DAN O’DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO

O’DAY’S TRAVEL WOES #61: Learning Kiwi Jargon (The Hard Way)

by Dan O'Day on January 15, 2010

October, 1995 (continued):

Continuing my first visit to New Zealand, on Saturday I presented two different seminars at the R.B.A. convention:

Building A Winning Morning (or, in NZ, “Breakfast”) Show and The Psychology Of Management: How To Motivate Your Staff To Peak Performance.

In the management seminar, I often illustrate a particular point by talking about “the rooting reflex.”

Have you ever noticed that if you gently touch the face of an infant, the child will turn toward your touch? That’s “the rooting reflex.”

(Trust me, it does connect in some way to people management.)

So at that point I asked, “Is anyone familiar with ‘the rooting reflex?’”

A few people smiled, but no one spoke up.

I talked a little about it and then again mentioned “the rooting reflex.” And I couldn’t help but notice that a lot of people were laughing.

Although there are times during this seminar when I am accustomed to people laughing, this was not one of them.

“Okay,” I inquired, “tell me what I said.”

A lot of hemming & hawing from the audience.

Finally someone took pity on me and explained that in New Zealand, “rooting” is slang for sexual intercourse. Apparently it is not the equivalent of the four-letter Anglo-Saxon word; it seems to be closer to the American slang use of “screwing.”

Not obscene, but certainly not polite.

So much for my furthering of American-Kiwi relations (no pun intended.)

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“STRIKE FORCE RADIO ADVERTISING” — Does It Really Work?

by Dan O'Day on January 14, 2010

Blaine Parker, Strike Force Radio Strategist

The invitation to this World Premiere teleseminar promised:

“Fast, Inexpensive Radio Ad Campaigns That Produce Immediate, Measurable Results.”

Hmm…Big talk.

I’m happy to report we have the post-seminar reviews to back up the big talk….

“I’ve taken more pages of notes during this teleseminar than any I’ve attended. Thanks, Blaine and Dan for opening my eyes to all the great ideas!” (Ron Stevens, All Star Radio)

“Great seminar, got into good detail on how to take a customer through the process of building a small campaign properly. All the principles of a building a great, short campaign were laid out in logical order, and well explained with examples. (I love examples!) We had a great Study Guide with which to make notes and get the important details of the seminar.” (Reinert Peterson, 100.3 the Q! and The Zone @ 91.3)

“My sales team and production team was on the conference. Thanks so much. Made great sense to us!” (Carol Healey, WFIL)

“Blaine’s practical approach is most helpful in managing what is often perceived as an unmanageable situation: the advertiser that wants to ‘experiment’ with radio, but hasn’t a clear understanding of how to do it right. Blaine’s ‘Strike Force Advertising’ principles can stand in the gap, providing clarity and focus both for the advertiser and his advertising counselor. Looking forward to listening again, and to sharing the ideas with clients and colleagues. Well done!!” (Rod Schwartz, Grace Broadcast Sales)

“The points made reinforce what you teach. But I never thought about utilizing these ideas for a fast reaction campaign.“ (Danny McWilliams, Center Broadcasting)

“I thought Dan was kidding when he said there was a way to get rapid results on radio without investing a fortune. Turns out, he wasn’t kidding. This teleseminar told you the bottom line on what you need to know to rapidly make radio work. The combination of Blaine Parker and Dan O’Day OVERDELIVERED. If they make this recording available, do not hesitate. Grab it.” (Harlan Kilstein, Direct Response Copywriter)

One attendee thought the pacing could’ve been better…

“I agree 100% with the content. I would have preferred the delivery to be more direct, like say a ‘strike force’ message. It would have been cool to hear it laid out in a direct 1, 2, 3 method, and then perhaps discuss the customization and examples at the end. Perhaps work through a real life example start to finish? I enjoyed the call, much appreciated.” (Jon Pole, My Broadcasting Corp.)

Quick Reply: We made an active choice to start with a backdrop of how traditionally “good” radio advertising works, so we’d have a point of reference against which to contrast Blaine’s radically different Strike Force technique. I can see where an “old pro” might’ve preferred that we jump right into it. Hopefully, once we jumped it was worth the set-up.

Did you miss the live event? You still can download the entire teleseminar on mp3…but only until the end of this week.

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WHY RADIO STATIONS (REALLY) HAVE ON-AIR CONTESTS

by Dan O'Day on January 13, 2010

Radio contests offering large cash prizes with apparent ease of accessibility (e.g., all you have to do is have the birthday we announce) usually are used to build cume — to increase the station’s cumulative audience.

(Those contests also should feature a “conversion factor” designed to change listening habits, rather than just to get someone to sample the station one time. We’ll talk about that another time.)

But why do radio stations around the world conduct the typical, everyday, “free movie passes/concert tickets” contests?

Not because of Listener Greed.

Or Quarter-Hour Maintenance.

Or Instant Gratification.

A standard on-air contest is simply a method of strengthening & enjoying your relationship with your listeners.

Analogy: You call up a friend and ask, “Hey, how about going to dinner and a movie tonight?”

Your real message is not about dining out or movies. You could eat dinner by yourself, and your friend is perfectly capable of attending a movie without you.

“Dinner and a movie” are simply an excuse to enjoy the relationship you share with that person.

And that’s what an “everyday” on-air radio contest should be: an opportunity to enjoy and to strengthen the relationship you already have with your listeners.

Here’s the problem.

Out of the, say, 50,000 listeners who are tuned in at this moment, your morning jock is about to put a lucky listener on the air, someone who either has won or might win a contest. She is very excited. She’s won (or might win) a contest, and she’s about to be on the radio!

Meanwhile, you’ve got 49,999 other listeners at work, at home, and in their cars. And they’re thinking, “What about me?”

You’ve got to make that contest worth listening to for them. It has to be….

Entertaining.

Funny, provocative, challenging, dramatic, suspenseful, outrageous ….something that involves those other 49,999 other listeners.

They’re rooting (apologies to our Ossie and Kiwi readers; that term means something very different to them) for the contestant to win…or hoping she loses. They’re “playing the game at home.” They’re amused or intrigued or enlightened or relieved.

And I’m sorry, but “10th caller wins the coffee mug” doesn’t do it. No one is going to sit through the commercial break to find out who the 10th caller is. (They know it’s not them, which is all they care about.)

Neither are many listeners likely to wait around to find out, “What actor wrote and starred in ‘ROCKY?'”

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