The Six P’s for On-Air Talent

Most of us have heard of the 6 P’s. They usually stand for Prior Preparation Prevents Pitifully Poor Performance. (Cleaned that up for this publication.) But did you know there is another application of the 6 P’s that fits with on-air talent and their importance?

Despite the expense-driven elimination of talent in many situations, the reality of the situation remains that personalities that create loyalty are an element that is not easily duplicated by the subscription music model of DPS.

Personalities, live and local or nationally syndicated, have been shown to lead to success. Great talent are the one thing that a competitor cannot easily duplicate. My belief is that in a world where music is available everywhere, personalities are an important part of “the success model” for the business of broadcasting. That’s what led me to create the 6 Ps adapted for on-air talent:

Personality: The personalities on the show need to have that intangible known as Talent. They have to be driven, tireless, extroverts (even if only when the microphone is on), and they have to be intelligent. I’ve never met a successful on-air personality that wasn’t smart. Visualize that you’re at a party and an individual is across the room, talking, attracting a group of people, and they’re spellbound as they listen to every word. That’s the type of person you want to have on the air. I’ve heard that with local and nationally syndicated talent.

John Tesh has trapped me in my car more than once by teasing ahead on his program with Intelligence for Your Life. Greg Beharrell’s unique and abstract sense of humor has made me look forward to hearing his reaction to a number of topics. While not a regular listener of The Breakfast Club, there have been news events that hit which drive me to listen to Charlamagne Tha God to hear his “take” on the topic. The list is long of those who do it so well and I don’t want to leave anyone out, but the fact is that there are Personalities and there are Disc Jockey’s. You want the former.

Performance: It’s all about making what comes out of the speakers compelling, entertaining, and informative. The audience has to want to come back day after day. They have to look forward to hearing what’s being said by the personalities. There has to be a connection with the listener and the talent. That comes from relatability, content that resonates with an audience, a delivery that’s entertaining, and a sense of showbiz. That includes News/Talk talent. The very best commentators have a flare about them that keeps their program high on the level of listener engagement.

Perception: The talent on your station have to be perceived as better than the talent on other stations that their up against. Markedly better. Noticeably better. If you want to steal a listener from a competitor, you have to interrupt the relationship that they have with another personality. You can’t expect the audience to agree with you because you think a personality is better than the one on the other station. Whatever you do has to be much better and easily identified as more attractive and interesting.

You’ve likely heard the expression “Marry Your Market”, which is largely attributed to Jerry Cesak and Jeff Detrow (The Jeff & Jer Showgram), and followed as a practice by many talent who emulated Jeff and the recently passed Jer. These two spectacularly entertaining talents noted that it’s tough to interfere with a show that’s married to a market. The question becomes “What are you going to do to at least get a listener to sample your program?”

Being faced with a similar situation led to the launch of the highly talented and successful nighttime host Delilah as a national talent. One winter night a couple decades ago, as I sat in the office of Ken Spitzer, a Market Manager in Rochester, he asked what we needed to do to finish off our cross-town AC competitor. Our station was beating them in every daypart except for nights. Spitzer, the competitor he is, wasn’t happy with a Monday-Friday 6a-7p victory. He wanted more. They had a love songs show at night. We were airing the regular format as what was heard during the day. They were winning nights.

My response was that whoever is in first and owns such a position as love songs at night wins that battle. He insisted “But if you had to beat them at night what would you do?” My reply was that we’d have to create a show that was undeniably better. That was noticeably better to even the most casual listener. That we’d have to create a show that was dynamically better than any other station’s in market night program. That the talent would have to be super stellar. Ken asked, “Do you know Delilah Renee?”  I did having consulted the Seattle station that she was on as a local night talent. We reached out to her.

Delilah was hired. The idea of her hosting a nationally syndicated night program was all hers. We simply wanted a night show that could win in Rochester. She heard the station and show in her head, and she knew what she wanted it to sound like. We hired Delilah and her producer (Jane) and the three of us became partners to syndicate Delilah After Dark which evolved into Delilah. The show continues to be highly successful.

Performance is key to success, which is obvious, but what isn’t always apparent is the need for that level of performance to be noticeably higher. Perceived as the best. The saying is that perception is reality. Sometimes perception is greater than reality or any expectation that one might have at launch.

Prioritization: The talent on your station, particularly for those that you’re depending on to drive your success, need to be a priority. You need to give them the time they need to meet with you, share their ideas and suggestions, concerns, and understand who they are and what’s important to them as the participants of an important program. That includes making them you’re only focus when meeting with them. Turn off your devices or at least put them on silent. Pay attention and hear them. Be honest and open in your discussions.

There was one air talent that I worked with across several stations over a few years. Morning show anchor. This talent consistently complained about not having billboards to market the show, big prizes to hold an audience, and few public appearances that warranted exposure in local media. More than one Market Manager and Program Director complained about this talent. Not about their performance, but in reaction to them regularly sharing their grievances. What’s wrong with that. Don’t you want talent who care? Maybe their tone in messaging could be different, but to me that’s on management for not having open and clear conversations with the talent about what is and what isn’t possible.

Promotion: The level of competition for all media has never been higher. The noise level coming from many platforms has never been louder. It’s not impossible to launch a show or support a program and see success without an investment in promotion, but it slows the growth process, and it decreases the odds for success. “Build it and they will come” is a great mantra from the movie Field of Dreams. It isn’t a business strategy. Word of mouth, the number one way that people find new products, is a fire that starts with a spark originating in marketing. That’s often how word of mouth begins.

One warning: never promote a product before it’s ready. The quickest way to kill a product that’s not performing to perfection is to tell people about it. 

Patience: Giving a new show time to develop and an audience time to find them requires patience. Something few have in today’s highly competitive environment. It takes time to break through the noise. Time is critical in allowing a new program to adjust to one another and become comfortable with their surroundings. That includes the market, coworkers, and the culture of the company that is employing the talent. The larger the market, the more time that’s needed to break through. Be patient.