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Holland Cooke, News/Talk Specialist,
McVay Media
Holland Cooke has been McVay Media's News/Talk Specialist since 1995. He has advised radio and TV stations in the USA, Canada, and New Zealand.
Cooke publishes a monthly newsletter for radio owners, managers, and on-air talent (click here for details); and is frequently a featured speaker at industry conventions.
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Often in my travels, I’ll hear a station’s you’ve-heard-one-you’ve-heard-‘em-all growling male promo voice pronouncing it “THE TRAFFIC LEADER” or “THE NEWS LEADER.” One station tells me it’s “THE STATION OF RECORD.” Imagine?
As though such a designation existed.
Who confers that august title, the governor? In some countries, where the government owns the media, that might still apply…in-which-case it sure WOULDN’T be a benefit statement. It’s describing station content as the-OPPOSITE-of a Free Press…U.S.S.R.-like. And patently false slogans blur-into the blah-blah-blah of sound-alike claims that listeners discount.
As though it mattered.
“STATION OF RECORD” sounds ponderous, and like more-information-than-I-have-time-for-right now. Bellicose claims like this miss-the-point. Radio listeners are in-motion, seeking convenience, not an archive. On-line is where people expect content to be archived. On-air is where they turn for snack-size bullet points, the-very-latest that sounds noticeably different than the way you told the story last newscast.
Example: June 29, instead of talking-down-to listeners, smart stations talked WITH listeners, people sitting in lawn chairs, lined-up outside Apple Stores waiting for iPhones to go on sale.
Arbitron is a memory test.
Hearing someone camped-out for an iPhone answer your reporter asking “WHERE DO YOU GO TO THE BATHROOM HERE?” would’ve been one whole helluva lot more memorable than Gary Owens-delivery-over-majestic-music reading a phony, self-congratulatory title. “WE’RE BIG, WE’RE OFFICIAL” isn’t useful to the busy folks on-the-go that direct retail advertisers want to meet.
Slogans such as the examples above are station-centric. Smart stations describe themselves in listener-centric terms. Example: In research I conducted about how listeners use radio for traffic and weather, the top-testing slogan was “TIME-SAVER TRAFFIC,” a moniker that’s been ripped-off SO much that nobody knows where it began (Seattle, I THINK). If you do traffic reports, and no other station in your market uses this brand, grab it.
Ditto for commercial copy. An auto dealer who is a major advertiser in a market I hear often has invested years of advertising and years of ad dollars in the slogan “WE WANT TO SELL YOU A CAR!” Imagine?
• This language validates the stereotype that instantly comes to mind when you hear the phrase “car salesman.” All he’s thinking of is his commission.
• Speak to the listener’s interest! One durable line that’s clicked for decades has been “DON’T MAKE AN EIGHT HUNDRED DOLLAR MISTAKE.”
Bottom line: Promo and commercial copy should emulate the technique you’ll hear in the most successful programming content surrounding the promos and commercials. Smart hosts say “YOU” and “YOUR” lots more than “I,” “ME,” and “MY.”
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