This month the MPRs of Programming continues with a look at the next "P’s" on the list….Production and Positioning. I group these two P’s together because collectively they form the important element of "stationality". This combination of focused positioning statements delivered with effective production is a key factor in imaging a radio station in the market.

All radio station’s possess a "stationality" which, if done effectively, can really enhance all of the other programming elements forming a cohesive station "sound" and style not unlike that of a performer or recording artist. There are some recording artists you hear that have a distinctive sound that sets them apart from others. When you hear them, you instantly know who it is.

A radio station should try and capture the same feel, because if you are able to create your own unique sound, this can become a tremendous programming advantage. But how does a station achieve their own effective "stationality"? What’s the secret in creating and imaging a radio station effectively? First and foremost, it starts with an effective positioning statement.

Last year I discussed the rules of "Positioning" during the MPRs article on Marketing Basics. Marketing gurus Ries and Trout literally wrote the book on Positioning which sparked a revolution in advertising and marketing. The basic concept of positioning is NOT what you do with a product or service, but what you do to the mind of the prospect.

The authors felt it was vitally important to "position the product in the mind of the prospect." With consumers having more and more choices today, this so-called "battle for your mind" is the most effective way to be seen and heard in the overcrowded marketplace.

Never has this been more important for radio than today. With the advent of Internet radio and the upcoming launch of hundreds of satellite radio stations, a traditional radio station needs to make sure it’s not being lost in this increasingly competitive radio landscape.

Positioning your radio station effectively continues to be an important key to imaging or "branding" your product in a listener’s mind. Content issues aside, with a new century upon us and swirling competition ahead, branding your product may indeed be THE most important lifeline to success for a radio station dealing with thousands of new forms of radio competing for listeners.

Positioning concepts have always been a very important asset for radio station’s trying to position their product in the mind of their listeners. Everything from "Your #1 Hit Music Station" to "The Home of Rock n Roll" has barraged listener’s ears and senses on the radio for decades. But using any positioning statement just for the sake of using it doesn’t really guarantee that your listener’s will get what you’re trying to say.

A strong positioning statement should stand on it’s own and really say something to the listeners without a lot of explanation. One of the best "high concept" positioners that has effectively imaged it’s product as lifestyle-driven is Nike’s "Just Do It" positioning slogan.

The brilliance of this high concept positioner is that it has effectively captured the mind of consumer’s by imaging Nike as manufacturers of a product that compels people to excel in all walks of like beyond just their athletic apparel. This "Just Do It" positioning slogan has also made way for an even more memorable image….the "swoosh" icon. In a world full of images bombarding the consumer every day, who doesn’t see that icon and instantly know what it stands for.

For a radio station to compete, the same holds true; not only do you need an effective high concept positioning statement that really spells out who you are and what you do, but if you can effectively use this slogan in concert with a visual that also images who you are, you’re mastering the art of "high concept" positioning.

Here are a few examples of high concept positioning slogans that really work:

• "Extreme Rock"….this has been an effective positioning statement for Active and Alternative stations because the term Extreme has become a solid lifestyle catch word for the entire twenty-something generation. The word Extreme is defined with adjectives such as excessive, ultimate, fanatical, and far from ordinary. A radio station that plays this kind of music (Korn, Limp Biskit, Godsmack) reflects this kind of lifestyle, which has spawned such cultural events such as ESPN’s Extreme Games and the upcoming XFL, pro football’s equivalent of sport mixed with the excessive entertainment elements of the world of wrestling.
• "Classic Rock that Really Rocks"…..this has been an effective positioning statement to capture the older end of the rock lifestyle demo. Years of radio research has proven that Classic Rock on it’s own is a highly definable style of music to the baby boomer listening audience encapsulating 60’s based artists such as the Doors, Jimi Hendrix, CCR, Pink Floyd, the Beatles, and the Rolling Stones. Classic Rock that Really Rocks has been an effective way to position radio stations that play the harder fringes of Classic Rock defined by artists from the 70’s and 80’s like AC/DC, Aerosmith, Van Halen, Ozzy Osbourne, Kiss, and Led Zeppelin.

Beyond effective positioners, well written bumpers and promos are also important elements in further defining and imaging your product. If you take the time to really work on delivering the most impactful message about your product, you’ll create another important benchmark for listeners to gravitate to your radio station for.

Always strive for well written copy without cliché radio-ease. If you’re not confident about your creative writing ability, get the most creative minds at your radio station to brain storm new ways to get your station’s message across to the listener.

The key to delivering effective copy mainly lies in understanding your audience and knowing their interests. Every audience and demo has their own psychological hot buttons. Knowing your target audience and reflecting their tastes in imaging your station is the most effective way to capture their attention.

For a young end Active Rock and Alternative station, sarcastic humor and the right attitude are paramount in getting their attention. An upper demo Classic Rock and Mainstream rock listener appreciates humor, but also doesn’t mind some cheesy tongue-in-cheek hype. A Country audience might not care about a lot of attitude and humor, but would rather listen to a message delivered with honesty and sincerity with a little corn-ball humor thrown in for good measure.

Finally, if you’re programming a station out of your demo and are trying to capture that demo’s imagination, you’d better have a clear understanding about what makes them tick, or hire folks in the demo that do. You can’t just rely on your own perceived image of what your listener’s wants to hear. Research and LISTEN to what your audience wants, then, reflect that back to them and they’ll listen to you!

After deciding on the proper high concept positioning statement and imaging style that reflects the attitude of your target audience, creative production that brings it all to life is the synergy that really creates an effective "stationality".

The first tool necessary in the creative production process is having a strong station voice to work with. The right voice to convey the proper station imaging is an extremely important element in achieving the kind of effective branding necessary to cut through the clutter. In time, a strong station voice becomes synonymous with the radio station sound and it’s stationality.

Finding the right voice to convey the image of the station is almost as important as hiring a key personality. After all, this voice will be heard coming out of your airwaves more than any other person on your station.

While the right station voice is important, the creative production director is the key to putting all of this together. Over the last decade, quality production directors have become an integral factor in the success of any radio station. When you think about it, their work impacts the radio station EVERY hour of the day. Their talent should be sought out, supported, and compensated according to the level of excellent stationality they create.

It is the job of the production director to create the aural vision of the radio station that the program director wants to achieve. This puts a priority on the relationship and communication skills of the programmer and production person.

I’ve always been a proponent of a "Less is More" style of production that puts a premium on getting the station’s message across with the proper humor and attitude with out a lot of production bells and whistles. As a programmer, I sought out creative production people that shared this vision.

Besides a shared vision with the program director, a great production person needs to be creative with a strong work ethic. While the creative aspects of the job are a given, the work ethic necessary to create great stationality 24 hours a day is a critical difference between average and stellar creative production.

As this new century unfolds, achieving strong radio stationality through creative production and positioning will become even more important than in previous years when radio’s competitive environment encompassed only the radio station’s in a specific market.

The biggest challenge to traditional radio in this century will be the advent of satellite and Internet radio. In the future, one of the key areas that traditional radio must focus on to remain viable amidst all of the impending competition is solid branding. If you fortify your production and positioning right now, your radio station will be ready for the challenge!

Next month, the "MPR’s" of Programming continues with a look "beyond the basics" at the nuances of creating effective Production and Positioning. We’ll explore what makes for great radio "stationality" with insight from top Programmers and Creative Production Directors.