First I should explain that for me, an Incredibly Cool Station Idea is one that provides a valuable service to the community, involves the listeners, and doesn’t cost the radio station anything.
A number of years ago I conducted an air talent seminar for BBC Radio Merseyside in Liverpool, England. At the time, they were heavily promoting its “A Team.” Staffed by volunteers, the A Team work from three desks in the radio station. They field calls from listeners who need what might be called Info-Help:
“What are the requirements for bringing a dog onto an airplane?”
“How can I find someone to adopt some kittens?”
“Who won the 1972 Academy Award for Best Actor?”
One very popular feature of the A Team is their Lost Person service: helping to locate an old army buddy or school chum.
While they research all incoming requests and reply to the callers by telephone, the A Team typically airs three bulletins a day to help with answers they haven’t been able to track down themselves.
When the film version of YELLOW SUBMARINE celebrated its 30th anniversary, Apple Records desperately wanted to contact the actors who had portrayed the Beatles in that animated picture, but they could locate only three of the four. So they called the A Team, which asked Radio Merseyside’s listeners if they could help. Within hours, they heard from a listener who was friends with the missing actor…who was living on a houseboat in Denmark. He gave them his friend’s phone number, and the mystery was solved.
Here are the benefits of the A Team:
• True community service
• Great public relations/local goodwill
• Occasional great publicity (e.g., the missing “Beatle”)
• Strengthens connection to community
• Builds listener loyalty
• Builds goodwill even among people who are not frequent listeners
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I do draw the line at appeals for lost dogs tho 😉
I *like* working at a station that does lost dogs once in a while. Obituaries in newscasts. Small markets rule – it’s very personal here. And we find a dog occasionally. Probably wouldn’t work in Liverpool, though.
Our personalities tend to serve as our “A- Team”. One of the things I’ve always stressed is that local connection. We may not have all of the answers, but a majority of the time, we know someone who does.
We operate under the “needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few” when it comes to public service. One of the biggest problems Urban stations have is the perception that they don’t do enough in the community and that’s how we combat that.
Every now and then we get an opportunity at some real radio magic by doing something spontaneous with a listener and that’s usually generated by a call we’ve taken on the air.
How beautiful that you have live people to take those calls. Some of the best radio I’ve ever heard/been a part of has been sparked by a single phone call. To respond to the community, to be a part of the community, to serve the community, we have to be there.
Oh, and in this age of “new” media(which has now been around for years) If a listener wants me to post their lost animal photo on my webpage, send it in! It serves on a different levels. The individual connection, and if you actually help the animal get reunited wiht the owner form that simple act you get an awesome reunion story(good radio) and good community points as well. Maybe it doesnt serve to stop down on air programming, but we have other tools now.
Lisa, that is so true. One little phone call can absolutely make your show.
Dan, not sure how this fits in with “doesn’t cost the radio station anything” though. Three people spending a lot of time researching on air content sounds like quite a cost. Not that I’m against the idea, I’ve done it myself in the past. (Although I didn’t get three researchers, I got an intern with funny writing on his forehead 🙂
This is where a really good intership program helps. We use college students that have broadcasting majors and get them involved in every aspect of programming/ I’ve had students go out and do show prep with a given set of parameters just so they have a sense of what I go through as a personality.
We draw very few lines here. Tim Magraw sang, “Whatever happened to the station that plays them all.” Whatever happened to the station that does it all….like serving the community as it is supposed to. It’s what sets us apart from everyone else: Being the “local” station. And, I am proud of that. Our live call-in trading post is the most popular thing I ever started here.
Great blog Dan O’Day!
@ Rob — re: “doesn’t cost the radio station anything”: Those three people are volunteers.
Was that in the original report? Doh! must have skimmed over that line. Volunteers works for me. Tea, biscuits and sponsored petrol vouchers forever.
isn’t this what google is for?
One jock and an internet connection. A-Team. Pretty simple on the inside. Create the idea of “other” team members. Theater of the mind works well with this concept. Back in the day it would have taken 3 or more volunteers but with the internet (thank you Al Gore LOL!) you can pull this off easy. Let the listeners do the work for you…remember, they have google too and they will call you with their results to share with you. You, in turn, use their name on the air as “your” A-team. Granted, you won’t be able to “field calls” in this manner but, you could get enough info from one “run” on the air to have enough bits for a week. “Yesterday we solved XXX’s missing dog problem, today ZZZ wants to know YYY.” Great idea from the Radio Guru Man himself. Thanks Dan.
Hi Dan,
This is such a refresher of learning for me. I read this in your programming newsletter back in the day, not too long ago of course 🙂 thank you. I’m not fulltime in radio now but i sure could use this and the ideas sent by those who posted the comment.
Dan, as i’ve said in the past, you are an angel.
Rey