Radio Free Eureka

Mark Ramsey asks:
Radio is free ... how does that alter the challenge in getting new listeners?

Just because one doesn’t have to pay money to listen to a radio station doesn’t make the challenge of getting new listeners any more difficult. The same basic branding rules regarding differentiation apply regardless of how much a product/service costs.

I view radio as being a passion medium, much in the same way magazines are a passion medium. We choose to read magazines based upon our passions, interests and lifestyles. No one forces us to read magazines. This is similar to how we choose to listen to radio stations. And like the crowded radio dial, the typical magazine stand is crowded with hundreds of titles each with a varying degree of uniqueness. For example, People, US Weekly, and Entertainment Weekly all fall in the weekly pop culture/entertainment magazine category and they all compete for essentially the same reader. Yet, each magazine has a distinct and well articulated reason for being and each magazine is successful.

Because the radio dial is crowded, it is imperative that a radio station has a clearly defined and articulated reason for being. To define a station’s reason for being it needs to answer two questions:
(1) What makes this station special?
(2) Why should a listener care?

Once a station has defined its reason for being, it has basically defined its brand. With its brand defined, the station needs to articulate their reason for being in everything they do.

To do this, the entire station employee base from the program director to the overnight DJ to the board operator must become the station’s marketing department. Every decision and conversation they make on behalf of the station must be based up their understanding and appreciation of the station’s brand.

When defining a station’s reason for being, you must not overlook the question of why a listener should care. Your answer to this question must be genuine and be truly relevant to the listener. Listeners today are far too savvy and can quickly see through bogus and patronizing answers.