The author is owner/president of Sound Advantage Media. His commentaries appear here regularly.
As a child, I looked forward to TV Guide’s Fall Preview. A catalog of programming that listed the new fall shows; most of them were canceled quickly.
Radio needs to expedite its fall schedule. Now is the perfect chance to launch, rebrand and ignite listener passion.
“New” is currently the sexiest word in marketing: new phones, new cars. The new fall season is a wonderful opportunity. Engage audiences for radio shows and stations to help establish new listening habits. Do so with intention.
Already planning your relaunch?
Autumn is the ultimate time to reboot. Kids go back to school. Work rhythms settle. TV networks launch their new series. Streaming services drop their top content. Movie companies launch their Oscar hopefuls. Google, Apple and Samsung debut new products. New fashion lines debut, and Pumpkin Spice Lattes returns as an option.
September is a great reboot month. Morning and afternoon drives become predictable again. This is a great moment to reinvent your brand. Introduce your station!
Here are some things to keep in mind:
- Autumn beats January when resetting. Routines are reforming, while habits are reforming.
- Before you add new material, cut clutter. New material will die otherwise.
- If possible, give each addiction a name, sound and vibe. When it doesn’t possess all three, it’s not a feature.
- Please schedule the soft launch two to three weeks early, if possible. It’s better to work out the kinks with a small audience than a large one.
- Set a date to measure results. Six weeks is a great guideline. If it’s not firing on all cylinders, kill it.
Make room for something new
Before you add anything new, do some housekeeping. When you bring in a new feature or promotion, cut the clutter. Clutter will kill clarity faster than the H-bomb. When searching for new life for a station or show, audit your programming material. What needs to be thrown out? Have the features run their course, or would you like to refresh them? When you refresh a show, do it without freaking out your audience.
Fresh fall programming
- Branding and imaging: Introduce new audio branding. Bring a fresh approach to sweepers, beds, opens and transitions. Tie it together with a cohesive fall theme. Cut the obvious Pumpkin references. Keep the imaging fresh, without the back-to-school clichés.
- Theme weeks and monthly events: Start with business shout-outs. Play the “Fall is Cool” promotion. Use teacher shout-outs and school shout-outs. Declare October Teacher Month. Refresh a classic. Sometimes it just needs a fresh coat of paint.
- Fall audiences are built different: They’re back in cars, following school schedules and paying more attention. Reflect that mindset with features like fall bucket lists, holiday budgeting and school-related chaos. Firsts: sports, dances, college drop-offs. New jobs, relationships and routines are great to brainstorm.
- Reset your music: Autumn is a great time to refresh old categories, retest current ones and reexamine them against new traffic patterns. School traffic changes when people sit in heavy traffic longer. There’s also more darkness with the shorter days. October’s 7 a.m. hour is different than the 7 a.m. hour in July.
Promote it like a network premiere
Bring your next big thing together with excitement and clarity. Create a Trailer. Shoot a 30-second video showcasing what’s new and exciting coming up — feature personalities sharing what to expect, and include behind-the-scenes clips. Add music clips and sound effects, and include a “Premiere Date.” Post it everywhere on social media, and place it on your website. Boost it on Facebook. Pin it on your profiles.
On-air promos
- Use the word “new” often. Even if it’s a returning bit, it’s “New this fall.” Phrases can help.
- “Julie and Jimmy’s New Show Starts September 22nd.”
- “Mornings are more fun this October.” “Here’s why.”
Remember to monetize it as well
Sales departments have been screaming for something new to offer. A new branded feature is easier to sell. Make it a sponsorship package. Before you launch, walk through the list of new features to the sales manager; ask one question: Which of these are sellable? You’ll turn education into a programming initiative, then into a revenue initiative.
One last thing
According to Nielsen research, there’s little difference in listening levels between the #10 and #1 radio show in most markets. Top ten stations have similar time spent listening (TSL) for each occasion. The difference isn’t in listening length per occasion. It’s the frequency of occasions.
Top stations create reasons to tune in and promote those occasions that drive ratings. Execute the one plan with precision and focus. Your brand will become much more popular.
Subscribe to Gary Begin’s biweekly newsletter here.
[Do you receive the Radio World SmartBrief newsletter each weekday morning? We invite you to sign up here.]
