“It is important to lock in “think time” weekly and monthly away from our desktops, smart phones and Blackberry’s to create innovation for our stations.”
Jay Beau Jones
Jay Beau Jones, Program Director, CBS Radio Boston
As I was compiling my thoughts and ideas for how I was to open this article for FMQB this week, I really wanted to write something that would inspire me at least and hopefully the readers.
While our industry is changing right before our eyes as we are finally seeing the blending of digital and terrestrial radio take place, the one thing that is still a constant through this fundamental change is that innovative ideas make a difference. Innovative ideas cut through, stand out and create talk. Later, I will share a recent example of a simple yet innovative idea that almost doubled viewer-ship for a long time TV show.
Here it comes: We all have three jobs. Some of us have more than one boss. In most cases there are not enough hours in the day to complete our weekly tasks, which means we are taking our jobs home at night and on weekends. (Note: It’s 7:53 am Saturday.) At a recent breakfast a good friend of mine started our breakfast with “sorry I’m late, I’ve been at war with my email.” The IT age has made data collection data absorption. We’ve all become skilled multi-task Jedi masters. It’s very normal now to respond to data and make important decisions on the fly via our smart phone, iPad or Blackberry as fast as we get it just so we can stay ahead. But with this data absorption it’s very easy to get caught up with the “in the moment” tasks losing site of the big picture thinking and planning. Taking a thought from author Steven Covey, these days we tend to focus on what is urgent forgetting what’s important.
It is important to lock in “think time” weekly and monthly away from our desktops, smart phones and Blackberry’s to create innovation for our stations. John C. Maxwell author of the book “LEADERSHIP 101: What Every Leader Needs to Know” locks in what he calls “think time” every week, and outside the office every month, just to think and create ideas.
One simple innovative idea this week caught my attention as well as the attention of a national television audience. It was the addition of contestant “Watson” the IBM computer on Jeopardy. If you did not watch the show, “Watson” is an actual IBM computer that manned the center position on the show competing against two other human contestants. What a simple idea! Not only was it simple and innovative, it worked. It created talk and buzz. The show’s ratings almost DOUBLED, up 40% in one week. Jeopardy, as we all know, was created by Merv Griffin in 1964 and has been on television for forty-seven years! One simple and innovative idea reinvented a forty-seven year old Jeopardy for another season.
Imagine coming up with an idea that grew audience 40% for a PPM or diary month! Would that create talk? We can do it. Whether it’s your weekly programming meetings or alone on the weekend away from the office, locking in “think time” and sticking to it religiously will help you mine innovative ideas that create talk, audience and revenue.
