Jock knows it. Everyone quotes books and websites and seminars and meetings and presentations all about prep. Now it's my turn.

The best session I ever went to on what most would call prep was by a guy called John Silliman Dodge. It was at the US Bootcamp a few years ago and I brought it back with me, and have seen it presented back to me a while later by others! John broke prep down to P.R.E.P which stood for Prepare, Rehearse, Edit, Perform. So, gather the information that you need, the clips, the audio, the facts and the gumph- that's the "Prepare" bit. "Rehearse"- so that might mean actually running through the link, or maybe going over it in your mind or at least rolling through it so you know how and what bits hang together where. Then you "Edit". Cut out the bits that didn't quite work, or move some bits about and change the order. Finally then you crack open the mic and you need to "Perform" it. After all this is supposed to be entertainment so do your hard work justice and ensure you perform the material you have just created.

The bit that most radio talent seem the react badly to is the "rehearse" bit... "we like to get a natural reaction in the studio", is one of the frequent reactions I've heard. My response is sometimes something like, "what, even if that reaction is not what you expected?". It all depends on how awkward I'm feeling really, but lets just look at it a minute. You are a top flight presenter who has made it breakfast- the top job on the on air staff and you are saying that you want to "wing it" or that you can't act and perform so you get the best out of your material? Like I say- depends on how awkward I'm feeling because I'm not actually saying that you should always run through the link as if you are on air each time- but at least go through the basics and know who is doing what and when surely! If I'm feeling less awkward then it might be that I suggest that a gentle, "you do this, and you do that when I do this, and then I'll do this bit and we'll go to the ads", would suffice. Then you can work out which bits to edit and drop to make sure the link works and does what you want it to and arrives where you through it might.

Don't put the success and failure of your show down to luck. Give yourself a safety net and get some form of rehearsal sorted before your ratio of success to failure goes southwards.

Sometimes your baby is ugly...

2011-02-07T21:00:00.001Z

Your car needs a regular service. Your kettle gets furry with limescale. Your show gets ugly and loses focus.

Every little while you need to get the show up on the ramps. Clean out the crap and tighten up the bolts that have worked loose with the daily rattle along. It's quite difficult though at times, because you have built up resistance to change and become used to the status quo. Hello, welcome to your new home- STALE.

You have to all agree to put aside the personal resistance and act like you are the "next" breakfast team, taking over from yourself. What would you want to refresh, keep, throw out and re-engineer? That bit that you have done forever because its great and heritage, perhaps could be refreshed by new production or a fresh twist.

I once read a great article - I can't remember who it was by now- about doing three things, each few months. Refresh, Rubbish and Renew- so refresh everything you decide to keep, even if just a little bit. Kill off the bits you are not sure about and bring in new stuff to replace the stuff you threw out. Be careful about doing this too often as you might lose loyalty, but every few months it's worth a cycle of this to keep you creative and on the money.

Coach me baby, coach me...

2011-02-04T22:00:00.001Z

Here is a lie: "Everyone loves to have feedback". Rubbish of course- but often said. The reality is that "Everyone loves GOOD feedback", and a few lie and say they don't mind or even like having the rough stuff too- even though secretly they really don't like it just like the rest of us. When most presenters ask for feedback or coaching they mean, "Can you tell me how good I am".

We are all our own worst critic (sweeping generalisation as I know a few people who are worse critics of me, than me!), but that aside, when we have done something which isn't our best and know that we have winged it, or perhaps faltered slightly- we know and so having our noses rubbed in it in the name of "coaching" isn't particularly helpful, enjoyable or productive. That really ISN'T coaching of course, as a real coach would know that we already know we have fouled up and would focus on something else instead rather than a power trip.

Programming people, and those who sit in the very toughest seat in the building- the one behind the microphone- are delicate souls. Most- (meaning all that I have known but I daren't say All) are some of the most paranoid people I have met, mainly because they put their own life, stories and thoughts on the air every day and so critical scrutiny of it is obviously rather personal. Imagine if every day you had someone who would ask you for a coaching session to critique you on your life choices- pretty soon you might have a desire to pop them in the face!

