The Significance Of 9-6-22 For Your Radio Station

Labor Day weekend, for most, is the last official summer weekend. Vacations end, most schools are in session, or are getting ready to start, and the days are getting shorter.

Attitudes change after Labor Day. Everyone is back to work and the next lengthy “holiday” is two months away. The pace of everyday life picks back up after a summer slowdown even though, this fall, things will be a lot more expensive than they were a year ago.

As a PD, I always treated that first day back after Labor Day as the beginning of a new “season” for our radio station. We used that same mindset going into a new year too, by the way. If we had any changes/enhancements in mind, we prepared them and had them ready for air that day after Labor Day, sort of like television’s “new fall season” on the radio. (At one station, we billed our events/on air benchmarks, etc. as “all part of our new fall season!”)

This is a time that calls for a renewal and refreshing. You’re giving your radio station a proverbial fresh coat of paint. Examine your imaging. Make sure it mirrors this different “back to work/school” mindset in your market. “#1 for New Country” and “Non-Stop Commercial-Free” are all well and good, but what about addressing that fresh start feeling that lots of your audience will have as summer officially ends? It’s a new football season, locally and nationally. Concerts and festivals have been back in full force, and lots of local fall events are returning live after two years. With all of that, people are going to be very careful how they spend their entertainment dollars because of the state of the economy.

Capture this with your station’s imaging and social media marketing. Being topical always adds to your station’s personality, and your listeners will feel it!

Get your airstaff on the same wavelength. As I have recommended for the start of a new year, make sure they are hitting the ground running. They each should be ready (local, voice-tracked and/or syndicated) to be a step ahead of your audience.

Make sure they’re aware of these attitudinal, economic and personal changes with the listeners so their content will reflect that. Spend time with your staff brainstorming ways to create the content that will help, entertain, inform and strengthen the bond you have with your audience. COMMUNICATE with them!

Listeners will be back in their cars heading to the workplace/school again, so make sure you’re doing everything to give them an entertaining ride in both directions.

Radio is still the king in the car, for the most part. Be a companion, not background. Know they are not hanging on every word, and find creative, compelling ways to give them what they need/want often enough to get their attention and keep it.

Have this in mind with your promotion strategy, including your app and web site. Include information for your listeners about free events and other ways of stretching their dollar, and traffic info for those festivals, concerts and sports events. Brainstorm with the staff and create a strong list. Capture the pulse of your audience.

The day after Labor Day will should be an important day in your station’s evolution every year! Time to freshen up!

“Taking Your Radio Presence To The Next Level. Be it an artist, radio programmer or on-air talent. Coaching and mentoring down to your foundational level”

Contact me:
John Shomby
Owner/CEO Country’s Radio Coach
jshomby@countrysradiocoach.com
757-323-1460
https://countrysradiocoach.com