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The perception of your brand in the listeners’ minds—your Stationality—will ultimately manifest into ratings and revenue, for better or worse.
This series on Stationality is about exploring the relationship between listeners and their favorite radio stations. Click for part one and part two.
Consumers are bombarded with thousands of marketing messages everyday. Only relevant messages will squeeze through the judicious mental filter of potential listeners.
Psychologists have declared that the most successful brands appeal to a consumer’s drive for approval, validation, and sense of belonging. A brand is a lifeless package of intellectual property until the audience passionately identifies with its cause. At that point, the brand is brought to life in the listeners’ minds.
Heart 106.2 in the United Kingdom is an example of a radio station that has transcended the cliché slogans and tag-lines prevalent on worldwide airwaves, instead creating a remarkable listener experience. London’s Heart-FM brought their slogan, “You Can’t Help but Feel Good,” to life with a creative marketing campaign surrounding Hula Hoops. The playful and light-hearted campaign included the station’s promotions staff distributing hula hoops at local events, visiting workplaces to hand out “fresh hula,” and a DVD featuring “Hulaerobics”—ways to stay fit by practicing hula. See the campaign in action at www.heart.co.uk.
Karen Steele, Program Director at Toronto’s Mix 99.9, has done an exemplary job of transforming simple contests into surreal experiences for her listeners. Recently, when the station had ten tickets to give away for a Justin Timberlake concert, Mix 99.9 created “The Boss’ Box,” where all ten tickets were given away to “the boss’ box of seats” for the most creative calls. The promotion led to an entertaining on-air campaign, which engaged incidental listeners as much as contest winners.
Animate your marketing and promotions, and listeners will remember you two-fold over the stations who take the tenth caller and “play four in a row with less talk” (insert any number of other radio clichés here).
Your ONE Most Important Word
Summarize your brand’s position in one word. What is the take-away feeling of your station?
Examples of ONE WORD brand positions:
- Fun
- Serious
- Relaxing
- Positive
- Comfort
- Companionship
- Confidant
- Work
- Smart
- Adrenaline
- Family
- Faith/Spirituality
- Learning
- Attitude
- Anger
- Smooth
- Uplifting
- Encouraging
- Fantasy
- Goofy
- Peace
- Friends
- Sing-Along
- Hustle/Busy
- Heart
- Warmth
- Underdog
- Rebellion
- Authority
- Community
- Values
- Party
- Reliable
- Jokester
- Class Clown
- Joy
- Arrogance
- Pride
Condense your character into one word… then let the essence and meaning of that word permeate and dominate the sound of your station.
Evaluate the music balance on your station. Are you offering a balanced representation of this one-word brand through your music? Or, are you trying to put an Orange Juice label on a can of Coke? If you believe your brand is “uplifting,” and entire quarter-hours on your station are occupied by songs about grief, it is important to revisit your music scheduling practice.
In any fifteen minute period, your station’s music balance should reflect your Stationality.
Measure your information/news strategy against your one-word brand.
For instance, if your brand is “family safe,” there may be news that you choose not to report. Consider using your station’s website to launch an informal survey among your audience, determining which stories resonate most (and least) with your target.
We live in the “age of information,” but not all listeners want to hear all news stories. It is crucial to understand which information is meaningful to your listeners, and which information is irrelevant.
Irrelevance = Listener Exit Door
The Rule of Three
Pleasing a new listener only once with their experience of your brand is not enough to win them over as dedicated fans. Consumer research has repeatedly shown that buyers must sample a product at least three times before they will make the decision to change or substitute an existing product loyalty with a new product.
Saunter down the aisle of your local supermarket, and you will notice new products in packages of three. Savvy marketers are attempting to interrupt a buyer’s purchasing behavior three times, before they return to the store. This practice has been most prevalent in marketing of cigarettes, where new brands are sold only in bundles of three packs of cigarettes.
An important lesson can be gleaned from our friends in the retail marketing business. Consistent cross-promotion and appointment listening are crucial ingredients for your success. You must bring a new listener back three times before you are likely to change their long-term listening habit.
Make noise in your marketplace with persistent relevant messages, and your audience will react passionately to your Stationality.
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