“It’s not the size…it’s what you do with it”.

Written by Australian Radio Thinker – Mark Robinson.

A lot of radio stations still think the bigger the promotion, the better it is…but is it? Ok, some may think this article may be a euphemism for …ah; other things in a middle aged male’s life…not so! …really!

Anyway, let’s look at a few things…you have to look at what the aim is…do you want to focus on the TSL of the workday, cume people into a new breakfast show, make a big noise in the market for a new product or show, tie it to you music, or some or all of the above?

In these tough times, getting a big enough war chest to make a real impact (or any war chest at all!)  is getting tougher and tougher, so what you do with it is paramount.

Cash is still king to many…but it comes with a caveat…most listeners will feel a need to address issues like bills, mortgages, kids and so on, y’know, that stuff that gets in the way of living…(how often have you heard a jock ask that deeply researched question to a winner ‘what are you going to do with the money?’ to the reply of ‘pay some bills’, which obviously is very important, but if the idea is about imaging the station and the being a part of the lifestyle of the listeners, and where the station sits in their lives and what it represents, maybe converting that cash into weekends away, a trip, something money can’t buy and so on is better value for the station and listener. The punter then gets a getaway from all the toughness of the world as we know it, plus the station gets to work with some excellent opportunities for creative imaging, and assumes the position of a lifestyle option for the listener, actually helping them put aside the stresses and strains of the modern life for a bit of R&R, rather than just being a place where they come for music and news.

Ok, let’s get down to tin tacks…what about the size? Mine might be bigger than yours but I can give more pleasure to many rather than one big one…I know a lot of people, me included, who don’t  enter lotteries or big raffles, because the odds just seem to say ‘you have no real chance of winning’, whereas if you take that war chest and spread the love, you get the chance to make more out of the contest for longer…let’s say 30 grand; still not a huge amount of dough, but many would love to have that to work with! It could create real street talk, and make you feel good about showing off your ‘biggy’,  but if someone gave me a grand I’d be as happy as the proverbial pig in you know what…so how does 30 prizes of a grand (or 15-20 big ones and some minor prizes) stack up against one big prize of 30? More chances to win, better odds, more on-air activity…plus, a real chance to make it work on a number of strategic levels.

For instance, direct cume to your breakfast show for the key song, then attack TSL across the work day as people wait to hear it…tie it in to the web site, have false starts and cryptic cues…there’s so much you can do with a chance to benefit more listeners on a number of levels.

So my thoughts are if it’s going to be big it has to be unique…Springsteen live in NYC with back stage passes etc…or more chances to win if you want bite size bits that still impact on the person, but that you can use on multiple strategic and tactical levels for the station…

So, does size matter? Well, that depends on whether you have a big one (war chest of course!)…anyway I’m off to see my psychologist… he seems to think I have ‘man issues’….can’t see it myself….

Contact Mark: mr.radioacademy@gmail.com

Robin Banks and Ali Mak from Virgin Radio in Dubai after our Workshop in Glasgow.

Thanks to everyone for coming along to our Workshop in Glasgow on Saturday. It was a great day.
I arrived at the venue pretty early and was sitting by a window having a coffee and catching my breath when – Bam Bam Bam!! There’s Robin Banks banging on the window at me with his big wide smile and infectious enthusiasm! So the day began and so it continued.
There were people there from all over Scotland, from London, Ireland and Dubai. All levels represented too, from rookie to 30 year radio vererans.
There were dis-agreements and debates but most of all lots of laughing and lots of fun.
Oh and sambos too.
There’s more about it in this week’s Ezine…just email me if you would like a copy sent to you.
So this note today is to acknowledge everyone we have met in the past 12 months across Ireland and the UK and to say ‘thanks’. Been a hell of a year and I’ve enjoyed every bit of it.
This radio lark could catch on y’know ?!

It’s not always a good thing for you if you work on a station in North America and the format flips to Christmas music. I’m just saying.

WNTR Indianapolis is now 107.9 The Christmas Station.

So the JNLR’s came out yesterday. Hope everyone is pleased with their numbers. Although, we never fully are, are we.
In some cases if we go up we can feel as though we ‘dodged a bullet’. Othertimes people will say “That’s me employed for another three months!” and so on.
As Debbie Allen from Q102 puts it : It’s like getting the leaving cert results every three months.
For high pressure shows like the breakfast gigs and big profile talk programmes, it is quite unnerving. The sightest movement can make all the difference. I’ve known some folk to have restless nights leading up to the book.
The JNLR isn’t the world’s greatest ratings system, we know that – but it’s all we have, so we need to take notice of it as a barometer of sorts. Is the North American PPM system better (every month)? Who knows.
All I know is that radio is strong in this country and listeners are still talking about it. It’s still relevant in this part of the world and that’s down to presenters, producers, programmers and everyone involved in the business here.
Ratings? Sure they’re important but they come and go. I’ver had some stinker books and then some amazing ones…and I’m still alive to tell the tale !
It’s like anything in radio: some people will like you, some will dislike you and the rest are unaware of you. The unaware group is the one who’s attention you want to get!
Anyway, no numbers breakdown from me this time – I’m sure you have sources for that.
Try here:
http://www.bci.ie