Losing a Brand: How People Say Goodbye Reveals A Lot

95-5 WPLJ in New York City rode off into the sunset last week. The station had a storied history in the market, and the talent that passed through its doors could fill a lot of pages in a “Who’s Who” of major market DJs and program directors. Listeners were quick to react to losing a brand this famous.

There have been been a number of weigh-ins on what caused WPLJ’s ultimate departure, but this piece isn’t about that.

Instead the focus here is about the outpouring of tributes and remembrances from listeners and, even more importantly, what we can learn from them and how to not be on the receiving end of your own brand eulogy.

Sweet Tweets

Here’s a sample of comments on Twitter from WPLJ listeners:

• “I have tears streaming down my face”
• “I could not keep it together”
• “Thanks for fueling my love for music”
• “Sound track of my life”
• “Can’t believe how emotional it was for me…sobbing”

There were crying gifs of course along with and other demonstrations of distress.

It was a wonderful outpouring. Clearly a very large number of listeners had developed a deep and powerful relationship with WPLJ and its departure from their lives left them with a hole to fill.

All this made me wonder, “If it was your station (or mine) that was signing off what, if anything, would people feel and say?”

The Emotional Connection

That there was a strong emotional connection between the Twitterati and WPLJ was evident in the tweets. Among the most frequently used words were “friends,” “cry,” “emotional,” “miss you,” “love”, “tears,” and “memories.” Similarly there were multiple comments about how the station “made me feel good/happy” as well as remembrances of shared experiences.

Tweets also conveyed a strong connection with the station’s talent both present and past. Many people were moved by both the last few hours of the station while others appreciated once again hearing the legacy talent that returned to participate in the farewells.

Past vs. Present

But something else was apparent as well.

Scrolling through the responses revealed two patterns.

Some people were talking about the present while many others were talking about the past. That is, recent listener experiences vs. experiences from years or even decades ago.

False Positives?

Certainly there are listeners who grow up with a station and are loyal listeners for life.

But there are others who have moved on yet still have a special place in their heart for the station they used to listen to. This type of attachment can suggest a relationship that appears stronger now than it actually was.

Susan Krauss Whitbourne Ph.D. writes in Psychology Today:

…once you’ve passed the age of 30, all of a sudden the late teens start to acquire a glow that they perhaps didn’t really deserve….A phenomenon called the “reminiscence bump” (Rubin et al., 1998) leads adults of all ages to remember with great clarity and fondness the years of their own youth…Emotionally connecting with your younger self helps you maintain a sense of continuity over time. Without memory, we would have no identity.

This isn’t to suggest that this applies to the majority or even any of the WPLJ tweets. But it’s an interesting consideration of how a brand can be perceived – accurately or falsely – as well as how long an emotional connection can last.

The Importance of Relevance

One key takeaway from those talking about the present vs. the past is that despite affection, relevance is still king.

“The most successful brands are the most relevant brands,” writes Brian Lischer in Forbes. “They continually evolve by watching the market and anticipating what their customers will want tomorrow.”

Whitbourne agrees: “Stay on top of what’s current now. If you’re going to age successfully, you need to be vitally involved in today’s culture, even if you don’t think it’s “as good” as yours was.”

Adweek advises waking up every day assuming you’re no longer relevant and to continually “see and seize.”

See Ya

We miss people and things because of their traits, personalities and special qualities. And sometimes we don’t realize the value of what we’re now missing until it’s gone.

Of course the best way to not be missed is not to go away.

And the best way not to go away is to create emotional ties, stay relevant and in the moment, and be in sync with your target.

It’s nice when people say how much they miss you.

But it’s a lot nicer when you’re still here.

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