Coaches are not friends. That doesn't mean that you can't be friends with your talent or your boss, PC, MD, whomever. It's just that the role and job of coach means that when you assume that role you have to make a distinction. I have known a few who blurred the line and never got the best out of their career as a coach, or talent as at the end of the day they were just "mates" rather than "coach" and "talent".

Coaches don't pull punches. So if you have done a bad job, you do need to know rather than everything just being "less well". That doesn't mean coaches beat you up, as above- you already know that you messed up but coaches can explain how you could have avoided it and convince you that the ability is present to make it better next time- pick you up and get you ready for the next round in the ring. Equally coaches should be able to metaphorically slap you across the face and tell you you are being a tw*t and get your crap together when you really need to hear it, after all, all to often the more successful you are the more people are blowing hot air up your arse, and nothing destroys talent faster than ego getting in the driving seat! In Tracy Johnson's brilliant book, Morning Radio- he says that the PD should be the biggest fan of the talent- protect them from the crap, the complaints and the rubbish and defend them. I agree. Coaches do this but filter the feedback and put it in perspective for you, allowing you to hear it at the right time and in a way that adds to your productivity rather than just make you feel crap.

Coaches don't sell Shit Sandwiches. You know the deal... "Hey I loved it when you did xxx, that bit with xxx was crap, and hey I love that bit when you went xxx". Gary Larson once wrote a great cartoon of a man talking to a dog called Billy. The man is saying, "Will you get off the sofa Billy. Stop eating the slippers Billy". In the next frame is what the dog hears, "Blah, blah, blah Billy. Blah, Blah, Blah, Billy". Shit sandwiches are the same- all the talent hears is the bit in the middle.

Coaches don't take the glory- they enjoy your success instead- secure in the knowledge that they had a hand in it and don't need to recognition of the crowd.

Good coaches are the difference between good talent and great talent, but of course you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, or as US talent coach Bill McMahon, who I worked with for a while, used to say- you can't teach a pig to sing! You do have to have something to work with in the first place.

Always protect the base...

2011-02-01T21:37:00.001Z

Everything that is built has a foundation, a foundation that cements it into the earth and allows you to build. Your radio station is the same- not the physical building of course- the listeners! No matter what you do, you should protect and maintain your "foundation"- or everything could collapse! Everyone's foundation might be different- it all depends on what kind of station you are. When I say foundation I mean something different from anything you might create as a presentation guide or Style Guide- I'll blog about those at another time.

You might well have seen this example before, as it is pretty well known and used but think of it like a pyramid, sliced into layers, with the bottom layer being your foundation upon which you place the other layers that make up what you are as a station. You can't build it the other way around or it will fall over, and if you make one of the upper levels more important, then it will again collapse.

Here is an example:

Music might be the foundation as in this example, or it might be more clearly defined, such as New Music, Classical Music, or popular Classics, Oldies, Soft Rock, Easy Listening etc, etc. The next layer up would be your next most important element, so perhaps Breakfast, or Local, etc and onwards until the pyramid is complete. There could be multiple layers or just a few- there isn't any rule- this is just so you know where your base lies and you know what to protect.

When it comes to competing against other stations, some may beat you on some of the upper elements- they might have a better breakfast or beat you on numbers etc, or news or traffic and you might decide that you will put up a fight but ultimately you are ok to let them beat you on that. The area you must always come out fighting for is the base of your pyramid, or you have nothing left.

Now, this doesn't mean that if in the example above that you wouldn't promote, or even advertise your breakfast, just not before you have secured at least a foothold with your music, and at least if you did it should also present something which reflected the base. It's a bout standing back and taking a view of all the "noise" about your station- what are you left with? Does it reflect your foundation and base? If not, you are mis-firing and at risk.

Now all that is fairly simple and straight forward, but taking one stage further is what every presenter should know- how does the pyramid manifest itself on air? So, as an example, lets say you are a current hit led CHR. Lets say for sake of argument that your music universe includes some recurrents and even some gold in order to add a sense of variety and depth, or perhaps to manage the supply chain from record companies to ensure you always have enough room for movement as that supply fluctuates. As a jock though, if you know and understand the pyramid and that you are at heart a Current CHR, then you should ensure that you only really rave and promote the songs which protect and reflect the base of your pyramid- the current songs that cement the position into the mind of the listener. If you highlight and rave about the oldies, or the recurrents then you are promoting something which actually weakens your base and gives competitors an angle on repositioning you as something that you don't want to be. After all your radio station is bricks and mortar and wires and people etc but above all it really exists in the mind of the listener and confusion about what you stand for will damage you.

