One of the biggest challenges facing radio is, without a doubt, the need to redefine our brands. What is our promise? So many managers tend to confuse product and brand. They really are not interchangeable. For example, “The Best Variety” is not a true brand position.
I learned a long time ago that a brand must be unique and contestable. In other words, no one else does it. In fact, everyone would likely claim that they “play the best music,” and conversely, no one would ever claim that they “do not play the best music.”
Before defining your own brand, it is important to differentiate between product and brand. What are the unique qualities that you have over your competitors? What can you say that they cannot? Both products may offer similar content, but your brand must be yours and only yours.
I first heard the best definition of a “brand” about fifteen years ago from researcher and podcaster Mark Ramsey. “A brand is a promise, based on a relationship, wrapped inside some addictive experience.” It’s a must-have proposition that makes someone experience the ultimate FOMO (fear of missing out).
I actually stood in line for 5 hours from 3-8am waiting for the new iPhone Duo the day it was released. One year, I even paid a teenager $200 to stand in line for me until I could get there. Colleagues in my office used to say back then that Steve Jobs could sneeze into my hand and I would buy it. They were probably right.
The truth is that a great brand possesses that feeling of “must-have.” Jobs said it best when he referred to Apple’s brand as “Social Currency.” The relationship with me as a consumer, and the promise Apple made based on that relationship, created a near-ridiculously addictive experience for me when, in fact, each model didn’t differ all that much from the phone I already had, although the new duo is Apple’s first foldable phone and I HAD to have it – regardless of the cost. THAT may be crazy, but it is an example of true brand loyalty.
How many programmers and managers think this way when creating the listener experience, or creating marketing strategies for our clients? Just think about how many radio stations use the same positioners as hundreds of others. The goal must always be to create unique brand positions.
When we think of strong brands, there is a terrific way to do a self-check by looking at the most successful brands in the world. If I said, “Coffee Shop,” what would most people say? Most would answer, “Starbucks”. If I then said, “Online Shopping,” virtually everyone would say, “Amazon.” A great brand can just as often be a person. If I said, “Movie Director,” the largest percentage of people would answer, “Steven Spielberg.” Why is the mobile phone industry controlled by Apple and Samsung? Users of both swear by them, and getting them to switch is a virtual impossibility. Wouldn’t it be nice to have that same issue with your radio station? It’s possible! Just think like Steve Jobs.
To use an old Apple marketing phrase, “Think Different!”
Bob Lawrence has more than 50 years in the radio business. He most recently served as market manager for MacDonald Broadcasting in Saginaw, MI.
