I was recently involved in a client conference where we were graced with the presence of talent coach extraordinaire Randy Lane and our own Keith Cunningham.
Each coach took a look under the hood of three very different personality shows, and gave their unique perspective on what was working, not working so well, and how best to nurture and grow each show.
As moderator of this “Personality Makeover” session, it was fascinating for me to step back and let the experts show their stuff. In this post, I’m going to highlight a few of Randy Lane’s nuggets, and tomorrow, I’ll turn the spotlight on Keith.
Randy believes that the best shows in radio find a way to be exceptional at one of the following elements, while showing proficiency in the other two:
- HD characters
- Killer content
- Flawless execution
If you start riffing through some of the most successful shows on the radio today – and even some great personalities from the past – you are likely to agree with Randy’s formula for success.
Is there one of these that is more important than the others? If you keep going up and down the list, all three play a key role, and it’s hard to imagine a truly successful show that skips one of these three elements. Obviously, a key to help making a good show great is to build on the strengths, but to also work on the things that may be a bit lacking. So, a show with engaging compelling characters might need to hone the content and improve the execution. Or a show that has great timing and formatics, along with solid content, might need to focus on character development.
Randy also shared three questions that talent can use as a sort of “content litmus test” to ensure strong idea development and solid execution:
- What is the payoff? What is our intention (humor, conflict, emotion)? Where are we going with this? How do we want listeners to feel? How will we get out of it?
- How are we going to set it up to engage listeners within 10 seconds for PPM?
- How can we make it bigger (an expert or guest, production piece, conflict or controversy, a story, a stunt, media coverage, etc.)?
These are powerful questions – and if the responses are equally strong – personality shows can clearly create memorable, viral moments. I was especially impressed with Randy’s PPM focus – not just from the standpoint of being economical – but to avoid some of those ID/time/temp/how ya doin’ setups that slow a show down before launching into the meat.
With PPM, the need to get to it quickly without the crutches and the obligatory back-and-forth is essential to winning in this new arena. Too often, shows get caught up in the same old style that while successful with the diary, slows everything down in metered measurement.
Tomorrow: Keith Cunningham
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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