And now a little story…

In my other life I do some baseball announcing during Spring Training for the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins. I’m the guy that comes on loudly on the loud speakers and tells you not to smoke, run, or have any fun, by golly! And I do it in both English and Spanish because they’ll pay me twice as much. No fumar, por favor!

At some point in Spring Training the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox, and Philadelphia Phillies come to town. These games are sold out months and months in advance.

So why am I sharing this little story?

Because none of the regular players show up. No Aaron Judge, no Bryce Harper, no Aroldis Chapman. Nope, just a busload of minor leaguers with uniform numbers like 97, 98, and 99. But still the games are sold out.

What in the name of Abner Doubleday is going on here?

People that shell out cash for these games months in advance are fans of the team (that is, the brand), more than just individual players at a moment in time for a season.

My friends Joe Battaglia and Tommy Kramer are lifelong Yankee fans, and they still would be tomorrow even if they traded away Giancarlo Stanton or didn’t play Phil Linz in the ’64 World Series. Same for someone that grew up watching Carl Yastrzemski of the Red Sox or Mike Schmidt of the Phillies.

What does this tangent about baseball have to do with your station?

Fans are connected to the BRAND more than the individual parts of the brand. (See Frost Advisory #334 – Lessons Learned From The Chicago Cubs).

“Brands are like novels and movies and TV shows. Brands are like hit songs. Brands are like actors and musicians.

Brands are like good books.”

Bill Bernbach

Mic drop. Only a select few radio stations in our format are unique BRANDS. Most are simply commodities known for little more than what is inherent in the music we play.

If the words that define your station are words that any station in the format can have simply by being on the air, then they aren’t unique and preferable.

Here’s my challenge.

Make a list of the programming elements on your station that aren’t inherent in the music of the format. In other words, attributes that aren’t created by someone else.

Of those elements unique to your station, which are fundamental to why listeners are fans? THOSE are your unique brand values.

Those are the values you can build your franchise on.

A brand is much more than just a combination of attributes.

“Commodity is something that can be replaced, removed, exchanged for, or even ignored … for something that is better, faster, or cheaper. But community, that’s an entirely different animal. A community is a sense of belonging. We all need it. We all need it now more than ever.”

Sangram Vajre