This CHR made that journey in less than a year. While it was a bumpy ride at first, here’s what happened when the new PD and Lund Media collaborated on the strategy. Many of these actions can be applied to most formats. These ten actions contributed to the turnaround:
#1… Implemented The 3 M’s
We examined every aspect of Music, Mornings, and Marketing, including the playlist and rotations, clocks, imaging, morning show, talent presentation, website, visibility, mobile app, and other ways to build cume and partisanship. Many changes were made to give the station a fresh, exciting presentation.
#2… Tightened The Playlist
Familiarity breeds content, but this station played too many currents and recurrents in a row. The software was sent to Marie Osmond at Nutrisystem to put the playlist on a diet. We reduced the number of stiffs, and each category was shrunk to just hearing the top current songs in the power and secondary categories.
#3… Refocused the Music Direction
One cannot be obsessed with pleasing the labels and syndicators. Listeners must come first. We refocused the station to playing hits, not unfamiliar songs. New songs were added to evenings and overnights with less cume and a younger audience.
#4… Eliminated Most Features
There was a daily mix show in the morning and afternoon, “Throwback Thursday,” a noon request show, and Slow Jams on the weekend; all were eliminated. It was like going to the drive-thru at McDonald’s, and the main menu changed every hour. Instead of having features that deviated from the format, the station played what the audience expected – the biggest hits, 24-7.
#5… Simplified and Reduced Imaging
There was too much imaging, and it was heavily produced. It killed the forward momentum. Dry rollover imaging was added, rotating with the live talent between songs, and the imaging department was directed to edit all station imaging between songs to less than eight seconds. We don’t want to stop the music’s momentum with long imaging.
#6… Don’t Stop the Music!
Outside of AM drive, talents stopped the music in a sweep to do lengthy breaks. We halted these music sweep stoppages, so talent breaks occurred over song intros. We scheduled promos, traffic, weather, contests, teases, and remote breaks to always be in stopsets …not between songs in a sweep.
#7… Sound Relatable
The talents needed to communicate local events. There were too many missed promotional opportunities. Show prep services were scrutinized. Listeners are tired of the national showbiz “Dirty on the 30” when they’ve already seen Hollywood news they care about on social media. As a result, we constantly relate to the listener’s world.
#8… Streamlined Mornings
Most breaks sounded like they were winging it. We created a new emphasis, “fun and funny.” Morning talents were taught how to prep, edit, and find their entrance and exit ramps. Talent coaching occurred daily. Like any actor, musician, or athlete, preparation is key.
#9… Cut Back on Voice Tracks
Weekends are a good time to reel in new listeners, but they were mostly tracked with no local relatable info. That changed to live-sounding shows. We directed weekend air talents to talk about local events, concerts, and sporting events. They related things that are fun or interesting to see or do locally, like the 4th of July parade and firework displays, shopping for school supplies, going to the beach, etc. Talents include local references in their content breaks.
#10… Committed to Being Live and Local
There was too much voice tracking daily, and talent tracks sounded like no one was there. We updated this automated style with more live breaks between songs. We implemented a way for voice tracking to sound live and local and encouraged posting a common on the website and social media about what’s going on in their show or the local area at least once during each show.
These changes streamlined the station with a “street level” focus, and talents executed the basics precisely, including saying the station name forty times an hour. Audience response was instant, as reflected in the ratings. It worked so well that we applied the same tactics to their Country and Classic Rock FMs. Within a year, the stations were the top three in Nielsen.
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John Lund is President of the Lund Media Group, a radio programming, broadcast consulting, and research firm with specialists in all mainstream radio formats. You can leave a comment below or email him at John@Lundradio.com.