"The Great Ones / Cinematics" by Mark Driscoll
Produced by Brandon, Subliminal Radio, Los Angeles
As heard at the opening of the NAB Radio Show 2010: Where are the Writers, Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Star Studded Panel Featuring:
Ron Chapman, Legendary KVIL Dallas Personality
Dick Orkin, The Famous Radio Ranch (Chicken Man, Adventures of the Toothfairy, etc)
Chris Smith, Creative Group Head
Radio Show Committee Liason, Kevin Robinson, PD Bonneville St. Louis Radio Group
Mark Driscoll, Owner/Operator Mark Driscoll Productions Hollywood
lick it once… and you suck FOREVER!
So often, I’m asked about imaging content and how it fits in the programming essence of a radio station including the creation of stationality and animation, etc. The creation of top of mind awareness.
The everyday people that I casually interact with… questions and powerful observations inspire the greatest ideas.. and usually, they work! But don’t just talk… Listen. (We better… *The listener will tell you everything.)
Don’t take this the wrong way, but "turn the radio off"… No, not literally. What I mean is, too often, its convenient and easy to just rip-off something you heard somewhere else and re-do it… It rarely has the same impact. (Unless you don’t care to be unique and magnetize the listener). All great stations are permanently sealed into our collective consciousness with creativity and originality. How many copy-cats do you remember?
In other words, don’t try to imitate, recreate or reuse the same tired template driven ideas. It will lead you down a path of forgotten, uninspired radio and bore your audience to sleep.
What you do to capture the listener’s imagination — requires your imagination. Without it, you have "licked the lollipop of mediocrity… lick it once, and you suck forever!"
I’m amazed at the things (natural events) that are skipped or overlooked… opportunities to truly seduce the listener that we don’t use to our advantage (we’ll discuss that in future posts).
Think of radio as the "original social network". Primitive as it seems today, consider, that we didn’t have cell phones, smart-phones, The Internet, texting, tweets, etc… The phone was the direct line to the radio station. The direct conduit between the station and the listener. Technology may have changed the way people listen and interact with radio, but imagination is still what connects your station to the listener.
Is your radio station a "who" or "a what"? If you answered "a what"…that’s a problem.
For the radio station to become a ‘rock star’ or "bigger than life,” you must think of your radio station as a living, breathing, organic "being"… like a real person….not a just dial position.
A great station…has needs, desires, imagination, a sense of humor, feelings, honesty and most importantly…a heart. The listener knows it, hears it, and develops not just a loyalty… but a friendship and an emotional bond. Now, you’ve reached the threshold of "stationality". The soul.
Most likely, your station shares music and listeners with several stations. You can’t afford to duplicate the same imaging, bad habits and ideas. After all, imaging accounts for more than 50% of the entire station. Not in total minutes, but in total content. That content, is mission critical. What it says about your station and how it says it, are what sets your radio station apart from average stations.
As we image and give life to the station, it’s easy to fall in to the trap of replication that you have heard somewhere else.
You’ve likely been to other cities or listened to stations on-line and heard the same 1990s MTV style, monotone, Gen-X production across all formats, from sports to hip-hop, and everything in between…..with the same lasers …zips – zaps – blips & blaps.. It’s so………..zzzzzzzzzzzzzz…………..(OMG, was I drooling?) To make things worse, there are probably 4 or 5 local stations all sharing similar production value in your market! Be honest. Are you one of ‘em?
What is it, that makes your station REALLY different? If you say it’s the voice or the production….maybe…but in reality…it’s all about carefully crafted and balanced…. content. We’ll dive into more details in future posts (hooks, bells and whistles)… and it’s great stuff!
Music, liners, dj’s, brevity, imaging, processing, even commercials. (In fact, many listeners consider imaging the same thing as commercials). Great stations aren’t just ordinary…. But completely cinematic and unrivaled! (Let the other stations stand back and drool). There are so many tricks that have simply been ‘forgotten’…let’s bring it back!!
If you reduce what we do to the the most basic principle, we make sound… Create the magic with theater of the mind – and you captivate your audience with a special emotional connection. A connection so special and so powerful… yet intimate… that you have achieved the ultimate DNA – that simply cannot be copied.
There is SO much more…and what a shame to hear the "same ol’ stuff", particularly as we have so many talented people.
I’ll be at the NAB radio show in Washington, DC this fall…your comments/ideas for that session are welcome, appreciated and ultimately… will help us all.
By the way, if you have a suggestion, a topic or idea that you’d like to see me to cover in future blog posts, please leave a comment or drop an email. and don’t forget to subscribe to the RSS and iTunes feeds.
People keep telling me to write a book…okay… it may not be hardcover, but this just might be the beginning of that ‘book’.
Until next time, this is Mr. Voice speaking… Remember, "to be # 1……you gotta SOUND # 1". "The best wrapped package…WINS!"
You’re Hired! The dream gig of a lifetime… (you hope…) You get to build the ultimate radio station….now what?
Radio DNA is gonna put a station on the air.
WOW! I had no idea the kind of instant reaction Radio DNA would generate…..your comments from FB and personal e-mails were amazing and stirred quite a bit of thought…… Thank you! As many of you are attending the Conclave, (Shout to Art Vuolo!) this chapter will be brief. It includes a few ‘hits’ from the past… and a challenge for the future…
The one constant theme that resonated in all the comments I received… the lack of creativity on so many stations that has become pandemic in recent history. The good news… there’s a cure…
After the 1997 release of Titanic, Avatar was supposed to begin production – but according to James Cameron, the technology to achieve his vision of the film didn’t exist yet. Only 15 years ago, we were editing with grease pencils and splicing tape. Today, the digital generation, has grown up working entirely in the digital domain. Imagine what the future will sound like…..and push the limits of technology and creativity outside the boundary of safety.
Starting today, Radio DNA, issues this challenge:
Are you the PD that will stimulate your producer and voice talent with redefining the genetic code of imaging that separates your station from the rest of the pack?
Are you up for the challenge?
Let’s hear what you can do in time for the NAB Radio Show in DC at the end of September. Your comments/ideas and MP3s are welcome.