I've had presenters challenge and say things like "well we are playing those older songs so if we are playing them then we should rave about them". Understand the sentiment- but equally you also have maybe 11 mins of commercials an hour too and you don't rave about those! The reality is that you might play some recurrents or gold in order to flesh out the Music Universe but you are centred in currents so project that image. Apple sell servers and tower type computers but the front page of the Apple website promotes iPads, iPhones and iPods and iMacs after all.

Perspective- just have some perspective...

2011-01-11T20:42:00.000Z

My old boss used to say to me, "change is the one constant"- and he was right of course. It is the one thing you can rely on- that it won't stay the same for long. Our industry is very fluid and there are game changing moves being made in markets up and down the country. Just as you think you have it sorted- someone grabs that rug from under your feet and gives it a tug. That is what makes it fun! It's how you respond and adapt that matters and makes all the difference to survival and extinction.

The one thing that you need to maintain progress in any change of environment and state of flux is a sense of perspective- and a focus on the prize of course. I have a bag full of stories of successful stations who have managed to succeed by staying the course, and above all staying focussed on what matters by keeping things in perspective. If you become transfixed on the competitor rather than your own audience goal- welcome to failure, your new friend! I know of guys who have done this, been determined to beat the competitor station and have managed to destroy their success at the same time. They lost perspective.

The US Military have what is referred to as the OODA loop. Observe, Orientate, Decide, Act. The faster you can keep going through the OODA loop the more chance you have to succeed against any competitor. It was created by Col John Boyd of the US Air Force. You have no chance unless you have a sense of perspective as your "Observe" and "Orientate" become clouded by false information.

Audience feedback is another way to lose the way. The cliche of "people don't like change" is a true one, so when you change something and you get feedback remember the cliche and remember to have perspective. I have changed line-ups and schedules many, many times, some more major than others and every time the same feedback- "I don't like change", but every time the same outcome- they get used to it. I once changed a breakfast team after they had just posted their biggest audience in their shift- because I knew they had a short shelf life and I had a better team ready to take over. Feedback occurred and the new team beat the old one in their first book. Perspective. What is the long term goal? What will get you there?

Technology also makes it more difficult to keep perspective- after all it's now a lot easier to get feedback than it ever was. You can click on a website, or send an email, rather than finding the address and writing a letter, finding a stamp and walking to a postbox. A lot of feedback is like shouting out of the car window at a bad driver- easy to do and fairly risk free (unless he is a really big guy and stops!)

Don't over estimate listener involvement. The vast majority of your audience just don't care enough about you to get all that involved. After all, we are a free to air largely background throw away medium. Perspective.

Don't get caught up in the momentum. Radio people getting caught up in radio world about radio things- when we know already that listeners don't really care. After all, radio people are weird!

Thats great, but I don't get it!

2010-11-15T19:38:00.000Z

Don't believe anyone when they say it's simple- it never is.

There are some important rules to observe in radio (and everything else too!!):

There is no silver bullet
It's never as simple as it seems
It never goes as well as the plan

I've touched on this before, but running EVERYTHING through the target seems so common sense I find it a little odd when people don't. When I mean target, I mean the obvious- Target Audience of course, along with all other meanings- eg, the objective, the point you are trying to make, the end result, the goal. That's the meaning I want to focus on in this entry.

I often find myself feeling like I'm in "The Emperor's New Clothes", and I'm the only one saying that the "King is in the All Together!", it is awkward but someone HAS to say it. The problem comes when you appear like you are the spoil sport I guess, but I just can't help myself.

The thrill and chase of the brainstorm or the big exciting idea should be tempered with the reality of what you are trying to achieve. You will be amazed how often those exciting ideas have a life of their own and don't actually fulfil the brief. There are many times when I've said, "that's a great idea and very creative, but it doesn't do what we want". It's very difficult to do it because great ideas and creative people gather momentum and an energy of their own and steering it is a little like taming a wild horse.

