A Lesson From Disneyland On Listener Interaction

Last week, Galaxy’s Edge, a Star Wars-themed land opened at Walt Disney World. This is the second of these areas to open in the US this year. Disneyland opened its version of Galaxy’s Edge back in May. The reviews for both have been overwhelmingly positive. Still, Disney has considered the California-based Galaxy’s Edge something of a failure.

Consider the popularity of the Star Wars franchise. I don’t just mean the movies. People love the toys, the video games, and the merchandise. Fans get tattoos and name their kids Luke, Leia, and Han.

With the power of a franchise with that kind of fanatical devotion, Disney executives expected their new land to spur a rush at Disneyland. They restricted its annual pass holders’ access to Galaxy’s Edge until after what was expected to be an incredibly busy summer. Disneyland spent the spring preparing guests to expect long lines. Perhaps you saw the commercial for Galaxy’s Edge that featured a disclaimer that read “Some attractions and experiences may be closed due to capacity”.

So what effect did all that prep have? It didn’t result in more orderly crowds. In fact, it resulted in no crowds at all.

In a recent interview, Disney CEO Bob Iger acknowledged that the company had given potential Disneyland visitors the impression that there was no point in even trying to get into Galaxy’s Edge during its first summer of operation. In trying to prepare people for potential disappointment, it sent the message that anyone that tried to come to Galaxy’s Edge would almost certainly be disappointed, so don’t bother coming at all for a while. Surely there were other factors, but Disney acknowledged that its own messaging was to blame for the disappointing public response.

This is admittedly a long story, and if you’re wondering how it relates to radio, I’m getting to that right now. Maybe not every host or station can take a lesson from Disney’s problems in opening Galaxy’s Edge, but if your show relies on listener interaction, how do you make your topics sound like something everyone wants to talk about without accidentally giving the listeners the impression that trying to call is pointless because they are just going to be met with a busy signal?

First, stop counting how many lines you have open. There are a couple of reasons this is a useless practice. First, it sounds so dated. We live in the age of texts and Tweets. Unless your station is stuck in the Stone Age, listeners shouldn’t have to wait for an open phone line to share their opinion. Second, if you are telling listeners that a phone line has opened up, some may be motivated to call right away. Most will think “What are my chances of getting through?” and not even bother to pick up the phone.

Next, screen your calls. It is great to have regular callers, but they don’t need a platform every single day. If you have the same three, four, or five people getting on the show everyday, listeners that don’t regularly call could get the impression that you don’t take calls from people that aren’t “in the club” so to speak. Hearing other callers lets listeners know it is okay to call. Hearing the same callers over and over tells listeners that maybe those are the only people you want to call.

What about the text line or Twitter? How do you make sure listeners know their feedback is always welcome on these platforms? You can’t very well devote five minutes to reading Tweet after Tweet and text after text. That is boring as hell.

First, anytime you decide to incorporate texts and Tweets, thank listeners for contributing and note that you don’t have time to read every submission. Again, you can’t rely on the same texters and Twitter followers for every topic. You’re definitely going to notice people you can rely on to be funny and offer insightful commentary. Just keep that lesson about your show turning into an exclusive club in mind.

Try and get to the texts and Tweets quickly too. Your listeners put in the effort to make their opinion funny or noticeable in some way. Don’t hold onto them until you bring that topic up again in 90 minutes. Give them the payoff of hearing you read their Tweet on air.

Hell, give the people a carrot occasionally. Throw a like or retweet their way for something particularly funny. Text back that they made a good point and you are going to use it on air.

A lot of shows rely on audience interaction. Hosts that thrive in conversations with listeners have so different many ways to get what they need from their audience now. How you package your show will determine how many people line up to be a part of it.

Disneyland learned this lesson this summer. You get to learn it right now and it won’t cost you billions in lost revenue. It is good to be popular, and if your show or park is popular, it makes sense to assume people will want to be a part of it, but the message you send should be about them, not you.

The difference between telling listeners their texts, Tweets, and calls are welcome and telling them that everyone wants to text, Tweet, or call the show may be subtle, but the difference in payoffs is huge. One says “You should come check out Star Wars land! It’s going to be awesome.” The other says “Why bother? It’s going to be so crowded.”

Demetri Ravanos

Demetri Ravanos is a columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. He is also the creator of The Sports Podcast Festival, and a previous host on the Chewing Clock and Media Noise podcasts. He occasionally fills in on stations across the Carolinas in addition to hosting Panthers and College Football podcasts. His radio resume includes stops at WAVH and WZEW in Mobile, AL, WBPT in Birmingham, AL and WBBB, WPTK and WDNC in Raleigh, NC.

You can find him on Twitter @DemetriRavanos or reach him by email at DemetriTheGreek@gmail.com.