Radio’s Real “One Thing”

(By Ronald Robinson) In a candid and self-effacing editorial, Radio Ink Chairman/CEO Eric Rhoads pleaded guilty to the charge of having his attention drawn away by “shiny objects” — more often than he was comfortable with. Harsh penalties will not be applied, but “forgiveness” may be indefinitely withheld. Besides, those shiny-object episodes are still considered as standard issue “guy thingies.”

However, Eric’s admonition, for those who share his penchant for being so easily waylaid, was about choosing “one thing” on which to focus and to keep working it to completion. The title of Eric’s article was “What Is Radio’s ‘One Thing’?” In the movie, City Slickers, Jack Palance as Curly asks Mitch if he wants to know the secret of life. Curly holds up a finger and says, “One thing. Just one thing. You stick to that and the rest don’t mean sh**.” Mitch replies with, “But, what is the ‘one thing’?” Curly smiles and says, “That’s what you have to find out.”

That’s a piece of dialogue that has been consistent with the experience of music-radio since before the movie was even released in 1991. The difference is that radio has not considered there might even be a Curly’s or Eric’s “one thing.” Determining what “it” might be and going after it has never been on anybody’s agenda.

It will come as no surprise, then, particularly to astute regular readers, that my position, all along, has been that radio is unwilling to consider anything that has not been part of its own self-inflicted dogma for a lot longer than City Slickers has been available. Essentially, radio’s position can be paraphrased as: “There is no ‘one thing.’ So, there is no point looking.”

But, alas, there is, indeed, a “one thing” and it’s a biggie. It is fundamental and goes directly to the core of this communications business.

It is the model-of-communication that has been in place since Marconi first said, “And the hits just keep on comin’!” If not then, it has been the gold standard since the first announcer thundered, “Your sale ends Saturday. Be there!” (More on this a little later.)

Meanwhile, in the same “jam-packed Radio Ink issue – dripping with goodness in each rich, creamy, and affordable mouthful,” Roy H. (“The Wizard”) Williams re-opened and made deeper a wound in the radio status quo by describing how stories (“metaphors”) were so much more powerful than just factual content when delivered over the air. Plus, a story is a lot more interesting to a listener for far longer than is a shopping list of “deals, deals, deals” foisted on an audience by applying overwhelming speed and otherworldly intensity.

Roy’s work with Spence Diamonds is exemplary. Jewelers, often known to be a little snooty in their advertising attempts to attract a moneyed audience, have been bypassing an enormous, potential customer base – those folks who won’t be dropping 50k or more on a bauble. Through the use of metaphors and other powerful resources in their radio ads, Spence has been steadily growing their business since Roy’s outfit came onboard. (I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when the creative was presented.)

The generalized downsides, however, to putting these metaphors to work in local markets would be, I think, obvious:

–         The people who are able to craft these sparkling examples of broadcast advertising are no longer working — in most markets.

–         Those writers who do have the skills, and are still employed, are likely already overwhelmed by their having to “type the hopeless hype” – reams of it.

–         Managers have yet to accept the principles as described by “The Wiz” as practical.

–         Local advertisers get terrified by any copy that doesn’t include a list of offers and an admonition to “Shop now for your best deals.”

–         Local managers start experiencing revulsion and throat-vomit when “creative” is offered as an alternative to direct response, content-only ads.

Meanwhile, as sophisticated and powerful as are Roy’s materials and urgings, my version of radio’s now-required “one thing” starts well before the application of metaphors and other sneaky, but nifty ad manipulations.

At the most fundamental levels, radio’s core approach to audiences – on-air and ad creation — must be improved, drastically. Allow me, then, to reintroduce only three elements for consideration, and to do so in the form of simple, but sly questions:

1. Is radio a “one-to-one experience” or is it something else?
2. Do speakers on the air (“live”, V/T’ed, or in the spots) have any actual authority over anyone in the audience?
3. Do human beings experience their lives through their sensory functions, as well as their cognitive, and unconscious processes?

Now, I have always been willing to concede that outstanding personalities and outstanding commercials will trump or make unnecessary any materials I have been offering. Unfortunately, we would be discussing less than 5% of what goes out over the air that would qualify as anything close to “outstanding.”

It’s the other 95% that requires fundamental improvement – the inane presenters, the shabby commercials. Even the preponderance of “direct response” ads, the bread and butter-like spread that supports most of radio’s efforts, need to be and can be improved, drastically.

With that, I invite Eric (and others) to take a few moments to consider the abovementioned three elements. They do, in fact, make up a portion of radio’s missing “one thing.”