I wish I could give you a real example- and I've a few of them, but it wouldn't be fair really... much as I'd like to.

The thing to remember is before you run a brainstorm or ideas session make a note of all the things you want to achieve, the objectives which you need to hit from the ideas. Clearly explain these to the team gathered- THESE ARE THE THINGS WE NEED THE IDEAS TO DO! Rank them in order of importance.

Once you have brainstormed, create a grid with your objectives across the top and your ideas down the side. Then score them in order of ability to hit objectives- then you can clearly see which ones will hit the things you really want.

This might seem like a basic thing, but it doesn't happen often. The benefit being that it saves argument afterwards on why various ideas that lit the room didn't go forward as the winning idea. It also means you can focus on the objectives and hopefully remain focused on the target.

So, if you did this every time, you might end up being able to ensure that Breakfast idea fits the target audience rather than being an idea that you heard on a US or Oz station and your team laughed at it and liked it. Perhaps that S&P idea might match the client objective rather than just be the best of the bunch or the re-hash of the last one you did. Maybe that station event or contest might match your target or audience objective rather than being something you just liked from another station.

Rediscover the lost art

2010-11-04T21:15:00.000Z

OK, sounds bit grand I know, but radio is after all a combination of science and art. It's a difficult balance at times, lean too much towards the art and you fail and the same is true the other way around. Get too lost in the science and you just sound boring, and fail.

The lost arts I refer to are the programming arts. The day to day programming job when you run a station and you give a monkeys. Does it annoy the crap out of you when you hear a sweep of songs and you have sweeper going into a song with a long intro and then a jock speedlink going into a song with no intro? Me too... the lost art here is going through the log and where ever you can, moving the programme elements (rather than the music), so you might shuffle your sweeper and speedlink so you get an intro to link over and the sweeper can roll into a cold start. Not possible in every single case perhaps do to availability of intros, position of the next stopdown etc but tweaking the log in such a way does make a difference. My team and I do this every day for every hour of every log. It's a lost art. Today it is all too easy to run your Selector and Linker and print the log.

That reminds me of another lost art- or at least dying art.... being able to use Selector and Linker to it's full capacity. With centralised music policy or schedules- all of which I agree with by the way- the fall out is a lack of skill set when it comes to music programming and use of the tools. How many of today's programmers actually know about rotations, and music flow, or balancing the genres around an hour. How many have never heard of ballad attacks or clustering of genres. The answer is to explain the thinking, rather than just dole out the log. Share the understanding a little so we don't end up years down the track without anyone who can take over from the Heads of Music of today when they want to retire.

One last dying art for now, but one which bugs me more than ever. LISTENING. I have a rule- Never Turn The Radio Off... ever! If you ever think you might want to... don't. In my office the radio is always on, I always have it on during any meetings. So if I meet with breakfast, then my speakers are on with the output on. If I'm going to listen to something from my computer etc, then it will change then, but as soon as I'm done then I quickly turn the output back on. That after all is my job- to listen and monitor the output.

I would have a rule that the radio should be on in all meeting rooms at all times, no matter what, if I could. Doesn't have to be loud, but just there. I get annoyed and bite my lip when I see people in the station turn the radio off when they want to have a meeting. I don't see a need. For clients I think it shows a belief in the product, and just how important it is- it's always on in the background- even in meetings. Radio after all can be background, so why don't we always use it like that when we can?

I think a general theme of this is DETAIL. I've always been brought up to believe that the devil is in the detail. Having great attention to detail is something which I admire greatly when I see it in people. Those who are obsessed with the intricate workings and detail of anything and leave nothing to chance. Those are the ones who get the spoils and get the rewards in life.

Art and science, that's the balance.

Want to succeed? Know your audience.

2010-11-01T21:58:00.000Z

My blog has a link to Sabo Media. It's the company of a guy called Walter Sabo who is one of the most impressive radio and media brains in the world. I had the pleasure of sitting in one of his seminars once, and I have a CD of another couple- now that might not seem like a great collection in order to get such praise, but the content is powerful and concentrated. He was the first person to put a brand new format on FM, called Adult Contemporary! He knows his stuff and much more besides and I have always found his work impressive, inspirational and important.

