I’m a thief. And if you’re any kind of salesperson, you probably are, too. I say this because all of us should have, at least one time or another, stolen a good idea from another station, another market, another industry or somewhere.
It happens every day in our business and most every other business out there. Someone comes up with a new way of doing something, the proof of concept shows the idea is a good one (in our case, it makes lots of money!) and slowly but surely everybody else steals the idea.
One way I do this I’ve talked about several times in this space, as I often train new sellers using Dave Gifford’s system combined other bits of wisdom I’ve taken/stolen/borrowed/adopted from others in media, sales, events and just business in general. I’m a sucker for a good quote or a one-liner that puts things into its simplest form, such as Giff’s line: “What you say, times how many times you say it, is the only thing that works in advertising.”
Any good manager, trainer, co-worker or industry expert I’ve come in contact with over the last twenty-five years, I’ve generally taken something from. Some of it has changed over the years, but not as much as you might think. My first piece of advice after becoming a manager in 2002 (“Don’t let the minutiae of this job bog you down or you’ll never get to the important stuff”) is something I’ve said to every manager I’ve hired and every first-time manager I’ve come across since.
Copy ideas are another area I tend to take/steal/borrow/adopt, and why wouldn’t we? A good idea for a piece of copy in Oshkosh, Wisconsin is usually a good idea for a piece of copy in Ding Dong, Texas. You may change the dialect or a line, but if the overall concept was good and it makes sense for your client’s product or service, use it. I’m on RAB.com all the time looking at different pieces of copy, which are sorted by industry, and trying to find ideas to use for current clients.
Promotions and events are the same way. When an event is done that is successful, there will most likely be some hype on social media showing the happy consumers. If it went well for a sports station somewhere, then there’s a good chance it might be good for you or your client. You don’t always have to reinvent the wheel, sometimes the best idea for your client is something someone else is doing.
On the client side, I always tell them they should be stealing, too. They should be looking at what big, national companies do in advertising. These companies spend millions with the top ad agencies in the world and some of the recommendations they make are quite clear.
They obviously suggest that companies advertise with frequency and consistency. Almost all of them have some sort of jingle or catchphrase they use that is memorable. And, many of them are using a mix of media to get their message across to their target audience.
So should local businesses. Obviously, many won’t be able to do it at an extreme level, but with the budget they have, they can at least follow the same formula the larger companies pay all that money to learn about.
Normally, you’d never want to be known as a thief. In our business, however, sometimes the person who is looking in other markets, on other websites, on social media or anywhere else you can find what is being done well outside of your area, is the one who is getting ahead. So, get out there and steal away!
Dave Greene is the Chief Media Officer for Barrett Media. His background includes over 25 years in media and content creation. A former sports talk host and play-by-play broadcaster, Dave transitioned to station and sales management, co-founded and created a monthly sports publication and led an ownership group as the operating partner. He has managed stations and sales teams for Townsquare Media, Cumulus Media and Audacy. Upon leaving broadcast media he co-founded Podcast Heat, a sports and entertainment podcasting network specializing in pro wrestling nostalgia. To interact, find him on Twitter @mr_podcasting. You can also reach him by email at Dave@BarrettMedia.com.
