Opinions are easy. Emotions are… more difficult. These two things are related, but they’re not the same.
The revealing of an Opinion is fine, but the revealing of an Emotion tops that.
An Opinion is subjective. An Emotion is clear and undeniable.
So sure, let’s hear what you think. But let’s also hear what you FEEL.
“The most listened to Christian radio station in America.”
My first day in the station I suggested that they eliminate that positioning line. In our format, EGO is counterproductive. Humility is a virtue. Serving others is a primary value.
Inside thinking is the default of every station, because we’re all inside!
A television station in my town has marketing campaign based on their 25 years on the air. It includes various notables of their network congratulating them and lauding that they are “the best station in town!” One network celebrity (whose initials are Jimmy Fallon) says, “it’s the best station in town, and the best station in any town.” I’M NOT MAKING THIS UP, as Dave Barry would say.
Continue readingMy associate John Frost quoted this recently:
“The essence of branding and being worth consuming is that experience, not the ingredients which make it up.”
Mark Ramsey
If you’ve read any of these coaching tips, you know that I always think about what it’s like on the listener’s end of the radio first. So, here’s the coaching perspective…
Continue readingIt seemed an innocent enough question. My new friend Randy had just become the program director of an already successful Christian music station that I reckon you’ve heard of.
One day over fajitas and guacamole he turns to me and asks, “What is most important for me to know about having success in this format?” Two days and numerous servings of chips and salsa later we were still quacking.
Continue readingEveryone should want to be really good at what they do. Really, really good.
But not everyone knows how to get there. Let me make it simple for you:
Our format is foundationally based on values. It attracts people that share those values, both listeners and staff. In visiting a station I often observe how we come from different places and backgrounds but we’re all in the same room at the same time because of shared values.
The great irony then is that too few stations communicate shared values and vision with their listeners. Stations are more likely to message the attributes of the music itself (positive, encouraging, uplifting) which are generic to any station playing the music than message something unique and preferable to their own brand, a more important factor in markets with multiple CCM stations.
It’s the difference between being a commodity and being a brand.
Continue readingIt seems like I’ve had to explain countless times over the years why questions – especially little rhetorical questions, like “Right?” – are ineffective today.
There was a time – about 25 or 30 years ago – when Questions were in vogue. (The “Where’s the meat?” campaign is a good example. You can look up the ads on YouTube.) It was thought then that Questions produced interest in the product.
But in today’s ten-second-attention-span world, they don’t hold water anymore.
This may be the simplest Frost Advisory you’ve ever read. But simplest doesn’t mean easiest.
I’ve learned that every bad radio station has three things in common:
After hearing a couple of overly long breaks the other day on a music station I work with, this came up in the next coaching session:
Use fewer words.
Continue readingIn the previous two Frost Advisories (here and here) I’ve shared key challenges of a station in our format becoming a market leader.
