Mike Bettelli
By Mike Betelli
You’ve just sent airchecks from the radio station to your consultant. You feel like everything is working the way it should. You talk with your consultant on the phone and he/she reinforces the feelings you’ve had about your execution of the format. It sounds like everything is working right. The music is on target, production is good, liners sound great, your air talent is professional and there is no dead air between songs, but yet…something is missing. The station sounds a little flat, not very exciting. In fact, it might be described with the word “boring.” What your station needs is some “sizzle!” Now, you’re probably wondering what we mean when we say “put a little sizzle into your airsound.” If you feel like you’re lacking, and we hear it too…read on!
The Sum Of Many Parts
Listeners don’t think about this, but a radio station has a lot of moving parts. If you are a Program Director or General Manager, you are responsible for keeping those parts in perfect working condition. Like the parts that work together to make a car run smoothly down the highway, your radio station not only needs those parts to move, the parts have to create that “sizzle” we want to hear. That goes for everything from the most expensive moving part (perhaps the morning show?) to the least expensive part (like a weekend countdown show or buyout production library). Only when every part works correctly on its own and with the other moving parts will you be able to create a compelling “sizzling” product.
It’s The Music, Stupid!
Here’s a good start: make an inventory list of parts for your station. First, let’s determine what the overall package is being created for. Define what your station is and who it’s supposed to appeal to. This mission statement contains the information you need to constantly refer to when making decisions that affect your moving parts. Like Bill Clinton’s campaign strategy in 1992, this is not complicated stuff. Clinton’s statement was “It’s the Economy Stupid!” You may decide that your station’s statement should be, “It’s the Music, Stupid!” Try to clearly define what you hope to accomplish with your station: “WKRP is a station appealing to young women who like popular music.” I’d be willing to bet you can boil your mission statement to a single sentence. Make sure your air staff also knows what the statement is. Post it in the control room. Be like Bill and keep the message in front of you at all times. When listeners are asked to describe a radio station they should be able to come up with a very short description or maybe just one word. “Dance Music,” “Oldies,” “Country,” “Hip Hop,” “Love Songs.” They are telling us what they like about radio and you in particular – they know best.
Creating Sizzle
Now, let’s move into some major areas and discuss what’s necessary to create a little “sizzle” on the radio.
1. Morning Show. These people are often the highest paid employees on your staff. Do they (or he or she) understand the mission statement? Is the show supporting the statement or ignoring it? Many morning shows feel obligated to use up as much time as possible with the mic on, or run bits back to back without regard to how many songs get played, or whether the content is compelling and entertaining. Does your morning personality have such wide exposure in the market that it’s no longer necessary for them to use their name on the air? Do they mention call letters? Do they pick topics that connect with your audience? Getting the show on track is an important step. Mornings feed all other dayparts on your station and must resemble what happens the other 20 hours of the day.
Do: Have a morning show meeting every day after the show. Discuss what worked well and what didn’t. Plan for tomorrow or Monday. Come up with a consensus grade for today’s show. How close did the show come to fulfilling your mission statement? Aim for a higher grade tomorrow.
2. Airstaff. Go over airchecks regularly with all of your air people. Try it once a week for afternoon drive, every two weeks for midday and evenings, and once a month with weekenders and overnighters. Be sure to put a positive spin on these meetings. Every air personality needs approval for what they are doing right. They often are not aware of what’s wrong. Come out of the meeting with a list of areas for improvement. Refer to the list at the next aircheck session.
Do: Pay as much attention to content and style as you do to technical performance. Does your on-air talent speak like a real person or like a small market TV anchor?
3. Production. Is production being equally distributed to your staff? Are you using any marginal voices for tags on spots and promos? Are your production beds a good match for the music on your station? Are there too many hard sell spots in rotation? Too many humorous spots? Too many spots with the same voice?
Do: Find ways to get fresh voices and beds on your production.
4. Liners and Promos. Chances are that no one on your staff can deliver liners and promos like the folks who make a living doing just that. Good liner and promo voices are almost never exceptional air talents. They have a quality of excitement and “sizzle” that really sell your format and positioning. You dilute your own air talent by using them to deliver liners and promos that may be repeated hundreds of times each week.
Do: Freshen your liner and imaging copy frequently (at least every two months) and run “product” promos along with everything else. Do you have a TV spot? The audio should be running on your radio station as a promo.
5. Jingles, Beds, Bumps, Stingers and Bridges. You need these elements to keep things moving. A high percentage of stations missing “sizzle” could use either an updated jingle package or a complete revamping of the music used under liners or to transition into newscast and weather updates.
Do: Listen to stations in other markets, check out demo materials on line, and be open to new ways to image and transition your station.
6. Two Words: Seamless. Momentum. It’s a brand new Lexus vs. a Yugo that burns a quart of oil every 30 miles. Smooth running, reliable and stylish vs. clunky, uncomfortable and unreliable. The music isn’t just a match for your audience, it segues perfectly. Levels are uniform on all of your station’s audio. Your signal is at least as loud as everyone else is across the dial. You always have something compelling coming up. Listeners spend more time with your station because it just flows better and is more fun to listen to than your competition.
7. Get Out. Leave the building at least an hour once a week and listen to your station like a real person does. Get the GM to cook breakfast while you take notes. Pretend you are a consultant visiting the market for the first time. Is the Mission Statement coming across? Are you hearing call letters and dial position? Familiar music? Too many commercials? Too many contests, promotions and funny bits? Does your GM share your opinions about the station? You will always get good ideas from these sessions without station distractions.
A Dedication. This column is dedicated to a Seattle morning show legend – Larry Nelson. To hear how Larry created “sizzle” on KOMO-AM go to: www.larrybnelson.com. As I write this column Larry is battling cancer with great courage and grace. Ten years after his last morning show – his fans still miss him and the magic he created on the air.
Mike Bettell is Director of Adult Contemporary Formats/Consultant, for Jones Radio Networks / Seattle. Reach him at 206-508-8113 or mike.b@jrnseattle.com
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