Eyes across the radio industry last week were on the Audacy news. Rightfully so. There was a lot happening.
When news like that breaks, many across the industry become consumed by it. Some even flock to social media declaring radio dead, trashing upper management or questioning individual decisions. Say what you will about individual companies and leaders, but most prefer revenue growth and retaining people over cutting staff. That may not be what you want to hear, but if expenses rise and revenue dips, it’s going to continue to happen. It sucks. I wish there was an end in sight, but there’s not.
If the Audacy situation had you distracted last week, I get it. You missed a few gems though, some of which we covered on BarrettMedia.com.
April Fool’s Prank Pays Off
First, let’s go back to April Fool’s Day. K104 in the Hudson Valley area of NY created and executed a bit that created some buzz.
The radio station created a satirical blog, styled as a breaking national story. The headline read, The Freedom Flag: Trump’s Bold Plan to Redefine America’s Greatest Symbol. A fictional “Freedom Flag Project” was introduced containing four eye-catching flag concepts—each pushing the boundaries of tradition. It sparked strong reactions from readers and listeners as expected.
The bit itself was fun and perfectly timed, but it was something that Pamal Broadcasting COO Chuck Benfer said in the company’s press release that got my attention.
“We wanted something that felt real, got people talking, and brought a little fun and creativity to an important milestone like America250,” said Benfer. “One of our missions is to bring radio back to the fun, irreverent and unpredictable days that made our industry great! Live, local, relevant and relatable are how we will cut through the noise and capture attention. I am so happy that our team is embracing our movement to making local radio amazing again!”
A Reminder of the Benefits of Being Bold
Elsewhere on April 1st, Q104.3 pushed out a video clip on Facebook from Q104.3’s Jim Kerr’s Rock & Roll Morning Show. Kerr was asked by Trevor Marden about great April Fool’s Day pranks he took part in during his career. Jim cited one specific instance in 1991 when for an entire morning, Kerr took his entire show to Z100 and broadcast live on the radio station. The Z Morning Zoo led by Gary Bryan took over the airwaves of WYNY, Jim’s radio station.
Making the feat especially impressive is that the two stations were owned by different companies at the time. This wasn’t a case of folks inside the same building working together to make it happen. Custom jingles were created to make both shows sound like they were airing on the right signals like usual. Audience members phoned in trying to figure out what happened.
In this particular instance, two groups pushed aside concerns about local ratings and revenue, and focused instead on the bigger picture; creating radio buzz. By taking a risk, the two brands created a moment that has stuck with Jim for 35 years.
What’s Holding YOU Back?
As I thought about Chuck’s quote, and Jim’s reflection on how that 1991 prank connected, I couldn’t stop asking myself, ‘when did the radio industry that I love become so damn risk adverse?’ Can you image what type of excitement the audience and advertisers would feel if WFAN and ESPN NY or 104.3 The Score and ESPN 1000 traded places for a day? Or if HOT 97, Power 105.1 or WBLS swapped shows? Imagine if you turned on your TV and two networks changed locations for an hour. It’d have everyone talking. That’s a great support tool for sales too the next time a client says your medium isn’t cool and can’t create buzz.
Dan Patrick and Chris Russo agreed last week to host each other’s shows before DP retired. How come they’re willing to try something fun, but so many on local levels are timid? What’s standing in your way of making things happen? Is it a lack of creative ideas or executives or legal professionals putting handcuffs on your ideas?
Radio is at its best when it’s fun, unpredictable, and showcasing its creativity and connection. Earlier in my career, I worked for Chuck Benfer, and he encouraged and expected creativity. I worked on a rock morning show at WPDH that couldn’t back time or tell time but was good at creating moments and reactions. The hosts could see a story about a sign coming down and turn it into an issue that backed up traffic across a bridge. They could see a street teamer standing near a puddle and turn it into a bit that became radio gold. I learned a lot about allowing your imagination to run wild in order to create memorable content.
It doesn’t have to be crazy, outlandish or original to make a mark either.
