OOOOOhhhhhh Shiney Beads! Me Me Me!

When doing Hot Hits back in the day for Mike Joseph, at boot camp he always stayed in our face about each live break being referred to as “a relate”.  He never called them a break or whatever… only “a relate”.  Obviously, that meant whatever we said had damn sure better relate to the target audience in the moment or we’d never get out of boot camp and wind up back on our old stations somewhere.  You had to know and understand the target audience well enough to relate EVERY BREAK to build a connection to that listener one by one.  We had to earn their trust every day break by break.  There was never a throw away time n temp, never a simple call letters/title/artist… every break was a relate or you didn’t deserve to be in Hot Hits in a top 5 market.  Two boot camps and two different Hot Hits stations in two different top 5 markets, I still agreed with Mike on that and to this day that fundamental of the medium hasn’t changed for truly successful stations.  Lots of time and effort went into researching the audience and Philly was amazingly different from San Francisco, but the audience weren’t there to listen to me, they were listening to hear a reflection of what the station meant to them.  When I read this piece from Advertising Age this morning, it brought back that broadcast basic of making the connection with the listener every single break – oops – relate (sorry Mike).  Good reminder that it’s not just us, it’s a part of the fabric of life and our intercommunication at many levels.  See you in New Orleans!  Enjoy.         Garry Leigh      Snafu Consulting
Connect More, Advertise Less
What Mardi Gras Parades Can Teach You About Human Nature

Posted by Tom Martin on 01.21.09 @ 08:55 AM
Tom Martin
Here in New Orleans, the Christmas decorations have given way to the Mardi Gras decorations, which got me to thinking about an old blog post I wrote a few years ago about connections.
As I sat on the neutral ground one year during Mardi Gras helping my kids yell for and catch beads, toys, etc., I had an epiphany. Here we were, in the middle of what can only be characterized as organized chaos, and amidst the yelling, screaming music, an interesting thing happened — we made a connection.

As my 3-year-old (at the time), Hayes, sat slumped in his ladder, fast asleep (poor thing was sick), I was doing my best to keep him from being hit by a flying bead while also catching him a few trinkets so when he awoke he wouldn’t feel left out of the fun. And then a float stopped in front of us and on the top deck some 20 feet away a young woman (I think — not sure as riders are masked) made eye contact, gave a quick little frown and then reached down and launched a huge stuffed animal, but only after assuring she had my attention and that I realized she was throwing to Hayes. I caught it and waved a thank you to her and then she was off. Mission accomplished. I was a good dad.

Now if you’ve never ridden on a Mardi Gras float, you can’t fully understand how unique this situation is. As a rider you can’t hear anything but a constant swell of screaming and yelling. Hundreds, thousands of people screaming for your attention in hopes you’ll “throw them something mister.” Add to this the fact that you’re on a moving platform, it’s dark and maybe you’ve had a cocktail or two, and it is hard enough to pick people out of the crowd that you are looking for much less make a random connection. But it happens.

In fact, this same thing happened a dozen or more times as the parade continued to roll on. I didn’t know these people, they didn’t know me but they felt something. A connection. For a fleeting moment, a personal connection was made and the nameless rider put down the 25-cent plastic beads and tossed an item that costs them (Mardi Gras float riders pay for the stuff they throw out of their own pockets) not an insignificant amount of money.

Why?

And that has gotten me thinking. About this idea — connection — the simple human need to connect to others. Powerful. Powerful because it causes people to do things, feel things and act on those feelings. Powerful because connection lives beyond the transaction and creates feelings and memories that last. Powerful because in a world of hyperconnectivity, consumers have never been less connected to brands.

At first I thought it might just be me, but then one night I read a report of Anderson Coopers’ coverage of Mardi Gras that year — he rode in Endymion, a Super Krewe, the big parades that you see on TV. He remarked: “Rolling on the float late at night, I realized Mardi Gras is not about the beads or about Bourbon Street. It’s about making a connection, one person to another.” And it hit me. Anderson was right. He had captured the essence of Mardi Gras but more important he had captured this powerful human insight, one that I’m sure can be used to create more powerful and effective work. People really do want to connect. But as advertisers, we need to give them something worthy of connecting too.

So the next time you sit down to write a brief or review concepts, ask yourself if what you’re doing is advertising or trying to connect. If it is the former, try again. Who knows, you might just get rewarded with a nice prize for your efforts.

~ ~ ~
Tom Martin is president of Zehnder Communications, with offices in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. He can be reached at Tom.Martin@z-comm.com. Follow him on Twitter: @TomMartin .

Newly In The Hunt?

