"Creativity is the art of forgetting where you stole an idea."
Prior to this summer I didn't know there was a person named Pyrros Dimas, much less that he was a 3 time Olympic Gold Medalist as a weightlifter. I had never heard of how he competed as an ethnic minority Greek for his country of 
Albania until he crossed the border to become a national hero in Greece in 1992. I was unaware of how in '92 he won Greece their first gold in weight-lifting since 1904. I didn't know that he set the world record for the snatch and the jerk. I learned that Pyrros won his second Gold 1996 and his third in the 2000 Summer Games. Maybe I didn't know all of this information because Americans are notoriously snobby and don't care to learn about national treasures that don't wave red, white and blue. Maybe it was because I've never really had occasion to follow the 82.5kg weight class in power-lifting. Maybe it is a combination of the two, but regardless of my ignorance before the 2004 Summer Olympics I now know more about this man than I probably need to now. One of the most moving moments of the games was Pyrros competing in his final Olympics, trying for his 4th Gold, settling for Bronze and at the end of his final lift walking to the center of the mat and leaving behind his shoes as a public symbol of retirement from the sport. Pyrros received a 5 minute ovation from the mostly Greek crowd as he stepped to the podium to accept his fourth and the last medal of his career. Captivating, engaging and an indelible impression because NBC told me his story and thenm brought me into it's final chapter.
For weeks I was hooked to NBC's Olympic coverage. Not because I cared about weightlifting, kayaking, synchronized swimming, or any swimming for that matter. The Olympics hooked me with stories and real life dramas like that of Pyrros Dimas. The Olympics were all about telling the Athelete's story. Stories of unparalleled excellence or perseverance though impossible odds or stories of underdogs besting established favorites. Lance Armstrong's record breaking performance at the Tour de France is certainly remarkable because of the athletic feat accomplished, but it truly captures our imagination because of Lance's story. An athlete cut down in his prime by cancer rebounds to achieve the unimaginable cycling feat, 5 Tour wins in a row. Lance is a celebrity because of his athletic nability, he's a hero because of his story!
Is your station telling stories?
How are you incorporating the priceless art of storytelling into your station? Are the jocks telling small stories about the artists they play each day? Obviously, jock talk time is limited, so in a larger way the role of telling stories is up to the station itself. Can you do this when you break new artists, or when something happens to heritage acts? Use the station voice, or the Program Director, or whoever the listeners consider your one-air "musicologist", or maybe even the artists can tell their story in their own words. Look for stories to tell and ways to tell that are captivating and engaging. If stories from the artist pool are limited tell the remarkable stories of your listeners. I don't care how small your radio market might be, there are remarkable people with remarkable stories living there. Pick the stories that help define your audience appropriately for your station. This goes back to my idea that radio should Define the Audience and the Audience Defines You. Pay attention the next time you watch any sporting event and count the number of times the announcers tell you a story about one of the competitors. Find ways to tell stories and you'll make your station more compelling and memorable.
The Superbowl isn't a game, it's a Shared Experience
The last idea I'll lift from observing sports is the concept of Shared Experience. Unlike the other brainstorms in this series, this one can't just be white-washed and put on the air with a radio spin. This abstract but powerful idea explains why 35 year old soccer moms with no favorite team and who haven't watched a single football game all season will take the time one Sunday a year to watch an NFL game. For that matter, it explains why people get excited by seeing a celebrity. When I see a famous actor or sports star the excitement come from knowing that everyone else knows this person and will vicariously be able share my experience. Celebrity is just that, a critical mass of people recognizing an individual. Celebrity grows if that recognition is coupled with admiration. If I were to spot Tom Cruise on the street it would be a big deal because everyone I know also knows Tom Cruise. The super bowl works on a similar principal. It has grown organically into a Shared Experience driven event. Be it for the commercials, the celebrity laden half-time show, or the game itself...people watch the Superbowl because there is the understanding that you are sharing this experience with millions of other watchers and more importantly the people you will come into contact with tomorrow. It would be unimaginable for many to be left out of such a group dynamic.
How can you use the tool of Shared Experience at you station? Shared Experience is a concept that is nice to try to get your head around when you are looking for outside influences to help reshape the way you approach marketing your station and promotional ideas. Does a world event event transcend your station's format and warrant coverage despite it's intuitive mismatch, i.e. AC stations doing Superbowl promotions. Sometimes the Shared Experience consideration will help you make the call. Can you create something in your marketplace that will become a Shared Experience event for your audience? A festival, or Local Awards recognizing your city's "Best of" that your listeners must be involved and find out who wins. If you try to mount what you hope will become a "Shared Experience" driven event, be aware that these things need to grow organically and the momentum will build after successful repetition of your event.
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