With the onset of the Holiday Season, it always becomes a challenge to find new and exciting ways to image your station for the holidays. This year is a little more challenging than in years past due to our economy and the inevitable urge to spend less and do more with what we already have.
That being said, if you find yourself in a quandary with what and how to image your station, you can always fall back to the basics, who, what, where, why, and how. The principles of Journalism 101. If you ask open ended questions using that formula, you will get the responses you need and you’ll get a bunch of tape that will go on the cutting room floor as it were.
I have come across some great tape, just asking simple questions like; “What is your favorite holiday meal and how do you make it?” ( for my AC stations I ask 9 year olds) or, How many parties do you go to during the holidays and how do you choose which ones to go to?, Or an old favorite, “What do you do to get ready for Christmas”.
In this recessionary period, questions will change to reflect the individuals, “How are you going to make Christmas memorable this year?”.. “What will make this Christmas special for your family?”, “Where will you spend the Holidays?” Great holiday imaging is what will put your station ahead of the others. PPM not in your market?. Don’t worry, it still makes a difference and those small things make your station sound as big as it can be.
So you work in a rated market that is now utilizing PPM, how do you brand that now that the diary from Arbitron is gone? First you have to think like the listener (which you should be doing anyway), that means that from a listeners point of view, his/her favorite station is always top of mind. That being said, the branding of your station to reflect that is what is going to be crucial, especially as you move into the Fall ratings periods. I have found that by using real statements and real people to brand the station it helps with top of mind awareness.
The PPM is going to pick the station up no matter what you “say” so if they are listening at the office, or in the car or at the Megalomart you can bet that in order for them to “hear” you, you’re going to have to creatively entice them to listen longer and in more places.
Utilize your branding statement at concerts, remotes, events and anywhere you want to gather audio to brand your station. Get a great digital recorder ( I suggest the ZOOM digital mic/recorder) and make it fun, keep a supply of station brika brak on hand to give to them, and make it a “contest” of sorts, the most real audio will sound the best in post, but you’ll get great audio to use in other places as well.
PPM is our friend, the diary days will soon be over and you have to find better more creative ways to get your brand top of mind. I hope this helps you find your niche’ in a crowded marketplace.
I’ve been using FB and Twitter a lot lately, trying to find new ways to A)market myself and my freelance business and B)having way too much fun doing it. It’s highly addictive in my opinion. But I have come across some great tools on both of the these social platforms that I think can help in my daily grind to find imaging for radio and make it topical, memorable and functional.
I took my ZOOM to a high traffic area and just asked people in general, (anyone who would answer my questions and not think I’m some sort of wacko) if they used FB or Twitter or any of the other social networking sites lately, how they used it, when they used it and what they get it out of it.
You would be surprised by the answers I got, now take your own answers ( I’m not doing the work FOR you) and create some really funny or even topical imaging for your station. Be CREATIVE, it’s how the P1’s will remember you and I’m sure with PPM coming to your town soon, you need all the tools you can to make your station stand out from the rest!
LiveLeak.com – Rap Chop Slap Chop Remix.
You’ll enjoy this I’m sure
What a a day in our world! I mean the broadcast/production world. I have so much new stuff to look through so many out of context drops to edit from the new president and his vice.. For us in the imaging world its a bonanza, for those in the production world, it can be a post production nightmare with quality and clarity as most of the new audio is being recorded on cell phones and cheap digital knockoffs that obliterate the audio. We can fix it
I was going through some files that I had archived from last year and that started me thinking, “Man what would happen if…..” Yeah,, exactly I’d be hosed!.. I immediatly went to my fav computer hardware store (The Internet) and picked up a Terrabyte Storage device for all my stuff over the past 3 years. Yes, I’m aware that a terrabyte was a little excessive as I only have about 100gig of stored audio, but I am absolutely positive I will use all of the space on this portable drive. Now, here’s the point of all this.. You should backup all your imaging, no matter how small or trivial it may be, because trust me, one day a PD will come in and ask you to… “remember that bit you produced in 03′ that had that kid in it that said “Your Home for Holidays”? Well, his Mom called and he’s getting married and she wants to play it at the wedding rehearsal”.
Seriously, this has happened to me!
Backing up your most precious audio assets will not only give you piece of mind, it will save you in the long run.. I heard Circuit City is going out of business, I wonder what I can get before the slam the doors shut.
What? Yes, you can create awesome imaging for remotes,, But, if you still use the antiquated Marti broadcast equipment, You really should invest in a couple of things and jump into the 21st Century.. Seriously, I talked to a guy the other day who is in a small market and does on average 3 to 4 remotes a week from all over the countryside. So here’s what you need to invest some of your 2009 budget in.
A. A laptop with Windows XP (if you can) and then get Adobe Audition or your favorite audio daw editor (Soundforge, etc)
B. A great USB Powered Mic or ZOOM H2 or H3 Digital Recorder
C. A wireless broadband card.
Your record your breaks, edit them down to the timed length you need and have a 30 or 40 music beds from your prod library already loaded in the laptop, mix it down and email it to yourself via gmail or some other email program. Your board op then opens the same email program at the station and plays it back. The quality is incredible, it will sound like your right there with no drop off, hiss, or any other drop outs that we all have expericenced with Martis Trust me!!, your clients will like it, you’ll like it and it will make you more money in the long run. Questions, just ask me and I’ll be more than happy to help
Yes, I know, it’s a little late but I still think you’ll have time to update your imaging before Jolly Ol’ St. Nick comes to your place. Some of the most creative imaging for the holidays is the minimal imaging. What do I mean by that?.. Well you shouldn’t have to work very hard to get the audio you need to make your imaging fresh, imaginative and creative. Go to the mall and I guaruntee that they have the Santa Train there, or there is a Santas Workshop somewhere in that mall. Wear your station gear, and get out your Digital recorder and ask those burning questions. You know ‘What do you want for Christmas?’ , the audio will be topical, clean, and if you play your cards right and ask the right open ended questions you’ll have audio you can save for Christmas in July.
Some of the most fun has been asking a bunch of 1st and 2nd Graders about what they do on Christmas Eve, or When does Santa Sleep, or the old stand by, How does Santa get in your house if you don’t have a chimney (most kids don’t have fireplaces).
Looking for some stuff for Thanksgiving (next week,, yeah,, I know time just flew by). More questions for the young and young at heart.. ”What’s your favorite part of the Turkey? What do you and your family do on Thanksgiving? How do you make a Turkey (pumpkin pie, dressing, etc)..
The point is, you don’t have to kill yourself trying to get audio from the office, just go to your favorite gathering place, schools, church, the mall, and you’ll do just fine.
Hey, can you pass me the sweet potatoes, oooo that dressing looks good too, hey I had my eye on that Turkey leg…..