TIPS FOR A NEW PD Chris Byrnes A new PD asked me recently to share some of the things I have learned as a station and group PD and how I put them to use in the job of creating great radio. The following is part of what I told him:
Always Preach the Key Ingredients of Great Radio: There are many different ways to say it but one of the best is by stressing "The three P's" - Positioning, Programming and Promotion. It starts with owning a position in the mind of the average listener. Great positioning is simple. It communicates a clear product benefit and the average consumer understands it. Next comes the product or programming. It's the stuff that comes out of the speakers. It needs to be entertaining, engaging and at times fun, but above all it needs to be consistent and live up to the brand promise. I cringe when I hear commercials for strip bars on stations that target women. Once you have a good product that is well positioned, then and only then should you promote it. I have witnessed cases where a radio station has spent a ton of money to tell everyone about their bad product because they were more focused on the next ratings period than the long term. Only when the product is right should you invest one cent to promote the benefits of listening to your station to your target audience. Dominate one medium if you can afford to. Do it and keep doing it. New people move into your market every day and have no idea about your amazing radio station. Others may tire of one station and go searching for another. A good PD will work hard to instill the core values of positioning, programming and promotion and then continuously remind everyone involved in the product's future with an almost zealous fervor.
Positively Harness the True Power Within: The staff helps make a radio station sound average or amazing. A good PD employs the right people and gives them the right tools and training to perform beyond their expectations. The PD "catches people doing it right" and motivates them to want to do it even better. Regularly review performance, especially with your on-air people. Be honest and supportive and tell them what they need to do, not what they shouldn't do. Work hard to create a fun, vibrant work atmosphere and it will come through the speakers and be infectious, resulting in more hours tuned.
Understand That You Cannot Do It All: A good PD knows how to delegate effectively and fairly. Most PDs are required to do more than one job these days, which increases the danger of someone doing several jobs poorly rather than one or two properly. Write down everything you do over a month and then sit down with your General Manager and look at the things that are unproductive and could be delegated. If you delegate the right way, your staff will feel empowered with greater responsibility and will feel they are learning new skills to help their career. One word of caution: when you delegate a task you do not abdicate responsibility for it, so make sure you have an effective monitoring system.
Effectively Monitor Your Radio Station: Know what is coming out of the speakers at all times. Many PDs get bogged down in meetings and with paper work and never to get to hear the radio station for long periods of the day. Take a day from time to time and check into a local hotel room and listen to your radio station without interruptions. Check off the music and spots as they play and make notes of the elements you liked and the items that need to be fixed or modified. Rate the talent for content, formatics and the way they identify the radio station and sell the positioning. Invite the GM or GSM along from time to time, as they may have interesting observations about aspects of the product that you miss. At the very least they may get an appreciation for the job you do. Do a side-by-side comparison between your station and your primary competition. Where do they run promos and spots? Where do they talk? Where do they place their strongest and weakest elements in each hour? This type of intelligence can help the PD to create an even better product and perhaps exploit the vulnerabilities of a competitor.
Be Famous In Your Own Back Yard: Being local is only the first step to success. The PD and on-air staff need to live the lifestyle of the target audience and do the things their listeners do. This means going to events, concerts and, yes, actually living in the community the radio station serves. At the risk of sounding extreme, I am amazed that some companies allow their key staff to live in towns and cities outside the coverage area. Staff needs to mix with their audience and get to know their interests, concerns and habits. Radio seems to be abandoning one of its most unique advantages in many markets --- being the medium that reflects the community in everything it does, both on and off the air.
Get An Outside Opinion: Most PDs are so busy putting out the daily fires and running from one crisis to another that they fail to spot opportunities to improve and do not see impending problems until they occur. One solution is to get an outside objective opinion on their station and its product. We are often invited into a market to conduct a detailed station monitor. This is a great way to give the product a "check-up" and to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. The other resource that is often overlooked by the PD is to have an outside company conduct research with your target audience to gauge the level of satisfaction with your radio station programming. This may also serve to test the community's appetite for other forms of programming or music. This form of research will confirm if you are on the right track and will most certainly pay dividends. Finally, the other outside help a PD should budget for is a music test from time to time. If you program your station based on runs from BDS or MMR and play what stations in other markets play disregarding market differences, you will likely see TSL drop big time.
Don't Allow the Computer To Take Over: Music software programs have become very sophisticated in recent years and can compute many thousands of instructions in less than a second. However, they create a log based on the rules and policies you have set in place. Most radio stations do not have their software set up properly and the music log it produces requires a lot of manual adjustment. Too often, the tweaking doesn't get done and the station sound suffers. Even if your software is set up properly, no computer can ever produce the perfect music log hour after hour. Someone capable of imagining the desired sound must review the daily music log and spend the necessary time to tweak and change the music until it is perfect. Computers are now doing a lot of the air-staff's work so it is critical that each announcer understands how to make the most of the equipment. The PD does not need to know everything about the on-air chain but someone on the air staff does and this information should be presented in an orderly and easy-to-follow manual.
Remember the Business You Are Really In: In rated markets we are really in the diary influencing business. Our goal is to get more ticks in the BBM or Arbitron than the competition. In order to increase the chances of success, the PD needs to know how the surveys are conducted and while remaining within the rules, do everything possible to win the book. The station needs to get the credit for all the quarter hours which means that identifications via call letters and positioning statement, must be frequent and clear. Make sure your call letters are attached to ALL benchmarks and features.
Use All Your Sound Tools: The goal when it comes to sound quality is to be as loud as possible, as clean as possible and cover the measured or rated area completely. Some formats will use more processing while others will create a "sound" that is distinctive and which they feel helps stationality. Once you have the right sound, the next objective is to keep it on the air 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Make sure there’s error reporting systems in place and that your equipment is maintained properly with an emphasis on problem prevention. Also, make sure the appropriate back-up equipment is in place should the power fail. Those radio stations that were able to stay on the air during the power blackout in Ontario or the forest fires in BC are benefiting today from their emergency plans.
Conclusion: The above is by no means a definitive list. I've not mentioned time management, networking with other PDs, communicating effectively both up and down the chain of command, goal setting, and a number of other important aspects of being a successful PD. But if you are a new PD or someday think you may make it to the big chair, then I hope this may help you in some way. |