Yesterday, Keith Cunningham wrote a column about Rock radio, the importance of Memorial Day, and the connection between Rock music and the military.
It could be argued that Country radio has just as strong a connection. While true Marine platoons might not be playing “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” as they rush into battle, the Country audience is undeniably patriotic.
This sent my thought process down a parallel track to one of my biggest pet peeves. What is your station doing for special imaging for the holiday?
Memorial Day, in particular, allows you to increase that patriotic bond with your listeners. One of the best things I ever did was to solicit the names and photos of area service members who had lost their lives in service to our country.
A produced vignette that aired twice an hour listed names and their branch of the service. Taking it one step further, I hired a mobile digital billboard that rolled around to all the local celebrations, rotating the picture and name, as well as a slide in rotation with the local digital billboard.
What bothers me is that many stations do nothing. And it’s not just Memorial Day. What are you doing with station imaging that allows you to “seize the moment?”
When I was programming in Cleveland, I had the extreme pleasure of working with the late Mark Biviano. Biv, as he was known, was a huge proponent of capturing what was going on in the market, pop culture or sports. So much so that he asked me just one question when I was interviewing for the position. “How do you seize the moment?”
I have had so many people I have worked with or consulted over the years try to tell me, “Nothing happens in my market.” That tells me they are too lazy to look for it or put in the time to create special imaging pieces.
Imaging makes you seem plugged into your market. I live in Las Vegas, and just off the top of my head, here is what comes to mind that local stations could wrap themselves around.
Kenny Chesney is opening a residency at The Sphere. Today is supposed to be the first of many 100-plus degree summer days. Las Vegas schools got out for the summer yesterday. A record number of tourists are expected in the valley this weekend. Gas prices are around $4.45 a gallon.
All allow for imaging that will make stations seem in touch with the community. Programmers complain about the lack of local talent and the chance to localize content.
Your station’s voice is the most heard on the station. Yet few stations use them in a way to make them seem like one of the team and a part of your community.
Successful stations don’t just leave the writing to the program director. Ron Allen at 96.3 JACK-FM in Nashville has a weekly team writing session.
One of the best local pieces I have ever heard came from Marci Braun and US99 in Chicago. She challenged her team to answer this question: “Tell me you’re from Chicago without saying you’re from Chicago.” Deep-dish pizza, Chicago Hot Dogs, DA Bears and many more made a brilliant series.
While no one in their right mind will touch politics, the third rail, there are ways to be in touch without taking sides or pointing blame.
I recently wrote a feature on Cumulus Media’s Kincaid & Dallas and asked them how they handled things like the high price of eggs.
Kincaid said, “Will we reference things like if there’s not a lot of eggs at the grocery store? Absolutely. But we don’t then blame what some may say is the root cause of the issue.”
I have worked with voice actor John Willyard several times throughout my career. John is very good at blending your writing with a personal touch that makes it seem like he is another member of the staff. I never tried to hide who he was. We often referred to “John” on the air, and he had a page on the station website.
Investing in fresh imaging will make you stand out in a crowded fight for ear share. Local imaging is something that SiriusXM or Spotify can’t do.
Engage your staff. Include sales reps. They are out in the market daily, and you might be surprised at what they have seen and heard.
You already put the effort into cause marketing and being visible in the community. Attention to creating local imaging and seizing the moment is a bow on the station package.
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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.
