Lost is the Competition

6

Competing is one of the most enjoyable things Program Directors do. It’s about more than ratings, although growing them is the number one objective of being a PD. It’s about beating the “others” to a great story, having better-performing talent, playing more hits/favorites, presenting bigger and more fun contests and promotions, being everywhere, and being seen everywhere.

Striving to present better content than the stations with whom you share the most audience; that’s what drives competition. Being seen by the market, advertisers, and listeners, as a leading radio station is so very gratifying. Those are the fun parts of programming. It’s why we do what we do.

Winning is important. Competing is in the DNA of the best in content creation. That includes Programmers, Talent, Promotion, Production/Imaging, and everyone involved with what comes out of the speakers. Competition among sellers, internally and against other stations, is also a strong driving force. The mental approach and mindset is extremely important among the leadership within a radio group, cluster, station, and various departments.

Excellent competitors strive to hold down their competition. It never lets up. Get what’s yours. Go after what’s yours. Never allow anyone to take what’s yours.

Since the pandemic, the approach in radio across all platforms has been to strive to get back to break even, which includes some dramatic changes that have negatively impacted audience levels. That’s led to reduced revenue opportunities. Those moves have led to further changes and budget cuts. Newton’s theory of motion comes into play. “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction,” which for media has manifested itself with the continuing erosion of listening levels. It is a vicious cycle.  

What’s not acknowledged is that someone or something is leading. There is a dominant radio station in almost every market. That leader is usually the one that has longevity in their format. It’s tough to launch a new format today and build strength without significant marketing so longevity has real value. The leader is often the station that’s most consistently aggressive in their approach to every aspect of their business.

They’re the ones that continually focus on content improvement, sales approach, enticing listeners and advertisers with sticky promotions & events, and they make noise at a level to be noticed and remembered. 

What’s lost in all of this is the spirit of competition and the ability to counter moves made by competitors. Missing is the ability to focus on one competitor at a time as there are so many fighting for the attention of the audience. It’s a battle for listening time. It’s a challenge that some radio groups are not able to accept. Some groups eliminate positions to create scale, but what’s missed by those competing against them is taking advantage of the weakness in their strength. 

A nationally famous on-air personality has access to celebrities, artists, and the ability to create a high-profile image that drives word of mouth. They’re talented and entertaining or they wouldn’t have risen to the top as they have done. The weakness is their lack of local connectivity. That’s an area to attack.

Unfortunately, too few stations outside of the Top 20 markets have local talent who can make that connection to a community. Those stations also struggle with understanding what’s important to their local community. Finding that connecting point, whatever it is, should be where you focus. That’s an entry point to attack the strength of your competitor. 

Competition can be a powerful motivator that helps people develop new skills and learn to work hard to achieve their goals. Someone will have the largest audience. Why not your station? There’s less and less room for #2.

6 COMMENTS

  1. Absolutely spot on, Mike! I always loved radio because it was WAR with nobody dying. Oh, there were casualties, sweet casualties — when competitors replaced personnel or changed marketing strategies…but as the old axiom said, “It’s only advertising.”

  2. Bottom line: the people working at your station must care about being better than the other guy (being BEST at everything) or they’re just administrators. No administrators are #1 in their markets. They may be banking a paycheck, but they’re not market leaders.

  3. I had a client that went 11 years between competitors and some Mensa candidate basically give everyone a four week notice of the brand and format, which allowed my people to bootcamp and train and get ready. And they never have sounded better than the two years the other radio station was in the format. They REALLY stepped it up.

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