It amazes all of us as we watch business people take over and reformulate art.  How many songs have been written by a senior accountant?  How many number one broadcasts have been hosted by major shareholders?  Did they buy into an accounting firm or a living breathing changing evolving creator of in-the-moment entertainment?  Yea.  It will come full circle as the artists are allowed to connect with the customers in so many new ways either with or without radio.  For those looking for a new outlet at the moment, don’t confine your search to what has been, but rather what will be.  Good luck and don’t let any of this change your artist’s perspective.  It is who you are!

This post may help too….   Gar

Commentary
Dear Bev: What Should I Expect If I’m Unexpectedly Laid Off?
by Beverly Weinstein, 2 hours ago

This holiday season has brought an unwelcome surprise to unprecedented numbers of people in the media business – pink slips.

If you’re among the unlucky, you’re probably going through some predictable emotions. Noted psychiatrist Elisabeth Kubler Ross’s five stages of grief pretty much sum up the emotional roller coaster many of you may be riding right now.

Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. You may not experience them all and you may not experience them in rank order, but Ross says you can expect to experience at least two.

In my 12 years as a recruiter, I’ve talked to countless media executives that have lost jobs. I’d say denial and anger are the more common one-two punch with an overlay of depression.

Denial. Even with unemployment rates at an all time high and lay-offs occurring in every industry, we all can’t shake the “it won’t happen to me” delusion, until, of course, it happens. You’re crushed, left high and dry by the company you’ve been loyal to for years. Or maybe you were just unlucky enough to be part of the “last in/first out layoffs and it’s way too late to regret leaving that other job for a mere 15% to 20% salary boost. But the tears dry quickly as you move into phase two: Anger.

Now that you’ve had time to reflect on all you’ve done for the company, all the blood, sweat, tears, overtime, and lost weekends that went into producing the best work possible, you’re downright mad. And here’s where it can get tricky. Whether the anger is justified or not it is often rashly directed at the person who gave you the bad news.

Placing blame is easy in this state but burning bridges is something you will quickly regret once you’ve entered the acceptance stage. Avoid the temptation of trashing your boss or your company to anyone that will listen. If you have to complain, even if you’re justified, try to keep it to your loved ones and trusted friends that don’t work in media. And, this should go without saying but no angry e-mails, IM’s, Facebook postings or Twitters. In other words – no digital trail.

Once the anger has subsided, even if it hasn’t gone away completely, depression sets in. Feelings of hopelessness are normal, especially with daily announcements on the economy’s downward spiral flooding the news. But as with any break-up, you’ll find love again. So shove this phase aside and prepare yourself to move on. Who needed that job anyway?

Finally, the acceptance phase. You’ve come to terms with the harsh reality and now it’s time to reorganize and plan your next steps. Pull out your Rolodex and start planning your triumphant return, because they haven’t seen the last of you yet.

Editor’s note: If you’ve lost a job in the media industry recently, or are afraid of doing so, despair not. Beverly Weinstein’s column will reappear here regularly dispensing sound advice and practical tactics for managing your career in a volatile employment market. If you have specific questions about what you should do, please post them below, and Bev will help you out. Or if you feel uncomfortable posting your queries publicly, feel free to email Bev anonymously at bev@markhammedia.com

Fundamentals – Not So Much

Been listening to a lot of local radio and noticing that format basics are no longer required and, in fact, are almost a luxury now?  

The simplest radio 101 communication fundamentals just don’t fit into the schedule of announcers voice tracking way too many stations at once, and there just isn’t time to be aware of their landscape market to market.  At least that’s what one might surmise.  

I think it really comes down to management just settling for less because our jobs and perspectives are just so different now in this consolidated less is more world.  If we programmers don’t require more from the staff, of course they will do less and only a precious few will go the extra mile to separate themselves from the crowd on-air.  It has always been that way and that’s why the hiring process can seem so long and tedious as the search for the one in a million self motivated communicator becomes a real challenge.  But it doesn’t stop at hiring the right person.

I remember when we first heard Bobby Bones and could immediately tell he would do any amount of work and prep to win.  It showed in every facet of this show; every character, every bit, every element.  After meeting him, we came to learn that Tommy Austin had created an atmosphere in which people wanted to learn more, experiment more broadly and achieve greater success.  I think the real key to Bobby and Tommy was allowing a talent to fail on occasion as a bit went flat or too long, or a character just didn’t gel in the show.  Failures didn’t require a huge postmortem but did require a thoughtful consideration of what worked and what didn’t, so the mistake wouldn’t be repeated and the show would be better for the experience.   

Allowing missteps when training racehorses is not something that comes naturally, but you have to let them breathe and assess the track occasionally to know how best to attack it and their competition.

How much time do you spend working with your talent on growth and learning the fundamentals?  How do you handle failures?  Do you allow enough room for not just chomping at the bit, but to open up and flat out run…or does that require too much maintenance?  

Pick some format basics and make them fundamental building blocks and lets get back to teaching, grooming, and fostering talent which is prerequisite to growing audience.  Just ask Tommy and Bobby.  

 

Garry Leigh