Where are we marketing my show? Every Program Director and Market Manager has heard that question at one time or another. Every host wants to be promoted by the company that they work for. With marketing cash for radio stations hard to come by, stations largely have zero marketing budgets unless it’s a trade deal with a local TV Station. A marketing campaign for your radio station or show is there to build cume. The job of the Program Director or Host is to provide entertaining content that builds loyalty.
The first form of marketing many radio hosts desire are Billboards. It’s kind of logical; people listen to the radio while driving. In my career as a programmer, I’ve had billboards several times. I’ve yet to see a billboard campaign increase station cume. If the billboard says, “Johnny Sunshine, Mornings” under the Classic Hits 105.9 logo, it is not a driver of ratings or cume. If you can demonstrate to me a successful billboard campaign that increased cume, please email me at thepeterthiele@gmail.com.
There is one reason for your radio station to have a billboard campaign. It is a terrific asset to the sales department. Your station’s Account Executives can state that your station has a marketing campaign. Sadly, it also states that the radio station needs the least effective marketing medium available. So, there is that.
The first rule of any marketing message is what is the Unique Selling Proposition? So, driving in a major city with a billboard that says ‘Traffic every 10 minutes’ could qualify. Almost nothing else does.
TV Campaigns for News/Talk stations should never center on the personalities. It should be the content. I was a part of the biggest waste of money ever spent on a TV commercial. The morning show host was given carte blanche by the Market President for the copy and execution of the ad campaign. I was mad as well. The Ad was a self-serving ego stroke to the talent. The ad gave zero reasons to listen to the radio show. It was the morning personality showing himself off in different scenarios. There was no unique selling proposition or attention-grabbing opener.
The agency’s buy was worse. The TV buy was on morning shows that are certainly not targeted at a News/Talk audience. I warned the Market President in a sternly written email that this expensive campaign was going to fail. Well, I was right. The company spent hundreds of thousands of dollars for advertising that didn’t add one listener to the station. There was zero additional cume. There was no bump. It was an abject failure.
TV Advertising should be built around what is happening now and what your station is discussing. Because of amazing and affordable 4k cameras and equally cheap software to build tv commercials, these spots are now very affordable to make. Your cluster likely has a video production department that is capable of producing these on the fly. But what is the Unique Selling Proposition? What is the attention-grabbing opener?
Here are some examples of what not to use: “Best Conservative Talk is on _____”. “The radio station with the best news is _____”. The most important stuff is specifically what issues are gripping your community.
Try something like this instead: “Homeless marauders are destroying our neighborhoods, and the politicians don’t care.” “AM 560’s Jack Smith irritates little old ladies.” Use your station’s unique selling proposition after the attention-grabbing opener. You know, like our radio stations, they create commercials for advertisers. I have noticed imaginative creative services departments make awesome ads and the radio station’s TV spots all seemingly avoid basic advertising principles.
Nearly every radio group sells digital ads. When is the last time that your station had a digital advertising campaign? Being totally transparent, I have little understanding of the digital advertising space. I know that advertisers love it because there are analytics on the effectiveness of the campaign.
There is an awesome place for you to market your radio station – it’s called your radio station! Your radio station helps businesses succeed every single day.
How good is your radio show? Is every moment on your show a listener-focused experience that builds good-will with your audience? How are your daily promos? Are they boring as hell because you don’t want to really do one? How is your show? I speak from experience. I have hosted 3 hours a day, 5 days a week for years. It is a real challenge to have 3 hours a day that is stellar in every segment.
Are you discussing the topics that your listeners expect from you and your station? How super-focused are you on your target demographic? Are your generic promos awesome? What about your social media? Are your posts interesting, inventive, and driving listenership? What percentage of your station’s afternoon show is listening to morning drive? How can you improve that?
These people are listening to your station. Perhaps build a strategy to maximize your station’s cume. We are all hunting for more listeners. It is easy to make excuses. Ultimately, it is up to you as a Producer, Host, and Program Director to provide essential listening for your audience.
I don’t see many radio stations with healthy marketing budgets. We control what we control – what’s coming out of the speakers. Make your show essential, memorable, and impactful. It is your key to success. The power is in your hands.
Peter Thiele is a weekly news/talk radio columnist for Barrett Media, and an experienced news/talk radio programmer. He currently serves as News/Talk Format Captain for Zimmer Communications. Prior to joining Zimmer, Peter held programming positions in New York City, San Francisco, Des Moines, Little Rock, Greenville, Hunstville, and Joplin. Peter has also worked as a host, account executive and producer in Minneapolis, and San Antonio. He can be found on Twitter at @PeterThiele.
