Does your morning show and station sizzle with excitement and sound fun to listen to?  There are many factors that make this happen:

>   Imaging sounds exciting and is frequently updated.

>   Talents present locally oriented content.

>   Music sounds fresh and is well-programmed.

>   The station always sounds fun, not boring.

Successful News-Talk and Sports-Talk stations only succeed with bigger-than-life personalities presenting fresh content in an exciting presentation.  This also applies to morning shows in all formats. If you struggle to regain the audience and ratings you once had, it’s time to Simonize the programming and give it the “Wow Factor.”

“The Wow Factor” is the slogan for 60s-70s Classic Hits KOAI in Phoenix, with kudos to programmer John Sebastian.  But the “Wow Factor” as a concept has been a marketing expression for many brands for many years.

How does that apply to radio?  “Wow” is what people feel when they tune in to your station.  It’s the result of creatively great programming.  Our mission as broadcasters is to enhance the audience experience and deliver programming beyond listener expectations.

Your station must “wow” listeners daily.  Perk up listeners with enticing content.   Embrace what your local community is talking about – back to school, the heat of this summer’s weather, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, the new Barbie movie, summer vacations, the NFL season, etc.

“The day nothing turns you on, you’re dead, no matter how many years you go on breathing.”  This Malcolm Forbes quote pertains to radio as a medium!  For the sake of your audience and advertisers, “turn on” your listeners and your station.  Breathe new life into the programming, branding, marketing, and presentation.

What Are You Famous For?  How is it memorable?  Does it simply play a lot of music without interruption, or is there a unique Stationality that sets it apart?   Was your station the Michael Phelps of radio in its day, but now it struggles to stay afloat?

If your station is treading water, get the Wow Factor back with sizzle and excitement.  Every station is unique.  Refocus the product to gain audience.

>   Analyze branding and content.  Define the mission and target audience and focus on your strengths and weaknesses.

>   Work on program development and execution.  Prune outdated or stale features and programming concepts that do not advance the mission.

>   Research the music and play the right songs to attract the biggest audience.

>   Coach talents to help them sound relevant and local.  Focus their show prep to mirror the audience’s interests.

>   Review and update social and digital media strategy. What social media apps is your target audience using?  Does the station follow key social influencers of the target audience?

>   Create fun contests and promotions to create tune-in and perk interest.  To attract new cume and build/reward longer listening, prizes must match what the target audience wants.

>   Review ratings and recommend enhancements.  Work on dominating your key demographic cells.  Is your morning show overachieving other dayparts?  What’s your conversion of P2s and P3s to P1 status?

There is a science to programming “wow” and exhibiting passion on the air.  Most important, you will stand out and be known for great radio qualities.

Pic from Benzoix for Freepik.com.

John Lund is President of the Lund Media Group, a radio programming consulting firm with specialists in all mainstream radio formats. Did you find this article useful?  You can leave a comment below or email John at John@Lundradio.com.