Aspirational Marketing

Second entry in a series about building better station brands.

How do we create radio that listeners feel loyal about and actively seek to associate with? How do we get listeners to feel connected to the degree that they wear our radio brand like a badge?

Aspirational Marketing begins by defining the values that will result in your listeners achieving their ideal self-image. For the average listener of your station, is the ideal self-image patriotic, anti-authority, trend setting, popular, family first, sex first, intelligent, street smart, hard working/blue collar, wealthy, salt of the earth, philanthropic, eclectic, popular, part of the "in" crowd, outside the box, rebellious, law abiding, optimistic, skeptical, etc.? The answer won't be one, but a list of characteristics that create a unique qualitative profile.

Traditionally, radio has applied the Reis and Trout concept of owning a word in the listener's mind directly too the music. That's how we've arrived at an industry fighting for the format words like lite, soft, classic, variety, new, hits, hot, etc.... As good brand managers, we then devote ourselves to making sure that every promotion, piece of copy, DJ, et al. reinforced this word or slogan.

A slogan is not a brand.

Don't treat your slogan like it is your brand. A slogan is a marketing tool to succinctly give your brand some definition. Use you slogan to reinforce the marketing vision of your station. That gives an even greater importance to making sure that you are making a statement that will have impact.

A station noticed they could be first in the market to own the word "variety" and they claimed it, used it every time the mic. opened, and used it to define their brand. The next station seeing that someone already owned the word "variety" decided to create a new category and they pounced on the phrase, the "best mix of soft rock". While this is essentially the same as variety, they the created the new category of by specifying variety specializing in soft rock. It would appear this was the 22 Immutable Laws properly played, but there are a few problems:

1. The format distinctions are so narrow they really only help define a difference to industry insiders. Neither station owns a distinguishable image. 2. More importantly, the words being used to define the two brands are meaningless. If our goal is to own a position, word or idea in our listeners minds, we should strive to choose a position that has meaning to the consumer! The typical words radio uses to define our brands have no emotional value. Is the listener a better person because station one owns the word "variety" or that station two owns "mix/soft rock". No, so why should the listener care? Essentially, radio brands are being defined by words that are hollow to anyone outside our industry.

Define your brand with emotion

What are the aspirational values that defined the ideal self-image of you listener demographic? Come up with a short list, lets limit it to five for our exercise...now rank those five from most to least important. Lets say our list looks like this:

1. Family First
2. Patriotic
3 hard working
4 optimistic
5. popular

Now, what if you could be first in the market to own one of these values? Is you listener a better person if you brand is defined as family friendly? Of course, they feel like better parents. What about patriotic? Yes, they then see themselves as better Americans. In other words, if your radio brand is defined more by these aspirational concepts, words that have real meaning to you audience, your listeners will feel closer to their ideal self-image. That has tremendous emotional implications and the result is a much more valuable brand because it is defined by words and concepts that affect listeners emotionally. Now we can apply the basics of the 22 Immutable Laws, our brand should be first in the market to own the most important aspirational values of our listeners.

Footnote, practical application:
Now for those who are terrified of loosing all connection to the format slogans we've historically used to differentiate our music brands, there is room for compromise. Consider how to convert your music positioner or slogan to embrace an aspirational value of your audience. American Country, Soft Rock For the Family, Variety while you work, Alternative for the 'Out Crowd', etc.... Now as brand managers, we need to make sure that we invest all our energies on the aspirational values we've established. Every contest, promo, liner, Dj and even music should serve to reinforce the aspirational values you identify as listener priorities. The ultimate goal is not for a listener to regurgitate a slogan back in a focus group, but rather that these values define and become synonymous with your brand. The name of you station can mean more than a dial position; it will embody these values to your listening community.

part three: Connection: Radio as the means not the end.

Comments

[Sherilyn Govindasamy]

A very good article.....