“Good luck with your bracket!” As I reviewed last week’s sent email file, I realized March Madness bracket success was a consistent theme in closing most of my emails to business-related recipients.
It falls under the category of an in-the-moment reference to show I’m paying attention to life beyond the standard request for an audience email message. Typically, it’s a weather reference. That’s safe territory, and it’s easy to look up the Quad Cities weather conditions before hitting send.
Sidebar: Quad Cities (Davenport-Bettendorf-Rock Island-Moline) is my favorite generic city reference. It goes back to the days of listening to jingle demos. At the end of the Top of Hour jingle, I would sing “Quad Cities!” If it fit comfortably, I knew it might work for my multi-syllabic or dual-city market.
Disclosure: I lived in Illinois as a child for a moment. I’ve never been to the Quad Cities. When you research the Iowa/Illinois towns, you’ll discover they’ve added East Moline as a qualifying city. Now, it’s five neighboring markets. However, the nickname hasn’t changed to Penta Cities. That would change the jingle-sing because Penta is at least one-and-a-half syllables—maybe two, depending on how close you live to the Gulf of America.
A deep background on the March Madness bracket is necessary. The NCAA Tournament is my favorite TV event of the last few decades. I’ll spend more time checking scores on my sports app, watching the games on a device while I’m working on a project, listening to a game on the local radio station or the satellite while I’m driving than all of my TV/Video viewing in the combined first quarter of 2025.
Yet, I don’t fill out a bracket. But wait, I’m a fan, right? True. Maybe I avoid the bracket because there’s a “chance” even if money isn’t involved. I grew up in a home where we weren’t allowed to have face cards in the house. Do you know those kids who were told to go outside, play with the sticks, ride their bikes for eight hours, and be home at dinner? Yeah, that was us—more disclosure: I bought my first Powerball ticket of 2025 last Friday. Clearly, I didn’t win, and that’s why I’m writing this column.
Maybe I avoid the bracket because my competitive nature doesn’t like to lose. Nope. That’s the power of competition. You believe you can win, no matter how much the odds are stacked against you. Maybe it’s as simple as not wanting to devote the time to an activity with no real payoff to me. These are analyses I’ll save for a therapist.
However, I love the idea of the tournament bracket every year. When someone in the office coordinates the bracket, it creates a connection among people who otherwise would have no reason to communicate except through cordial greetings in the break room, conference room, or Zoom/Teams setting.
Bracketology creates on-air, web-based, or social media promotions and events. It gives people like me a reason to incubate quirky and meaningful themes like these to help create ear candy and sales opportunities.
What’s Your Brand’s Bracket?
People: This is obvious. The recent industry RIFs are disturbing for the sake of those who lost their jobs. But we know radio was different when every air shift was hosted by a live DJ/Announcer in the studio. I didn’t say better, but it was different, and different is what the industry needs right now.
We know this one isn’t going back to what it used to be. So, how do we make the reduced-personnel reality better for the audience? AI? Maybe. Or, how about we upgrade positions with people who move faster and handle more responsibility but pay them more because they provide a better product for the audience? That’s a good place to start, but it needs a visionary to explain the needs of the revolution.
This is getting too deep. Let’s get more practical.
On-Air Assets: I like to write down everything I hear in an hour. Everything. Do this and ask yourself, “What would they miss?” The listener isn’t going to call you about programming elements. You would have to get their response in a focus group by asking questions and following their clues to find answers. However, those items create a character and comfort about your product. Are there too many or not enough? “Why does that Rejoin matter? I don’t care about it.” (Think bracket). However, maybe that piece of audio is or should be an emotional connector for the listener.
Off-Air Assets: If you don’t know why your listeners come to your website or social media channels, request the answer from your digital manager. I can tell you right now. The #1 reason is to listen to your radio station. The other reasons provide usage insight. Would the #4 and #5 most visited sections of the website increase in activity if #8 and #9 were not dragging it down? Possibly. Before you remove the noise, ask your team if these items complement the character of the site or just junk it up.
It could be as simple as the advice from the declutter expert Marie Kondo: “Keep only the things that spark joy.” We wish it were that easy. In the one-to-many reality of radio broadcasting, we’re creating joy, excitement, anger, fulfillment, or hope for a large group of people.
Look for the brackets. The people and programming features and assets that create character and connection beyond a spreadsheet or scheduling program.
Ron Harrell is a columnist for Barrett Media. He founded Harrell Media Group, specializing in radio and audio brand consultation, fractional management, and talent coaching. He has worked in every role on the Programming and Branding side during his career, becoming management and executive-focused in the post-Telecom Act era. Ron has held leadership roles for media groups such as ABC/Citadel, CBS Radio, Chancellor Media, Cumulus Media, Hope Media Group, Hubbard Broadcasting, and WAY Media.
Interested parties are invited to learn more about his company Harrell Media Group and reach out by email at Ron@HarrellMediaGroup.com.
