I Listen to Pledge

Maybe I should Stop

I admit it. I'm an armchair program director. Others who have held that position in the past admit to the same malaise. I listen and I can't help myself. Maybe it is because it seems like content directors (PD's) in the public radio system seem to want to keep learning the same lessons we (the old timers) did long ago.  There I was listening and analyzing the pitching and the content.

Three Minutes...Three Mistakes

Pledge has been raging on for over a week. Maybe I'm just cranky. Today I listened to the talent acknowledge a pledge from a regular guest on the show that was being pledged. She said the gauntlet was down for other guest talent of this show's regular segment to pledge. What's wrong with that? She just let the other 12,000 listeners off the hook. She pitched exclusively to a half-dozen people. Since radio is a companion...personal...the best pitch appeals to the individual, not to groups or to insiders.

Then I heard the other talent talk about what a commitment the station was making with three local productions daily. The station invests heavily in local production. That was it. Is the pitch self-evident? No! She needed to answer why. Why is it important to be local? What is the benefit to the listener? How is the station better serving the audience with local productions? I never found out. It is important to understand that local for the sake of being local is not important to the listener. It is the quality of the content and whether or not that content meets the listener's expectations.

Wasted Promotions

After the pledge break, the station promoted a one hour program airing on Sunday night. It was Monday afternoon. I can't for the life of me remember what was being promoted, but that is the point. The most effective promotional strategy is forward promotion/vertical promotion/horizontal promotion.  Forward promotion is for content coming up in the next 20 minutes. It encourages time spent listening. It should be been placed just before the break. Vertical promotion is something that is focused on content coming up later in the day. This was in midday so, perhaps, a promotion for All Things Considered would have been best. Horizontal promotion is for programming content in the same day-part in the next day. Vertical and horizontal promotions create more occasions. At the very least, promotions are most effective if they inform the listeners of something happening on the air within the next 24 to 36 hours.  The promotion aired by the station used a diagonal strategy...and this is considered the least effective of all the promotional strategies. This particular station does this a lot.

It's Radio - Not Rocket Science

I feel fortunate. I learned these strategies by listening to those already in the system. I participated with others in what it takes to gain and maintain and audience through PRPD ARA (Audience Resource Analysis), Walrus Research, RRC, Station Resource Group, and other people and organizations.  The information is out there. You don't need to reinvent the wheel. Ask.

To Paraphrase, Old PD's never die, they keep looking for opportunities to increase occasions and duration. Even during pledge.

It's basic radio - Think Audience