The reason for me mentioning Walter, is the title of this blog- which is sort of a quote from one of his seminars. It's something which I remember at the time was impressive but it wasn't until later that I realised it to be so very true. The quote in full is that the very best radio talents don't know RADIO the best, but know their AUDIENCE the best. He talks about working with Casey Kasem (American Top 40 before Seacrest) who would glaze over if you ever tried to talk about Radio Stuff, you know, jingles etc. Talk to him about what his audience are like and poetry would come out of his mouth- he knew the audience wonderfully well and could describe perfectly exactly who he was talking to and aiming at.

It wasn't until after sitting hearing this that it really was demonstrated- working with some people who I can really call talented who have absolutely no interest in the daily fuss of the radio world, but really know the audience well. So my advice to you- ignore the anorak world of radio- who owns what, who hired whom, who fired whom, who has what processing and all that general garbage. Focus on the listener What are they like? Where do they go in their spare time? What do they like to buy? Where do they go on holiday and what would they really like to do given the time and the money? Know them, understand their likes, dislikes and what pushes their buttons and gets them all fired up. Then use that to filter ALL your content. Anything you do that might not fit that frame is tuning out so really make sure it's ALL your content.

So, if you want to succeed, know your audience, not radio, the best.

Now after typing this, I really need to go and listen to my CDs again and get all inspired up!

Yes I want to RATE!

2010-10-28T21:58:00.000+01:00

Everyone in radio wants to rate, right? Of course. It's funny though how many just don't know how, and miss the basics, and by that I don't mean to be rude or anything.

I have had the pleasure to be in a consultative role a few times, and there is a little question routine I like to go through which I find fun.

What you you want to do?
Get some ratings.
Yes but what are you doing the radio thing for?
To make money.
How can you do that from radio?
I sell commercials you idiot.
OK, what enables you to sell the airtime for more money, or use less of your airtime to fulfil the order?
Better ratings.
Great, ok so how are you measured?
A listening diary.
How is that completed?
Self completion, at random.
Is it prompted or unprompted research?
Bit of both really...
OK, so what is the prompt?
The station name.
Great, thats simple then. What are you doing currently that isn't working towards getting the listener to remember the station name, because it's a waste of time and effort?

Now of course, if I sat in front of you and went through that, you would quite rightly call me a twat! That said, the principle is there, what ARE you doing that isn't focussed on getting a better read in the diary? The truth is that it IS wasted effort.

Of course you need to maintain an interesting output and all the sizzle you would expect etc... thats a given, but if you are not ensuring that the casual listener doesn't give you credit for what you are doing... [i.e. know what station is doing it], then what is the point exactly?

Many is the time that I have been able to improve rating just by improving the impact of the station name being said on air, just so listener know and can credit what they are hearing!

I love it when I hear stations doing a straight segue, with no station id- when I ask I hear a variety of reason. I've heard, "well we don't like to ram it down the throat all the time" [in a random, unaided, self diary completion world, being subtle is just what is required!]. I've also heard, "well I heard they are doing this in the US now", [forgetting that this is in markets measured by Arbitron PPM meter and so not measured by recall any more!]

I remember doing a seminar once where a person in the audience spoke about how they didn't want to mention the station name too often in case it annoyed the listener. I asked how they expected to get any credit at all in a diary and they couldn't really answer. I don't think they are in radio any longer.

So, in short if the aim is to get ratings and your rating rely on a listener listening to you and giving you credit after the event, unaided, then you had better focus on ensuring they know who to credit and your station name is the only thing they can go on.

Yes, that's right we are special...

2010-10-19T18:13:00.000+01:00

Radio is special, and different. That doesn't mean we are shy of change, in fact quite the opposite, but different we are- and that difference is sometimes overlooked.

I love talking to people who parachute into radio from other industries- even other media industries. On one hand there are fresh faced, excited and ready to rip up the rule book- not beaten down by the latest reality check or whatever- fantastic! On the other hand they also have, in my personal opinion, a misplaced view that radio is just like any other commodity or media. There is nothing special about radio, its just like this TV station, or just like this newspaper or packet of cereal. That's normally the point at which the little knot in my stomach tightens- here we go again!

