The following account is true and accurate. I literally took notes so no one would be able to accuse me of making up or exaggerating my description of the following station's quarter hour...it really was this odd!
Do you measure the effectiveness of the words you use in you station imaging to reinforce your brand?
Driving through Arizona and New Mexico last month I entertained myself scanning the dial to hear the indigenous sounds of Southwest radio. Here is the transcript of a quarter hour I was "blessed" to hear:
(Male VO one) Get Down Funky Town kind of radio station.
(Male VO two) Can we say that?
(Song) Motley Crue - "If I Die Tomorrow"
(Song) Jason Mraz - "Curb Side Song"
(Male VO) The Most dangerous stuff we can get into...
(Female VO) Nobody can say they didn't ask for it!
(Song) Bowling for Soup "Almost"
(Song) Whitney Houston "Run to You"
I'm going to stay focused on the disconnected imaging messages and not let myself become distracted by the obvious schizophrenic music choice of Motley Crue on my example pop station. There is a very clear implied message of "danger" in the drops and promos used on this pop station. "Can we say that?", "Don't say we didn't warn you!" give a listener the idea that they are going to hear the unexpected. The brand message (aka personality) interpreted from the imaging alone implies a station that is cutting edge, surprising, dangerous, aggressive, shocking etc... The brand message (aka personality) implied in the pop music selections reinforce a station focused on popularity, pop favorites, familiarity, and predictability. These two messages paint distinctly different visions of a station's personality. Either the imaging correctly reflects the station's personality and the music needs to change, or vice versa.
What likely happened at this station, and many other stations that I hear this imaging disconnect, was a PD or Imaging Director heard a drop or wrote a line that they thought sounded great free of station context. It then made it on air without being subjected to the mental filter that determines if the idea successfully acts as reinforcement of the station's personality. I hear movie drops on stations all the time that have no meaning, tell no story and do nothing to define the station, but they sounded "neat". Consider the context of your radio station as you are writing. What personality traits are you trying to reinforce? Dangerous edgy rock station? Mirror that with aggressive, in your face writing, production and delivery. Pop music contemporary station? Mirror that image with larger than life, pop culture referenced, imaging. Both are over-simplified examples, but they attempt to show the mindset that should be applied to filtering through any imaging message. Measure the language you use to promote your station and events and make sure that it fits the desired image and personality of your ideal station. With such a crush on our inventory and such short opportunities to brand our stations before we get back to music we can't afford to waste words.
Be sure that you are efficient with your imaging and that every sweeper and drop helps accomplish the goal of clearly defining your station's personality.
Every element of a radio station should serve to reinforce the station's ideal personality (aka The Brand). Music, imaging, website, events, appearance on the streets and the DJs. If each is properly aligned they with restate and amplify each other.
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