There was a time—not that long ago—when every radio brand had a look and sound. Disc Jockeys were recruited for their special sound, and we surrounded the shows with fantastic imaging.
Talent wore sharp suits, wild scarves, even goofy hats. Not just for fun, but because it meant something. When you saw the air talent team, you knew them and their brand.
They had style. And they had a presence. They had an identity.
Think in the Way-Back machine:
• WMCA Good Guys – Harry Harrison was The Morning Mayor of New York City
• Boss Radio Jocks – The Real Don Steele and his kinetic character energy
• WLS Swinging Seven – Led by former colleague, The Wild I-talian Dick Biondi
You could spot the entire crew in a group photo and instantly connect them to the station.
Now, when you travel our country, Adult Contemporary brands typically present a homogenized, safe and unremarkable presentation.
Also, today, the visual branding identity has faded. Talent consistently appearing at events wearing station-branded apparel, holding a logo mic flag, or standing in front of a banner is increasingly rare.
The professional group photo for your lobby or social platforms? Virtually nonexistent.
Just because you’re in an Adult Contemporary format does not mean your brand needs to be placed in the background.
Radio once stood out as The Complete Package:
• A consistent look – gear treated like a uniform
• Memorable presentation – unique Aural Activators
• Strong performance – upbeat, prepared talent
• Dedicated coaching – consistent positive guidance
• Custom imaging and jingles – every talent needs custom branding
These elements work together to build powerful brand recognition.
Even with limited funds, you can build your own Complete Package:
• Think The WNBA – sell logos and sponsorships on your gear to help fund the uniform. The same goes for your station vehicles
• Like Netflix’s Tudum or Intel’s Bong, create a signature sound that plants in every piece of imaging. After a few seasons, you won’t need audio to accompany your sound. Simply the sound alone. SiriusXM’s Radio Margaritaville does this with a steel Drum piece
• No need for a prep service when you have virtually everything at your Internet Keyboard. Sites like Refdesk.com and Songfacts.com will serve your talent well
• Meet with your talent individually each week. Not simply an aircheck session, but for a personal connection. Have audio at the ready for examples. No audio logger? Get your brand to stream at DAR.FM and record audio logs for free
• If custom jingles are not in the budget, at a minimum, have your voice talent record custom lines for talent in each daypart. Listeners mostly cannot recite talent outside of your Morning Show
Before we size up and critique our competition, evaluate how we’re showing up visually to the listener.
• How is our talent representing our brand at events and appearances, and do they have the tools to make the look pop?
• When people see us, do they know from the uniform look who we are?
The human brain has around seven slots of short-term memory at any given time. Your brain also has about 22 seconds before it decides to burn the short-term memory slots in a new brain file or discards those slots.
We need to create brand awareness that grabs a slot in that short-term memory with our sound AND our look.
Some say it’s a pipe dream in 2025. However, in the years to come, we dream of a drive through our country and hearing local radio stations filled with passion, true communication and vibrant life – the reason we were drawn to this business!
The real reason we are losing audience to other audio media is that our content between the records is remedial, station branding sound is not unique, we’re invisible on the street, and coaching is nearly non-existent.
We can’t afford to be forgettable.
Let’s focus on being remarkable.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Stay updated by signing up for our newsletters to receive the latest information directly in your inbox.
Kevin Robinson is a passionate award-winning programmer, consultant and coach – with multi-formats success all over the country. He has advised numerous companies including Audacy (formerly Entercom Communications), Beasley Broadcast Group, Westwood One, Midwest Communications, Townsquare Media, Midwest Family Broadcasting Group, EG Media Group, Federated Media, Kensington Media, mediaBrew Communications, Starved Rock Media, and more. He specializes in strategic radio cluster alignment, building lean-forward tactics and talent coaching – legacy and entry-level – personalities.
Known largely as a trusted talent coach, Kevin is the only personality mentor who’s coached three different morning shows on three different brands in the same major market to the #1 position. His efforts have been recognized by The World Wide Radio Summit, Radio & Records, NAB’s Marconi, and he has coached CMA, ACM and Marconi Award-winning talent. He is also in The Zionsville High School Hall of Fame as part of the 2008 inaugural class. Kevin is an Indiana native – living near Zionsville with his wife of 39 years, Monica and can be reached at kevin@robinsonmedia.fm.