I don't think this opinion is out of a desire to ignore any views, or out of a desire to be some sort of all knowing font of superior knowledge. I think genuinely they tend to think that it would be just like any other industry, commodity or brand. Why wouldn't it be? That's where I usually start talking...
Now, I should equally explain that it isn't that the world of radio is in itself superior, trying to be difficult or hide and dodge some of the realities. It's just that actually radio IS special and IS different in key ways that make all the difference when it comes to making sure your exploit the true benefits of using it.

There is a great book I recommend reading, called Why Not?** written by Barry J Nalebuff and Ian Ayres(Barry Nalebuff is the Milton Steinbach Professor of Economics at Yale School of Management. Ian Ayres is the William K. Townsend Professor of Law at Yale Law School. - so they know their stuff!!). In that book one of the things they talk about is THINKING INSIDE THE BOX. Now we have all heard people in brainstorms say, "lets think outside the box here people", the problem with that is there is a certain reality (the box), so if you waste time and energy creating solutions and ideas which ignore the practicalities you are clearly wasting a lot of effort. Much better to accept the limitations of any situation or industry, and then think of creative solutions "Inside the box". It doesn't smother the creative flow or limit the madman creative spark- instead it just puts it into focus. I'm all for smart "Inside the Box Thinking."

So- radio IS different, stay inside the box. Our listeners have a relationship with us which no other product has. There are many people, for example who are very passionate and vocal about a variety of products- take Apple. Some of the fans I know, (and I'm an Apple fan myself), are evangelistic about Apple, their iPhone, their Macbook, sometimes to the point of nausea! Even with all that feverish fanatic fan base and mad passionate obsession, I've not seen any Apple Car Stickers in the back of cars. Even those little stickers that come with their Mac products don't make it to their rear screen!

Coke, McDonalds, Microsoft, and all those multi-billion dollar brands spend billions each year and can't get a car sticker in the back of their fans' cars. I know people who take out the sticker from the garage they bought the car from "because they don't want to give them free advertising", and then will happily put one of our car stickers in.

Why? We are different. It's because of our relationship with the listener. We might have 500,000 listeners, but they are all listening one by one. Radio listening is a personal thing a one to one medium not a many to one or a many to many. When people watch TV, they know there are camera men, directors, producers and a team of people, and it doesn't feel personal, not like radio- even if there might be a team of people, it always feels like it's just the on air guy and me, the listener.

Radio is an intangible thing, created out of the air- extremely portable, personal, and practical. It provides a connection to the lifeblood of an area, or area of interest like nothing else can- it's a constant stream. Immediate and adaptable. Responsive and rapid. First and fast.

Radio IS different, and it's a huge benefit and sets us apart with distinction from both other media and other products and commodities.

** This book is also a great book for everyday problem solving and has some great practical tips on getting solutions to problems, and indeed problems to the solutions that you already have. I bought it once for a plane journey thinking it would just pass the time, and found it quite inspirational and thought provoking.

Repeat Caller Number 9

2010-10-14T21:23:00.001+01:00

It's a discussion point I've had many times- "Dick we keep getting regular winners", or "The Prize Pig is cleaning up". Now, to be fair, with technology this is less of an issue now being able to easily and fairly limit entry to one entry per person for example and the true random draw means the chance of the Prize Pig coming up is reduced... however, I say SO WHAT!

It is true that I listen to more radio than the average Rajar Diary user, and indeed the average listener. I would probably right on the edge of being thrown out of the survey for unreal levels of listening, but the truth is that as a listener, I have seldom recognised the names of regular winners when they have come up on air. I say seldom, because of course when people have pointed them out to me, or if their name is unusual then it will stand out more. So bearing in mind that my levels of listening are in the extreme, what chance the average listener? Are they REALLY going to notice a regular winner on the air? In all honesty, probably not and it's an example of "Inside Thinking" as it used to be called.

The Prize Pigs are, after all, heavy users of our product. They consume a lot of it and regularly (perhaps not to my levels, but certainly on the heavy side.

