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BEAVERING AWAY Chris Byrnes I spent the Victoria long weekend relaxing with friends at a cottage in the Thousand Islands on the beautiful St Lawrence River. It was as I hiked around this isolated island that I saw first hand the work of a beaver that had a den on a nearby island. The Beaver had worked diligently away and a number of trees to fortify his den. There were several trees that were clearly work in progress, and one large tree in particular that had received a great deal of attention. A few more visits to that tree by the eager beaver would result in the demise of this once healthy tree. As I listened to various radio stations that beamed into this busy area of cottage country it became obvious to my ear that at least some of the announcers I heard had spent very little time researching and preparing their show. Yes it was a long weekend and I could tell that most control rooms where empty and as the air waves were full of rushed pre-recorded voice tracks. Some announcers I suspect had no concept of how to prepare material for a show or weave this content into the fabric of the overall program. Here are just a few of the suggestions we offer air talent when we coach then on how to prepare a show:
Perishable Information: This is material that is best used that day because of the time sensitive nature of the content. If you prepare a bit on the five gifts that dads hate to get, it's best to deliver that close to Fathers Day. If it's a bit about ways to tell summer has arrived in your city then the best day to deliver that is 21 June at least in 2004. Material that can be delivered at any time is called non perishable and examples might include five ways to save money or the bit about how hookers choose their name if you're a rock station (Your favourite pet’s name, combined with the street you were born on according to a friend of mine who researches these things!). These can be delivered at any time, so once you prepare your show, write a large "P" beside the material that is perishable, which will be thrown away if it is not used that day. The "NP" material can be saved and used another day. Always walk into the control room with more information than you will need.
Music News: No matter what the music format your audience cannot get enough fresh interesting news about the music and the artist you play. It drives me nuts when I hear announcers say; "Coming up next hour I've got Elton John, Billy Joel and Phil Collins." What a wasted break! Spend the time to research one or two key artists or songs you will play each hour and borrow an idea from Casey Kasem. Be creative and tease your audience with some information that might make them stick around for 15 minutes to find out who you are talking about. Building time spent listening (TSL) is the most important ting any announcer can do, yet seldom do you see this in any job description. Getting on the street and meeting listeners one at a time is a hard way to grow your audience. While that should be done, the most effective way for any announcer to grow audience share is by increasing the time the target audience spend listening to the radio station. With all the prep services and internet sites available any announcer should be able to walk into the control room armed with lots of trivia and current information about the music and artists.
Hollywood Gossip: The number of television shows that dish out the daily dirt continues to grow and most rate well. Take a walk down the supermarket isles and the magazines that occupy the valuable space at the check out counters are you will see many are dedicated to Hollywood gossip. It seems the average person cannot get enough tinsel town gossip. In this electronic age it is easier than every before for an announcer to research and prepare the latest information and sometimes even be ahead of the other media. This should be part of the daily show prep routine for any announcer. It can become a benchmark bit in almost any show, and providing the content is compelling and it is packaged and delivered the right way this can create "appointment tuning" for your radio station.
Interesting New Trends: This is another area the average listener is interested in. It simply requires the announcer to subscribe to the right magazines or book mark the appropriate web sites. What will the hot toy be this Christmas or information about the latest time saving gadget or appliance that will become common place in the home or office? Care needs to be taken to write and deliver this information in such a way as to make it interesting for the broadest possible audience. If you want an example of a show that I think does this well check out how CTV delivers this information as part of their 6pm news package.
Quirky Stories: Stupid criminals or people doing wacky or stupid things create "water cooler talk." Providing the content is interesting and well delivered these stories are the ones that listeners will tell their friends and co-workers about. There are web sites dedicated to this topic and providing you including a reference point (city/country) and if possible a time frame and name of the person involved in order to make some of these impossible or unlikely stories seems more believable.