Borrow From the Best
When we launched 95.7 The Game in San Francisco in 2011, I introduced a promotion called Lucky Break. The concept wasn’t original, it was a talent show to give an undiscovered talent a chance to become a sports radio host. I took parts of The Voice, American Idol, The Ultimate Fighter, etc. and put a sports radio spin on it. The promotion had different challenges, celebrity judges, station coaches, live shows on location featuring 16 contestants, with the audience having a voice in the process.
When I told the staff about the promotion, a few rolled their eyes and under their breath uttered, ‘this is amateur hour’. I reminded everyone that Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Chris Daughtry and Carrie Underwood were successful artists who started the same way and nobody from the competition would stay if they didn’t earn their keep.
Over the next 8-9 weeks, that promotion created a lot of buzz. The audience, talent, and sales team all took notice. The first person to audition showed up 7 hours early, wearing a custom made “F**k KNBR’ shirt lol. Madison Bumgarner, Brandon Belt, David Lee, Owen Nolan and Jacoby Ford served as judges alongside John Lund and I. Brandon Tierney and Dan Dibley were the Coaches, Brodie Brazil was the host, and after picking our field of 16, a live weekly 2-hour show started, and put 5 contestants up for elimination each week, giving the audience a chance to vote until 5pm the next day to save 1 of them. Thousands of texts poured in, video clips ran across all shows, talent talked about it, Jeff Schmidt showcased the drama in promos, and it caught on.
Daryle ‘Guru’ Johnson won that promotion, and now co-hosts the midday show 15-years later. Others from that competition (Rudy Ortiz, Zakariah, and Brandon Santiago) went on to work in radio too. The San Francisco Chronicle also did a full story on it. It was a memorable promotion that started in my head and became successful because everybody involved brought it to life.
Doubling Down on Creativity
People outside your walls think you have the coolest job in the world. A company pays you to play in the toy department. So while you’re in it, why not create memorable moments and experiences? I’m not talking about watch-parties at a bar on election night, a charitable golf tournament or on-air trivia either. Those may make you money but they’re not memorable. A Jim Kerr April Fool’s Day stunt, iHeartRadio Music Awards, Mandy Awards, Z Morning Zoo John Cena phone scam, Boomer & Gio Live or Wing Bowl are.
Too many people bury themselves in process, meetings, and paperwork instead of creating powerful content, moments, promotions, and events. You can be great at scheduling clocks, writing promos, PPM ratings analysis, and assigning tasks, but that doesn’t earn you multiple contracts and raises. Big ideas that generate big buzz and bigger dollars do.
I started my career during an era where the craziest shit happened inside of a radio studio. Every day was an adventure. It was exciting, fun, chaotic, messy, but man did it make you feel like you were doing what everyone else wished they could. Where is that passion, spark, and creativity? Does it exist in your building? Inside your soul? Are you continuing to look for ways to educate and challenge yourself or are you doing what you’ve done for years because ‘it’s good enough’? If you’re looking for new ideas and information, I trust I’ll see you at our Summit in NYC June 30-July 2.
Today, there is more creativity available on X, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube than on most radio stations. There is also more competition for eyes and ears. Radio can’t afford to restrict creativity. Too many brands are becoming the equivalent of elevator music. It’s comfortable and convenient, but few would notice if the channel were changed. Magic can still be created on your airwaves. The question is, what’s stopping you, and do you have ideas to move people and the guts to bring them to life?
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. Sign up for our newsletters to stay updated and get the latest information right in your inbox.
Jason Barrett is the Founder and CEO of Barrett Media. The company launched in September 2015 and has provided consulting services to America’s top audio and video brands, while simultaneously covering the media industry at BarrettMedia.com, becoming a daily destination for media professionals. Prior to Barrett Media, Jason built and programmed 95.7 The Game in San Francisco, and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He was also the first sports programmer for SportsTalk 950 in Philadelphia, which later became 97.5 The Fanatic. Barrett also led 590 The Fan KFNS in St. Louis, and ESPN 1340/1390 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and worked on-air and behind the scenes at 101.5 WPDH, WTBQ 1110AM, and WPYX 106.5. He also spent two years at ESPN Radio in Bristol, CT producing ‘The Dan Patrick Show’ and ‘GameNight’. JB can be reached on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or by email at Jason@BarrettMedia.com.
