I’ve always been a big believer in my time in radio and business in the power of positivity. Where a positive attitude gives you power over your circumstances instead of your circumstances having power over you. It goes without saying that the world needs more positivity—just a little more each and every day.
This week, while scrolling through my social media feeds, I found myself awestruck by the amount of positivity that flooded my timelines. It wasn’t birthday wishes or newfound career opportunities. Instead, it was a number of media brands celebrating great months, outstanding statistics, and sharing record metrics to showcase the hard work and results of their people.
The only negative about all the positivity? None of these brands were radio companies.
The Pat McAfee Show is one of the most celebrated sports programs in recent memory as it continues to set trends in sports media. It looks, feels, and sounds different than anything else you see, connect with, or hear on traditional sports radio. It’s a show that runs a disclaimer before every program to explain how the talent are a “bunch of stooges talking about the happenings in the sports world.”
It’s not the sports radio programming you grew up with, and they like it that way.
The show closes every day with Pat McAfee saying the following:
“Be a friend, tell a friend something nice. It might change their life. We’re in this thing together.”
Every show, every weekday ends with the power of positivity.
The Power Of Positivity: Social Media
Scouring my LinkedIn feed this weekend, I came across an infographic from the Locked On Podcast Network from a couple of weeks ago. A brand-styled infographic celebrated the network’s “biggest week ever”—over 9.9 million listens and views during the week of the Super Bowl, leading the brand to proclaim, “Locked On is the daily go-to source for passionate local sports fans to get the story behind the biggest moments in sports.”
Scrolling down my feed, I came across another infographic. The CEO of ALLCITY Network, Brandon Spano, shared news that Super Bowl week was a massive win for the five markets where ALLCITY calls home—25.4 million impressions, 6.2 million views and downloads, and more than 200,000 hours of content watched for the ALLCITY brands during Super Bowl week.
“An absolutely massive number in the world of local media,” posted Spano. “For those counting, we are only in five markets now. The potential, at scale, for the leader of all local markets is tremendous and something we’re excited about building.”
There were over 150 media outlets in New Orleans for Super Bowl LIX, including ALLCITY, Locked On, and a number of traditional sports radio outlets.
Was there any positivity for sports radio to share?
Capitalizing On The Moment
The Super Bowl is the single biggest stage for professional sports in the United States. It draws the attention of every single type of fan, from passionate to casual, providing entertainment on the field, at halftime, and in the commercial breaks. It’s the pinnacle opportunity for sports brands to attach celebrity and build FOMO moments because of the access that the NFL has provided over many years.
FOX Sports celebrated their massive viewership numbers days after the Philadelphia Eagles won their second Super Bowl championship in franchise history. Apple Music celebrated record-setting viewership of the halftime show performance by Kendrick Lamar. Was there anything for sports radio to celebrate?
FOX Sports Radio can build a nice set on Media Row, but where’s the celebration of the wins for the week?
iHeartRadio has an exclusive partnership with the NFL Podcast Network. Were there any wins to share from the week that was in the Big Easy?
Controlling The Narrative In Radio
For as long as I’ve been involved with the radio business, I’ve always had to battle the narrative that the medium is “dying.” It’s not hard to see why that’s the narrative those outside of radio believe. Automakers are aiming to get rid of AM radio in electric vehicles, leading to Congress crafting legislation to save it. The continued success of podcasting has led many clients to think differently about their advertising dollars. Last week, YouTube announced one billion active monthly viewers of podcast content on the platform.
Where’s the positivity from radio? Where is radio celebrating the wins?
Are there wins for radio? I’m finding it harder to find them now more than ever.
This past Monday, I spent the evening watching my favorite television show, WWE Monday Night Raw. It’s no secret that WWE is a money-making juggernaut in the sports entertainment world. After every PLE (premium live event), WWE Chief Content Officer Paul Levesque holds a press conference streamed on YouTube to a watching cume that rivals some sports radio stations. The press conference always begins with the wins—the business figures.
Highest-grossing gate. Sponsorship records. Viewership figures. Attendance and merchandise sales.
Monday Night Raw on Netflix was no different. The brand celebrated their massive social media engagement from Saturday night’s Elimination Chamber event—record views on several social platforms, sharing headlines from online and print publications, and clipping creators in the internet wrestling community showing their emotional excitement to the happenings of John Cena turning heel for the first time in his career.
There isn’t a metric that WWE missed promoting in some way between the conclusion of Elimination Chamber on Saturday night to the conclusion of Raw on Monday night.
By telling the story, you control the narrative of how people view and are attracted to your product.
Radio Can Be Better | Radio MUST Be Better
Every radio programmer pulls data from ratings to digital engagement to tell a story to a sales staff, a management team, or the talent themselves. The job of the programmer is to always point out the positives for sales teams to equip sellers going into battle to earn more dollars for the brand. Constantly educating your sales staff is key to not being lost in the shuffle when dollars are on the line, and there’s no better data than celebrating a win.
Where radio programmers continue to miss the point is—why not share the wins with your consumers? The same people who, every day, give you and your advertisers the most valuable thing they own—their time. A radio station is only as successful as the story it tells to the people emotionally connected to it. Brand loyalty is the most valuable real estate any radio brand can own, and that loyalty should be celebrated when there’s a reason to celebrate.
Is there any downside to sharing a ratings win with a cool, station-themed static image that your staff can promote through a share on social media?
Is there any downside to sharing on social media that a brand’s digital metrics on YouTube continue to grow over time?
Is there any downside to sharing download data of an on-demand podcast channel that, since last year, has eclipsed a specific number of downloads?
Sounds all positive to me!
In a time when radio talent are constantly looking over their shoulder for the next round of layoffs and pressured to do more work for no additional pay, wouldn’t it make sense to take time to celebrate the positives more today than ever before and showcase the hard work of the people who make brands what they are?
If the power of positivity is good enough for everyone else, why not radio?
It just might change someone’s life.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
John Mamola is the sports editor and columnist for Barrett Media. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. Honored to be a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Media and honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL). Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
