It depends on what it is, but only rarely have I heard a Positioning phrase or slogan that actually matters, especially if it’s just touting things like “12 in a row” or “50-minute music hours,” or the nebulous “More music.”  (More music than what?  My refrigerator?)

Anybody who wants to do so can make those claims, and somebody will, I guess, but why settle for that?

Here’s what you really are:  What the listeners think you are when they listen to you.

So consider taking off a lot (or all) of the “sloganeering” and SHOW me why I should listen.  It starts with THIS time you open the mic.

Note: there are stations whose Imaging actually means something.  But I wouldn’t say they’re in the majority.

All great air talents know this.  But the road from good to great is a little muddy sometimes.  So here’s an easy “sifting” tip – the only two real Content guidelines:

1. Hopefully, what you’re talking about is something that the listener cares about.
2. But it should at LEAST be something that the listener has an interest in.  Has.  Already.

Here are some questions to ask yourself: Continue reading →

One of the most incomplete thoughts ever said to air talent is “If we’re having fun, the listener’s having fun.”

Ridiculous.  If the LISTENER’S having fun, the listener’s having fun.  You can be having a party in the control room, but if it doesn’t resonate with the listener, it doesn’t matter.

I ask this all the time: “Who’s our target listener?”

What I usually get is a white-page report being regurgitated to me, usually a demo bracket, some assumptions treated as fact, and not one example of how to pull that person in.  It’s hardly ever about one clearly targeted listener. Continue reading →

The other night, casually watching a New York Yankees broadcast with the most excellent Michael Kay and former great pitcher David Cone, something really struck me that Cone said.

He was talking about a Yankees pitcher who had not had a good beginning last season, and made the decision to dramatically dive into the metrics that are available now – arm angle, spin rate, pitchers’ and batters’ “planes” that they pitch or swing on, etc.  He totally revitalized his career when he learned about what more spin means, rather than just speed.

Think about that.  These guys make millions of dollars, he’s done it one way his whole life, and all of a sudden, this guy makes a dramatic change.

Continue reading →