DAN O’DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO

I just finished rereading Max Shulman’s ZEBRA DERBY, which was published in 1946.

Misleading cover. The G-rated book isn't about his pursuit of women at ALL. It's a satire on post-war life.

In one chapter, the protagonist peruses the post-World War II advertisements in his local newspaper.

Including this one:

After all that Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer did during the war to keep up your morale, you’d sure have to be an ungrateful sonofabitch to stop drinking it now.

I like it.

A Loyal Reader Asks:

“Could give me some insight into what GMs or Ops Managers look for when they ask for my ‘Programming Philosophy?'”

When someone asks you about your programming philosophy, usually it means someone once told them they should ask about that, so they ask.

Sometimes it means they’re looking to see if what you say exactly matches what they think.

Others — the smarter ones — want to see how you think…even if not every one of your thoughts matches yours.

Here are some all-purpose, safe, meaningless declarations to include in your Programming Philosophy….

“I believe we always should put the listeners first (while always remembering this is a business).”

“The way to market our station is to ‘be out there’ in the community (while always remembering this is a business).”

“Even if you can’t afford to pay top bucks, you can attract good talent by creating a fun, enjoyable, creative work environment (while always remembering this is a business).”

“No national or satellite station can ever beat a dedicated local radio station.”

“While we should take advantage of the latest technologies to deliver a superior product, that doesn’t mean we have to spend more money. Remember, ultimately this is still a business.”

“There’s no reason why Programming and Sales shouldn’t work together as a team. By golly, we’re in the communications business; so we should be able to communicate with each other!”

“You’ve got to plan your work and work your plan!”

“When it comes to music programming, nothing is more important than playing the right music. While research can be a helpful tool, it never can replace a good pair of ears and a solid gut instinct.”

* Radio should be fun. That’s why all dedicated employees should gladly work 12-hour days and six-day weeks with no extra compensation. Except, of course, for salespeople, whom you never should expect to see between 3 o’clock Friday afternoon and 9 o’clock Monday morning.”

“At the end of the day, it all boils down to establishing a deep, meaningful connection to our listeners, our community, and our advertisers (while always remembering this is a business).”

First, give a listen to the radio commercial:

Okay, list everything you picture.

The idiotic Girlfriend From The Past?

The guy who reacts to the sudden reappearance, after 15 years, of his old girlfriend with all the shock and surprise he’d feel after…Oh, after finding a misplaced paper clip in his desk drawer?

Y’see, the people who created this radio commercial think you’re too stupid to know what “great opportunities don’t last forever” means, so they illustrate the concept with two voice actors unconvincingly reading from an inane script.

(As always, I don’t blame the voice actors. I assume they were following the direction of some “advertising genius.”)

This spot advertised a particular Lexus model. Can you name that model?

Can you describe the “great opportunity” they were trying to advertise?

Anybody? Anybody?

Once again, folks:

The picture you paint in the listener’s mind is what the listener will remember.

And there ain’t no Lexus pictures being painted in that commercial.

At this year’s International Radio Creative & Production Summit, Dave Foxx gave a presentation entitled “10 Things Every Audio Producer Must Know About Music.”

To illustrate a point, Dave shared this video…which is awfully darn good.

It’s also a perfect companion piece to my earlier posting on “How To Write A Hit Love Ballad.”

Warning: Severe profanity at the beginning and ending of this video. If you are offended by profanity, please do not watch this video.