Part 1: An Introduction

Monday morning 8AM . . . a typical radio programmer starts the day with a bevy of e-mails and voice messages . . . the GM wants to discuss the financial details on the upcoming library music test . . . the morning show wants to chat when they get off the air about "a great idea for a new bit" . . . the Marketing/Promotion Director wants to confirm lunch with the local concert promoter to discuss the station’s "upcoming concert series" . . . and there are TEN messages from national and local record promotion people all hyping "the next big thing."

Programming a radio station in today’s age of Consolidation has become more than just a skillful art form. Keeping on top of all of the areas involved in programming can be an arduous and TIME consuming task, and that’s just for ONE radio station.

Several years ago I developed a check list for programming that has become my compass in helping to effectively manage and direct the programming of a radio station. I call it the "MPR’s" of programming.

Simply put, these "MPR’s" are more that just a programmer’s alphabet soup...they can lead to direct ratings success. I’ve arranged these "MPR’s" in order of programming priorities. The M’s are Music, Morning Show, and Marketing. The P’s are Promotion, Production, Positioning, and Personalities.  The R’s are Research, Ratings, and Revenue.

This checklist can be used as a programmer’s primer in helping to focus attention on the "nuts and bolts" programming priorities necessary to keep your radio station on track.

The Three "M’s"

The three "M’s" are first on the priority checklist because of their overall importance to the success of a radio station. Let’s look at these elements individually in a bit more detail beginning with the all important first "M," the Music.

Music:

Short of programming a news/talk station, the Music is THE most important element of your radio station. Therefore, a well focused music product should be your number ONE programming priority.

How much time do you dedicate to making sure your music is on target for your demo? Have you created your station’s Artist Benchmark list? These are the artists you’d put up on your station’s imaginary "Mt. Rushmore" if you had the chance to showcase them to your audience.

How often do you analyze your station’s basic music programming elements? Do you regularly review the music logs, rotations, and clocks, as well as the current and master library lists?

Morning Show:

The Morning Show is the "front door entrance" to the rest of the radio station....radio’s "Prime Time," THE marquee personality airshift. The proliferation of syndicated morning shows has been instigated by a demand for ratings success during this all important radio time period.

If your station isn’t playing the syndication game, how much time do you spend working with your morning show? How productive are your meetings? What’s your morning show’s overall point of view? Have they formed an "emotional connection" with their listeners? Do you review their content, relatability, and topical quotient?

Marketing:

Creative Marketing is a critical factor in helping your radio station "cut thru the clutter" in it’s competition with the other radio stations in the market as well as other forms of media including TV, print, and the increasingly popular Internet.

How do you market your radio station? Do you use TV, billboards, busboards, or print? Have you tried non-traditional marketing like tele-marketing or a slick new website? How effective is your station’s marketing in keeping it "top of mind" with it’s listeners?

Finally, in keeping with the old adage "don’t advertise your restaurant until the food and service are worthy of it", don’t market your radio station until you feel the product is on target....primarily the Music and the Morning Show. Marketing a less than stellar product can do more harm than good.

The silent "M’s," Management/Morale:

I strongly feel that the successful programming of these three "M’s" ...a well focused Music product, a successfully entertaining Morning Show, and a creatively effective Marketing plan contribute about 75% to the overall success of your radio station.

But there are two silent "M’s" that should be added to the three "M’s" listed above. Great Management leads to positive Morale...intangibles that fuel the success of any radio station. Conversely, poor Management hurts station Morale and can hinder the success of a radio station that may possess a very strong set of three "M’s."

What are you doing as a programmer to successfully Manage your station’s Morale? Is communication with your staff one-sided conversation or two-sided dialogue? Are you truly a Program "Director" or more of a Program "Dictator?" Do you park your ego at the door or does it run rampant throughout the building?

Former UCLA Basketball coach John Wooden wasn’t called the "Wizard of Westwood" for merely his success on the basketball court. He was a master of the silent "M’s". One of his favorite maxims about leadership can be used as a foundation to mastering the art of Management and Morale..."great leaders aren’t concerned with always being right...they’re concerned with doing what it takes to make things work."

The "P’s"

Once you’ve attempted to master the "M’s" listed above, your programming priorities should focus on the "P’s." Let’s look at these a bit more in-depth.

Promotion:

While Marketing is primarily a function "off the air" to get listeners to sample your radio station, Promotions are what stations use "on the air" to get listeners who’ve begun sampling a station to stay and listen longer.

What kinds of promotions are you doing to keep your listeners tuned in for longer periods of time? Are your contests and giveaways effective? Is there a healthy balance of TSL and Cume-driven promotions? Are you doing programming-driven promotions with true "listener benefits" or is your station primarily filled with sales-driven promotions?

Production/Positioning:

I like to group these two "P’s" together because in many cases they go hand in hand....great production enhances a station’s positioning and a solid positioning handle lends itself to creative production. Some of the greatest stations in the nation excel at "stationality"...combining exciting production elements with positioning statements that effectively image the product.

How often do you analyze your station’s production...both promos and commercials? How much quality control is used in the station’s production elements? How effectively do your station’s positioning statements work to define the station’s image in the market?

Personalities:

Outside of mornings, the rest of the personalities on your radio station are important factors in contributing to the ultimate success of the product. These are your troops. If you’ve put together a stellar game plan, their execution is critical.

How do your personalities effect the overall sound and image of the radio station? Do you consistently monitor your talent with aircheck sessions on a regular basis? What other ways do you keep your airstaff motivated?

The "R’s"

After the effective programming focus of the "M’s" and "P’s", your station’s ultimate report card is measured by the "R’s". Let’s focus on these in more detail.

Research:

Most of your initial programming decisions in the "M’s" and "P’s" should come from your gut. Research is the gauge to see if your decisions are working with your audience. Research allows you to test your listeners. It’s their chance to tell you what music they like or don’t like, what they think of your radio station, and the the rest of the market.

There are two basic forms of radio research....music and perceptual. The current music is best tested by weekly callout and the library music by auditorium or living room music tests. Perceptual research tests a station’s image and programming elements beyond the music. The two basic forms of perceptual research are "live" focus groups or "telephone" perceptual studies.

All of this mumbo-jumbo begs the question..... How effective are your station’s research efforts? Are you doing the right forms of research? Do you consistently work with the same research companies or do you search out new opinions?

Ratings:

This is the ultimate programmer’s report card. Let’s face it, the Arbitron ratings report and it’s archaic diary system isn’t perfect, but over several trends and books, despite sampling methodology wobbles, the law of statistics usually evens things out. My advice is to take the ratings at face value and use them as another research tool.

How is your station performing in it’s target demos and in key dayparts? Pay particular attention to Cume and TSL trends as well as the Average Quarter Hour and Cume Composition of your radio station. Also, check out your station’s Cume Duplication to see how much audience you share with your market competition and vice versa.

Revenue:

This really is "the bottom line." All of the "MPR’s" listed above eventually filter down to the revenue. While a programmer’s priorities should focus on the "M’s," then the "P’s," most GM’s and Sales Manager’s primary focus is on this particular "R."

As a programmer, you can’t lose sight of the ultimate fruits of your programming efforts. If your focus on the quality of the "M’s" and "P’s" lead to successful ratings and revenue, there’s a good chance your company will keep you around for awhile.