Radio: Leading Listeners and Advertisers Through the Pandemic

As you may have seen last month, A&O&B released a clients-only e-book exploring the sales and audience opportunities arising from the coronavirus pandemic. We titled it, “Radio: Leading Listeners and Advertisers Through the Pandemic.”

In all, there are more than 100 ideas that smart radio stations can use to help advertisers and listeners – especially now as we begin the “restart” process. As a bonus, we’ll also have yet another opportunity to demonstrate thought-leadership in the market.

Many of our friends have asked, “What’s inside?” So, while this is a Clients-Only publication, here’s a look at the table of contents.

Following the TOC, you’ll find some chapter “sound bites” that contain ideas and actions which you can implement right now.

Now, here are those “sound bites.”

From: Help Clients Avoid the Huge Mistake of Cancelling their Advertising”

Our current and potential advertisers and listeners need two things right now: ideas and more ideas.

The process [of generating ideas] looks like this:

Need –> Possible Solutions –> Potential Providers/Sponsors.

Using this formula can help you formulate unique and creative ideas and solutions.

From: A Fresh Commitment to Audience Recycling

We also know that in times of crisis, consumption of all media increases…Social Media is hitting record levels. So here’s a formula radio can use to put all this into an action plan: SE = PSX (P1+P2+…Pn).

That is, Station Exposure (SE) is equal to the Positive Station Experiences (PX) on all platforms (P1 to Pn) combined.

In other words, the more Positive Experiences our listeners have across platforms – social, streaming, and OTA – the greater their overall Station Exposure will be.

Imaging Can Underscore or Undermine Your Station’s Relevance

Adopt “D.O.R.C.” behavior: “Deliberately Observe, Ruminate, Create.” Deliberate observation is the process of intentionally paying close attention to the ordinary. That is, looking at what’s around you with a keen eye to see what you’ve seen a hundred times before but in a brand new light. Then think about how you can share these perspectives in succinct ways that reflect your brand voice and write these down. Finally, edit to distill your writings into a short, yet powerful statements. 

From: New Opportunities to Help Listeners and Advertisers

Filters (are) great for helping refine ideas and generate new ones. While this filter is actually a question, it’s geared for accomplishment: “How will I create a new listening and advertising habit today that will last into the future?”

From: New Habits Could Include Listening to your Station. Here’s How to Keep that Going

New consumption habits present new opportunities. Many radio users are being forced to try something new. And they may find they like it. Now is the time to take advantage of this forced experimentation by showcasing our best efforts.

1. Use imaging to explain why listening to your station is a great new habit.
2. “Schedule listening” by creating story arcs and pointing to when your strongest benchmarks air.
3. Provide regular stimulation by continually rolling out new ideas
4. Stretch the concept of what’s possible
5. Spread hope and lift spirits
6. Assert your relevance through actions
7. Collect database information

Leadership

The Harvard Business Review printed this about leadership:

“Leadership is the accomplishment of a goal through the direction of human assistants. The man who successfully marshals his human collaborators to achieve particular ends is a leader. A great leader is one who can do so day after day, and year after year, in a wide variety of circumstances.” W.C.H. Prentice

To all those who are helping us navigate these waters, we salute you. Because of you, Radio is Leading Listeners and Advertisers Through the Pandemic.

Related:

How Your Station Can Tap Into the Incredible Power of Recognition

Expecting the Unexpected: Preparing Now to Manage a Future Crisis