The Little Things

I recently had the privilege of attending the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony in New York City. As much a pleasure as that was, there were some "little things" that made it even better.

For instance, the look on the faces of our winners as they watched the events unfold was amazing! These two couples, from C103 in Moncton and K-Rock in St. John's, were part of an event that the average person will never get to witness. What an incredible prize! Taking that to a day-to-day level, ask yourself: "are you giving away the steak or the sizzle?"
The steak was a trip to New York to see the induction. The sizzle, for one of our winners, was talking to Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty and having a picture taken with him. The sizzle was taking an elevator ride with actor Tim Robbins. The sizzle was hearing Aerosmith's Steven Tyler say, "Excuse me" when he passed by.

Another "little thing" was the way we treated our winners. Mike McVay, President of McVay Media hosted our table, and he provided a model of how contest winners should be treated. First, he hosted a quick get-to-know-you cocktail in his hotel room, where he offered to store our group’s coats for the evening. Mike even arranged for an extra key to his room so some friends of our group could wait for the event to wrap up. When we sat down, Mike made sure all the winners were happy, and he ensured everyone had a souvenir program to take home. He even gave up his chair so our winners could have the best possible view of the stage. Every step of the way he worked to ensure our group was looked after. In short, he treated them like stars. Do you treat callers, winners, and listeners like stars?

Speaking of little things with a big impact: our Moncton winners went around Manhattan taking pictures of themselves next to garbage dumpsters. They were going to give the pictures to the C103 morning team. Why? Because C103's Ernie and Lisa once broadcast live from a dumpster as a stunt. That little stunt happened YEARS ago, but it created a big long-term recall! Are you looking for ways to make the everyday things that happen in your community into extraordinary events that can create a buzz for your station?

One winner who remembered me from a remote I did over 6 years ago when I was on the air on Moncton! I don't recall what "little thing" I did to get him to remember me at this stereo store remote, but whatever it was sure left an impression! Do we look at every remote as a chance to make an impression for life on a listener, or is it just a way for the station and the jock to make a buck?

Sure we made some big dreams come true for our listeners on Monday night, but in the end it was really a collection of little things that composed one spectacular evening. The sum of the evening was bigger than the parts, but without all those little parts the sum could have been just another radio contest. Instead, it was pure magic. Is your radio station doing the little things needed to make a life-long impression?

This article originally appeared in April 2003.