They opened a new Whole Foods Market at the end of my block the other day. On opening day, a queue of shoppers formed that wrapped around the building, and the parking lot was so jammed that police were on hand to keep the cars moving. This came after about two years of anticipation, during which the slow Palm Beach County permitting process kept the locals guessing as to when the store would open. To the rest of the world, the most important news — especially in the radio world — coming out of here involved the circus at Mar a Lago; to our town, it was all about the new Whole Foods.
Here’s the baffling part: It’s not like we didn’t have Whole Foods already. In fact, two locations are about a 15-20 minutes drive from the new store. Anyone who wanted what Whole Foods offers could just hop into their cars and go. They could also go to several Sprouts stores, a couple of Trader Joe’s, lots of Aldi stores, and — since this is Florida — a Publix seemingly on every corner, along with Target and Walmart. Another supermarket? Nice and convenient, but why are people in a frenzy over it?
Because it’s new. It’s right here and it’s shiny and new. Never mind that the contents of the store are the same as the stores we already have. Forget that there weren’t any grand opening doorbuster deals for the first arrivals. It’s new, and people like new.
This explains why some radio stations call themselves “the all-new” when they’ve been in the same format for decades. Everybody’s on to the scam – the audience knows the station isn’t “all-new” – but they go along with it because it’s a harmless fib. But what would happen if a station truly WAS different and new? (I know, I know. Humor me for a minute.) Would people even know about it? How?
Radio is a product with practically no marketing to address consumers’ preferences. A format change will generate a couple of digital billboards and a social media post or two. Meanwhile, Whole Foods blanketed the immediate area around the store with direct mail coupons and sent representatives of the strip mall developer to HOA meetings to advise neighbors of construction progress and leasing updates. You’re launching a new station or a new show? Shouldn’t you tell someone about that?
I know that nobody’s left in local radio marketing, but even if all marketing is coming out of corporate, you have to be creative to get the word out. One thing radio could learn from its own past is that outlandish publicity stunts work. Is anyone doing anything with drones while that story is in the news? Like, faking a drone invasion that turns into a drone display promoting the station? Are you helping people deal with inflation by giving out cartons of eggs (they’re not that expensive right now, but you get the idea)? Are you going to where your listeners are – football tailgates, city Christmas displays, even grocery store openings – and doing something more provocative than setting up a card table and canopy and having some bored street teamers hand out beer koozies?
If you have something that’s new and different, let people know. Or just call what you’re already doing “new” and promote it. People like new even if it’s the same thing they can get elsewhere. I bet there weren’t lines to get into the other Whole Foods stores this week.
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Perry Michael Simon is a weekly news media columnist for Barrett Media. He previously served as VP and Editor/News-Talk-Sports/Podcast for AllAccess.com. Prior to joining the industry trade publication, Perry spent years in radio working as a Program Director and Operations Manager for KLSX and KLYY in Los Angeles and New Jersey 101.5 in Trenton. He can be found on X (formerly Twitter) @PMSimon.
