When I was going to Michigan State, radio station faculty advisor Gary Reid knew I wanted to go into programming. So he got me in touch with an old friend for an internship. That’s when I first met Fred Jacobs, President of Jacobs Media, and learned about what consultants do.
That introduction would turn out to be a major moment in my career. I would go on to work at the company twice. The most recent was a 13-year stint as a consultant, which I have enjoyed immensely.
Along the way, I also started writing for trade publications — thank you, Cyndee Maxwell and Erica Farber — which eventually led to my time here at Barrett Media, which I’ve also enjoyed a great deal. Thank you, Jason.
But now I’m leaving Jacobs Media and Barrett Media for an amazing new position at Zimmer Communications. So I thought for my last column I would offer some observations from my last decade-plus as a consultant. Ready?
The Music
1) Music scheduling should not rule your life. If you are a programmer who spends the majority of his/her/their time behind the keyboard doing logs, you need to adjust your focus.
2) The chart moves faster than your listeners. If you play current music in your format and you are keeping up with the chart — or worse yet, are ahead of it — you are not taking full advantage of the biggest hits in your format. They need to stay in power longer. They are not burning. I guarantee it.
The Content and the Audience
3) Don’t assume the listeners know… anything. The audience pays less attention to your station than they do to choosing a brand of toothpaste. Simplify your station’s messages and reinforce them every chance you get.
4) Playing the hits applies to content too. Too many talent are afraid to recycle great content. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the ratings go up when hosts finally embraced using their best content more than once.
5) Teasing matters. Apologies to everyone I’ve beaten over the head about teasing over the years. I know I’m strident about this topic, but the fact is, it does make a difference. Mastering the art of teasing gives your content a better chance of actually being consumed.
6) When in doubt, ask the audience. Too many decisions get made without the benefit of any input from the audience. There are low- and no-cost ways to do surveys and find out what the audience thinks of your station and your ideas. Use them.
The Bigger Picture
7) Don’t be afraid of the future. In just over a decade, so much new technology has become a part of the radio ecosystem, and more is coming. Embrace and understand what’s new — it will extend your career.
8) Positioning matters. This goes back to X-treme Radio in Las Vegas. It’s not enough to just play the music. You have to make sure the listeners understand what they are going to get when they tune in, and that requires positioning. Define your station for the audience, and then find another way to deliver the same message.
9) Prepare for coaching sessions. I guarantee the talent you work with will be more amenable to your suggestions if you have listened to a recent show and know what’s going on with them.
And finally…
10) They never tell you about the people. The hardest part of running a station isn’t the music or dealing with sales. It’s the people, and it’s something no one will teach you about ahead of time. Even with smaller staffs today, it’s still the hardest part of running a radio station. And by the way, for the record, those people should always be your number one priority.
A sincere thanks to everyone who put up with my ridiculous ideas and occasionally prickly demeanor over the last 13 years as a consultant. I’m so lucky to have had the chance to work with many, many amazing, talented people. I hope, at least in some little way, I was helpful.
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