Writing and producing radio promos is an art.  Fun promos challenge the imagination and illustrate the synergism of the station, show business, and station attitude.  Promos and liners aggressively pitch listening benefits and get people to listen longer.  Also, they sell the station image and persona and clearly enunciate the unique benefits our programming provides.

Great promos and exciting production get the audience involved and listening more carefully.  They have a catalytic effect on the audience in that they supercharge the station and make it stand out in the listener’s mind.  Consider these Stationality rules for your imaging promos:

  • Break the laws of convention by being exciting and unique
  • Instill innovation as opposed to ho-hum preservation
  • Sound rebellious or unconventional (depending on format)
  • Creatively challenge the listener
  • Enhance the overall station sound
  • Contribute to the station’s special feeling, emotion, and vivid imagination to set it apart from the competition
  • Sell an attitude – the Stationality
  • Shut down the casual listener’s brain and cause the listener to take notice
  • Help the station sound more interesting
  • Touch listeners in their minds and hearts, and create a highly produced radio image
  • Increase station name recognition with a Simonizing effect, resulting in a sound that sparkles and stands out, and
  • Help create a new sense of mission with a commitment to imagination

Creative imaging achieves a heightened level of Stationality. Winning radio stations are exciting and memorable to listen to.  Everything that goes on between the songs should be scrutinized.  Offer the listener something compelling and charismatic that addresses their lifestyle, interspersed among the songs they hear.  In developing a passion for the programming product, the air staff may reveal their emotions on-air rather than relying on delivering trivial facts accumulated in show prep.  Mere mundane song information may be boring to a listening audience that receives an overload of information in today’s over-communicated society.

Pic AI generated by Envato Elements.

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.