19 Feb Create Your Programming Strategy
Do your stations sound great – or just OK? Consider the following tactics to ensure your audience LOVES your programming to increase time spent listening and ratings.
Perform a Brand Audit
Conduct a complete evaluation of each station in your cluster. Do it for your direct competitors, too. This is the first step when retained by broadcasters when Lund Media provide a Strategic Programming Evaluation of their stations and market.
Music
> How well does the music flow? Is each quarter-hour representative of your format, day and night? Classify the best-researched songs as “Powers” and schedule every other song.
> Evaluate your music library size and quality and compare it to your direct competitors.
> Do talents explicitly follow the music software log as scheduled?
> Are your “Power” categories exposed more often than your “Secondary” categories? This ensures the listener’s favorite songs are played more often than those they merely “like.”
Mornings and Other Dayparts
> Is the personality morning show fun and relatable? Do the bits sound new and fresh?
> What are the talents talking about? Are locally relatable topics prioritized over national show prep content?
> How do your talents engage the listener? Does every content break begin with a hook to intrigue the listener?
> Do voice-tracked shows sound as good as live shows? If not, why?
> Does forward momentum exist in every talent break before a commercial stopset? There should be teasing ahead before every stopset.
Marketing and Imaging
> Are there hourly promos for the morning show? Do you promote streaming on your app and website, smart device listening, and listen-at-work hourly all day?
> What is the station’s positioning statement, and how often is it promoted every hour? Is there placement of imaging before an element that reinforces the position? Don’t say “nonstop music” before a commercial.
> Is the imaging creative and fun? Does it effectively reflect the brand? When were the imaging liners last updated? Watch their clock placement. Too many in a row gives an “automated” sound.
Formatics
> Do you say the station name and dial position between every song?
> Is there a consistent forward motion of promoting ahead going into every stopset?
> Is each break and each show entertaining and focused? How’s the flow?
> Do you promote all contests and promotions often – on the air, on the website, and on social media?
> Are mentions of current events and local activities part of your content breaks? This ensures your local focus.
Focus on Your Station’s Strategy
> Make your station’s strategy Priority One. Your goal should be to develop a strong brand by exploiting an available market position and making your station entertaining and focused.
> Aggressively market for a larger audience and higher ratings.