Here's another view, take the problem out of radio. Do you imagine that the guys at Coke are perplexed by their own heavy users? Do they try and figure out how they can limit the input and participation their heavy users have? Or do they instead try and nurture them, create more of them and turn them into evangelists for their brand and product? After all if a Prize Pig gets a Rajar Diary then you are going to have a great set of numbers come the next release.

There are greater things to worry about I would suggest. If your station is "on fire" then the odd regular winner isn't going to dislodge listeners to any great effect. If your station is dull, then, again the regular listener isn't your real problem- do something about the dullness!

I understand the desire and the issue however, I too have looked through winners lists and seen the vast wheelbarrow of prizes carried off by a small cross section sometimes, but also I can imagine that they tell all their friends, and their family about winning on our station and their experience and there is only one thing worse than that- NOT being talked about at all.

I Want To Work In Radio...

2010-10-13T22:36:00.000+01:00

In my career I've been often asked how to get into radio. There are no easy answers to that, and I've seen many routes into working in radio over time, some more successful than others. In my experience the single biggest limiting factor to success is YOU.

I've hired people before who have only stayed working for me for a short period of time. Whilst the specific reasons involved in those "Goodbye Chats" might vary, the actual reason was pretty much always that they just didn't GET it, or failed to GRASP it. The thing missing was always difficult to explain in a succinct fashion, but there is a way to get a little closer to it...

Ignore the Americanisms- in fact I think I once had a go at substituting English references- but read THIS from Dan O'Day right through to the end. If you feel nothing, then you just don't have it- sorry if that offends you.

I re-read this every now and then and find it gets me inspired, excited and energised.

Cue Burn, Chinagraph pencils, "No-one touch these carts and that means you"- I've written that sign myself !

TELL THEM STORIES...

If You Build It, They Will Come

2010-10-12T20:44:00.001+01:00

Over the years I have been in the fortunate position of being in at the birth of a number of exciting events, launches, beginnings. Some have been more successful than others, but all had the same feeling ahead of the actual start- an uneasy feeling in the stomach especially when the point of no return came. Right up to that event, there was always a thought that you could always just withdraw and decide upon the easier, and probably less profitable option.

Right now I'm in another position where I'll be "in at the birth" soon, and whilst the level of engagement might be different for each event I've witnessed, it's always an honour and just a little bit scary. Without doubt every event has changed from the original plan when it met with reality- (I remember reading a US Marines Handbook once calling for the plan to be changed once you engage the enemy- it's kind of like that). The rough plan always kind of remains of course, you end up more or less where you wanted to be, but the journey has a few twists in it which you might not have predicted. That calls for wits and a calm head.

There is another commonality- Day Two always feels the same. A realisation that all the effort and lead up has been about the day one a launch, or beginning, but the real work begins on day two, when it all has to become the norm... forever! I've lost count of the number of times someone says "oh, got to do it all again tomorrow", or "now the hard work starts of course". Every time though it catches so many out, and I too have often under-estimated the impact of "Day Two Syndrome". On a team it can be quite an issue, especially if they have all bust a gut to get Day One right and left nothing in the tank for Day Two. My planning for these types of events now has changed as a result, and I plan out the first few days instead with the team, painting a picture of what it will be like so the impact doesn't come as hard.

There is something unique though about Radio changes. Obviously from my own perspective they are the most exciting (but I'm not normal), but to me they seem to have a level of urgent excitement that other brand changes don't seem to have. Maybe it is because of the way in which listeners relate and interact with radio stations, we are personal, one to one and on the listener's level. Radio has a route into the listeners mind which no other medium can claim. The relationship with a newspaper, TV station, online stream even, or even iPod library just isn't the same as a radio station somehow. We share a common experience with the listener, even as a remote voice on the air. We add a meaning, a commentary, a soundtrack to the daily experience of life. The best stations match that soundtrack perfectly to the beat of the lives of the target audience and create a powerful connection which drives a passion and intimacy between a listener and their station. It's like a bond and an ownership and underpins the successful ratings of killer stations. No listener can put their finger on it, they just "feel" that THEIR station just DOES IT for them and can't articulate it in any more detail than that. That difference makes the changes and births in radio more exciting, impressive and impactful- ultimately more important!