Promote the Radio Station: Most radio stations have liners they require the announcer to deliver. Rather than read the information exactly as it is written and therefore delivered by every other announcer take the time to look at the liner cards and craft the information into your own words. Be sure to deliver the key points to keep the "big office" happy. The other opportunity often missed by announcers is talking about other shows or events happening on the radio station to recycle audience into another day-part. How often have you listened to the AM Drive show and they fail to talk about the benefits of listening to mid-days?
Surveillance Information: People listen to the radio to catch the vital local information. Traffic, weather and even the time are important to deliver especially in AM Drive. What a lot of announcers miss is the opportunity to present this information in an interesting and creative way. Why read the weather forecast the way Environment Canada wrote it? Meteorologists the world over are famous for writing vague meaningless weather reports that use words such as "predominating". Instead look at the information and rewrite it so that is firstly makes sense and secondly relates to your target audience. It's better to say "It will be a great weekend to take the dog for a walk or strap on the roller bales and we're expecting sunshine and 29 degree right across the weekend."
The Phones: Recording all in coming calls, editing and then running sentences on the air is a great way to sound local and live (even when you're voice-tracked). Sadly this is a missed opportunity for so many announcers, because they spend so little time in the control room in this new voice-tracked world. I suspect a lot of listeners have given up calling their local radio station because no one ever answers the phone anymore. Yet the technology today makes this a much easier process to record and edit calls than when I was on the air a 7 inch reel to reel tape, a splicing block and razor blade. Somewhere I still have a few reel to reel tapes with lots of splicing tape keeping then together. Putting "real people" on the air is a powerful way to sound connected to your broadcast area.
Things To Do With Your Free Time: I was a young air talent when the PD threw open the control room door one Tuesday afternoon as said "Hey man, don't be talking about the upcoming weekend already, it's too soon!" I felt he was wrong because I had worked some real jobs before I got into radio and lots of my friends who were also working for a basic hourly wage also used to talk about and plan their weekend days in advance. It was not that we were highly organized. It helped us get through the week and cope with our mundane boring job. Radio people normally have lots of options to attend movie previews, contra restaurants or shows so they tend to plan their weekends at the last minute.
Observational Show Prep: Show prep is a living and never stops. This means the announcer needs to keep his or her eyes open and write down things that they see as they drive to work or walk around the city. Sometimes the unusual can create the basis for a great break on the air. The comedian Jerry Seinfeld made millions and created a very successful television sit-com based on his ability to observe common every day occurrences and create compelling and entertaining television that won the 8pm time slot for ABC for five years.
Contests: Lots has been written about the pros and cons of contesting on radio. Too often this is such a missed opportunity as I hear announcers execute powerful contests in a robotic and disinterested fashion. Take a step back and think about the benefits for the listener, the client and the radio station. Use the tools available such as music beds, sound effects and powerful words to create magic on the radio. It has been said that mans greatest natural recourse are words, yet too often we fail to mine and refine this wonderful resource. Have fun and make that contest sound amazing.
Have A Written Planner: Develop a system and a written planner to keep you focused and make sure you cover the important areas each and every day you are on the air. Some announcers have to write out every word they say, others simply write down a few words on their music log. I worked with a very talented person who used to do his show prep on napkins and scrap paper. H would walk into the control room and empty his pockets flatten out the mass of screwed up paper and what came of the speakers for the next four hours was pure magic.
Local: Sounding local and plugged is the most powerful way to create great radio. You have such an advantage over other media, but this requires hard work, good contacts and being aware of what's going on in your community. Name dropping is also a great way to sound local.
Conclusion: No announcer can walk into the control room without researching and preparing the show. Those who do not only let themselves down, but they also let down all the other staff on that radio station. When they are on the air they ARE the radio station. Therefore just like the small little beaver on the Island they need to put in the time each and every time to research and prepare a show. Develop a system that works for you, and work smart to create compelling radio each and every day. Walk into that control room prepared and confident and just like the beaver if you keep at it one day the "trees" across the street will fall and you will win. |
