“Tune-Up Before You “Tune-Out
I found this time of the year to be most productive; record companies are shut down, events have ground to a halt, and most of the staff have checked out or taken a vacation. Use the next few days wisely to reset yourself mentally and “Tune-up” your radio station because the madness of a new year is just around the corner.
Music Library Maintenence
Dive into your music library, freshen up those titles and look over research tests, charts, etc.… Make those changes to the music, clocks, rotations that you have been putting off for months.
Imaging
Plan ahead, a great example is one of our rock station clients in Traverse City, MI “Rock 105” wrote and produced imaging for all the Michigan football bowl game scenarios. A win, they have imaging ready to go for the next game. A loss, the station is ready to congratulate the team on a great season! An easy switch of a cart number and the station sounds current and engaged even over the holiday weekend.
Most stations have tons of digital assets, write new imaging to freshen the promos up ex: “Did you get a new i-pad for Christmas? Download our new WKYZ mobile app.” or “We hear you got a new Amazon device, make sure to download our Alexa skill.”
Strategic Thinking
Take some time to think, close the door and reflect on the past year.
What events or promotions worked, what needs to be tweaked, and what failed.
Look at the calendar; what is coming up in the first quarter? Get ahead of the curve, there is still time to focus on coming out of the gates strong in January. Listeners’ habitual listening routines are disrupted over the holidays, don’t assume they will just come back right away. Give them some fresh content, promotions, and contests first thing in the new year to lure them back.
Dig into the competition, are you positioned correctly for the upcoming year? Spend some time looking at any strategic research, monitors, other stations’ websites. Have a game plan and be ready to execute it in the first few weeks of 2022.
All that being said it’s equally as important to take some time just to get away from the station, relax, party, enjoy time with family and friends and sleep in. You earned it after what has been one of our most challenging years. Here’s to a prosperous and healthy 2022!