Last week, Tim Richards, Jimmy Steal, and Heidi McIvor-Allen announced the launch of Collective Heads, a new consulting venture. Collective Heads will offer consulting services for on-air influencers, podcast curating and coaching, creative talent coaching, and digital advertising.
“Collectively,” they answered a series of questions for this week’s Consultant’s Corner.
Jeff Lynn: How do you view the current state of radio?
CH: Great talent, great branding, and being more entrenched in your community has never been more important, and that is incredibly exciting.
JL: What role(s) are you looking to fill with your new venture?
CH: Delivering insights from our deep and varied experience that help teams focus most of their time on the critical few things that positively impact ratings and revenue. For PPM Markets, we have some tools that are unique to our team and may help.
JL: What are a couple of the most significant issues Music Radio is facing right now?
CH: Discovering, coaching, and optimizing breakthrough talent and getting as many occasions as possible from your pre-existing audience while finding ways to attract those who may love your product but are unaware of your brand.
JL: Can you share a couple of tips for coaching talent?
CH: In the mornings, talent must first understand who they are in the context of the show, what they are trying to communicate, and especially in the case of mornings, the plot of their show.
JL: What advice do you have for stations and talent to rise to the top in the competition for the ear with all the audio sources available?
CH: Be purposeful about everything. What are you offering in the way of original content that cannot be duplicated elsewhere? Why would anyone be interested in becoming a member of your club?
JL: How do you coach on-air talents to extend their brands through video and podcasting?
CH: First, they must know exactly what their brand is; then, the messaging should never vary across platforms; ideally, your content container echoes who you are and the value you bring no matter what the specific content is.
JL: When working with on-air talent, what tips do you give for ceasing a moment and making the show local?
CH: EVERYTHING can have a local aspect; if you can’t find one, you’re likely not thinking hard enough about the subject. Anyone can cover a local story; how do your personalities make themselves part of the story? There is a huge difference between the two.
JL: Why do you think radio stations consistently play it so safely and no longer take chances with things like new music or innovative programming and features?
CH: Unfortunately, we have become an industry that’s fearful instead of fearless. While nothing replaces the stickiness of a new idea whose time has come, many cling to the “tried and true” thinking of the past. I maintain it is actually more risky to try to recreate the past than to build off of it.
JL: How do you see AI impacting the industry, both good and bad?
CH: AI is a tool, like any tool it depends whose hands it’s in. If we use it as a tool to spur creativity and free up time to allow us to be more creative, great. If it’s viewed entirely as a cost cutting tool and it further limits us from what we do best as a medium, then not so good.
JL: How can programmers balance the need for programming integrity with the need to get every revenue dollar in the door?
CH: Good question. This is another test of our creativity. Sponsors are not necessarily a tuneout by themselves, the world is now used to everything having a sponsorship component. How we present the sponsor in terms of a fun aspect and in respecting brevity are two very important presentational aspects on whether a sponsorship is perceived negatively, or not, and we do have control over that!
JL: What was the best piece of career advice you ever received?
CH: What are you creating that someone can’t get anywhere else? It forces you to judge your career/brand/talent in the hard, cold light of day.
Learn more about Collective Heads here.
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Jeff Lynn serves as Editor of Barrett Media’s Music Radio coverage. Prior to joining Barrett Media, Jeff spent time programming in Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland, Des Moines, and Madison for multiple radio groups, including iHeartMedia, Townsquare Media, NRG Media, and Entercom (now Audacy). He also worked as a Country Format Editor for All Access until the outlet shut down in August 2023.
To get in touch with Jeff by email, reach him at Jeff@BarrettMedia.com.
