(By John Shomby) Labor Day weekend, for most, is the last official summer weekend. Vacations end, most schools are in session or are getting ready to start, and the days are getting shorter. But most importantly, attitudes change after Labor Day.
Everyone is back to work, the next lengthy “holiday” is two months away, and, of course, there’s lots of football. The pace of everyday life picks back up after a summer slowdown and, this fall, things will, again, be more expensive than they were a year ago.
As a PD, I always treated that first day back after Labor Day as the beginning of a new “season” for our radio station. We always used that same mindset going into a new year, too. If we had any changes/enhancements in mind, we prepared them and had them ready for air that day after Labor Day. Sort of like television’s “new fall season” on the radio. At one station we billed our events/new on-air benchmarks, etc. as “all part of our new fall season”.
This is a time that calls for a renewal and refreshing.
You’re giving your radio station a proverbial fresh coat of paint. Examine your imaging. Make sure it mirrors the “back to work/school” mindset in your market. “#1 for New Country” and “Non-Stop Commercial-Free” are all well and good but what about addressing that fresh-start feeling that lots of your audience will have as summer officially ends? It’s a new football season, locally and nationally, and fall concerts and festivals are in full force – plus lots of local fall events.
With all of that, people are going to be very careful how they spend their entertainment dollars because of the state of the economy. Capture this with your station’s imaging and social media marketing. Being topical always adds to your station’s personality and your listeners will feel it!
Get your airstaff on the same wavelength. As I have recommended for the start of a new year, make sure they are hitting the ground running. Local, voice-tracked, or syndicated, they each should be ready to be a step ahead of your audience. Make sure they aware of these attitudinal, economic, and personal changes with your local listeners so their content will reflect that. Spend time with your staff brainstorming ways to create the content that will help, entertain, inform, and strengthen the bond you have with your audience. COMMUNICATE with them!!!
Listeners will be back in their cars heading to the workplace and school again, so make sure you’re doing everything to give them an entertaining ride in both directions. Radio is still the king in the car. Be a companion, not background. Know they are not hanging on every word and find creative, compelling ways to give them what they need/want often enough to get their attention and keep it. This is not the “gimme” it used to be.
Have this in mind with your promotion strategy plus with your app and web site. Include information for your listeners about free events and other ways of stretching their dollar. Traffic info for those festivals, concerts, and sports events. Brainstorm with the staff and create a strong list. Capture the pulse of your audience.
The Day After Labor Day will should be an important day in your station’s evolution every year! Time to freshen up!!
Based in Nashville, TN, John Shomby is the owner and CEO of Country’s Radio Coach. He is focused on coaching and mentoring artists, radio programmers, and on-air talent to help them grow and develop inside the radio station and the industry. Reach John at [email protected] and 757-323-1460. Read John’s Radio Ink archives here.
