In coaching somewhere around 1700 people over the last 30 years, I’ve found that a handy tool – particularly with young Talent – is to ask who they want to be like.
Think of how many kids growing up wanted to “Be Like Mike” (Michael Jordan). Kobe Bryant, for one. While he couldn’t be exactly like M. J., he definitely was the closest thing to him.
If you’ve been eavesdropping on these Frost Advisories over past 800 weeks you’ve likely sensed some reoccurring themes. Hopefully you’ve seen some big ideas that can help transform a station.
Maybe you’ve read some insights on which strategic concepts are vital to success. Candidly, some are ideas that I didn’t fully understand as a novice to the format 25+ years ago. Experience is a great teacher.
This week’s Frost Advisory drills down into one of those key concepts.
Continue readingOne of the things I always challenge morning shows to do as a new year begins is to come up with one new “feature” for the show.
This means dropping one old one.
One of the definitions of a feature is “Something offered as a special attraction.”
SPECIAL attraction. Not just something you start doing, but something you draw attention to.
Here are a few keys:
• It has to be focused. (Know your target listener. Aim for the bulls-eye.)
• You should have several examples in mind of how it’ll unfold before you ever air it.
• Think about a produced intro to make it stand out. (But make it short. A big buildup can backfire on you.)
• Think of how each “episode” ends first. THEN think of how to start it.
If you get into the habit of letting older bits go, and replacing them with new ones, you’ll probably put a little more distance between you and your competitors.
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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2026 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.
The beginning of a new year is a good time to review the basics. For instance, at my church our pastor takes the first two Sundays of each year to restate the purpose and vision of the church. Twice a year may not sound like a timely enough reminder but how many radio station share their purpose AT ALL? Fitness clubs and diet plans often base their marketing on people’s desire to return to the basics and embrace new habits.
A simple truth is that there are only two distinct elements to programming a radio station.
Continue readingIf you accept the old saying that “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” then it’s my firm belief that the way to a woman’s heart (on the air) is through her kids.
So if you target women, trust that even if she doesn’t have kids, someone else in her family does, or at least one of her closest friends does. And, everyone has a story to tell; it’s “common ground subject” #1.
This is my 800th Frost Advisory. It really is a lot of trouble, you know. I hope you feel sorry for me.
I’ve written this blog diligently every week for fifteen years and four months. I did the math. That’s longer than I’ve held any one job. That’s longer than I’ve lived in one city, minus one.
Frost Advisory #1 was prompted by my programming mentor Alan Mason saying bluntly to me, “You should write.”
Continue readingIt seems appropriate as we head toward the end of 2025 to offer this tip:
The world runs on Faith and Hope.
Either one of those will do, but both of them together is what everybody wants.
So – in the coaching process, and in the learning process, you have to have faith that you’re going to get better. And you have to hope that this next step will get you up that talent staircase to where you’re really a top-level performer.
Another year of coaching passes, and I wish everyone reading this a great next year.
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Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2025 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.
The Christmas season brings out the best in our format. More people tune in than at any other time of the year, some stations topping a million listeners per week, once unthinkable. A handful go to the top ranking #1 in their market.
Many stations often do the best job of connecting on common values with stories of hope, forgiveness, and fresh starts. Over the last several weeks I have heard some amazing stories and songs.
Continue readingRadio still seems to be somewhat nomadic. Rarely, if ever, does an air talent stay at one station all of his/her career.
But hopefully, moving to a new station is an upward move. I worked at many stations over my 30+-year on-air career, and nothing illustrates this point better than an early move I made from Dallas to San Diego. Continue reading
Is there a connection between Christmas and your station’s strategy? No, I didn’t say Christmas MUSIC. I said Christmas.
I’m told there are more “religious” radio stations in the United States than any other format category. They also say that those religious stations often have fewer listeners than the other format categories. Ouch!
Many Christian radio stations could best be described as “A bunch of stuff all on one station,” consisting of a little of this and a little of that with little connection to the WHY.
Continue reading
