Reuse, Recycle, and Radio

Mark Ramsey asks:
Based on the stations you know, what is the biggest mistake you see stations make?

The biggest mistake I see radio stations making is rampant RECYCLING. Reduce, reuse, and recycle works great for environmental sustainability but not so great for radio station promotional sustainability.

For radio, the keyword is REDUCE. Reduce recycling and reusing so-called tried and true tactics. The tried and true have become tired and trite. For example …

Why do stations recycle tired and trite monikers like, KISS 106, B 93, and Magic 95? I realize these IDs are mnemonic devices for listeners, especially those with Arbitron diaries. However, stations are missing an opportunity to meaningfully differentiate themselves through their station ID. If you are going to repeat your station ID hundreds of times a day, shouldn’t your ID personify the essence of what makes your station remarkable and not be used merely as a gimmicky mnemonic tool? After all … what does KISS, B, or Magic mean anyway?

Why do stations recycle tired and trite phrases like, 'All Hit. All New.'? This line has been used so often that it carries little or no meaning. Besides, not every song a station plays is a bona fide ‘hit’ and when does ‘new’ become ‘old’? I’ve listened to too many stations where 16 months after a formant change, they still boastfully proclaim being 'All New.'

Why do stations recycle tired and trite programming like, “Smash it or Trash it?” or “Top Five at Five”? Relying on such recycled programming ideas will only make it more difficult to become uncommonly good.