Your NAME Should Be Your Brand

It seems like every year, the descriptors for stations in our format get more shopworn and stale. And there’s a simple reason for it: in most instances, they’re just your aspirations – how you want to be thought of – rather than who and what you are in the mind of the listener.

Here are some of the catch phrases, and the possible reaction from someone who just tuned in…

“Positive Hits…” (The word “Hits” is debatable, since no Country or CHR listener would agree with you.)

“Songs that make you feel good…” (You can’t prove that. Stop trying to tell me what to think or feel. More than a couple of your biggest songs are really kind of maudlin and depressing.)

“Uplifting…” (Popular “buzz” word, yes... but how do you know?)

“Faith, Family, and Friends…” (Why stop there? “Dogs, Cats, and Goldfish.” Too generic.)

“Positive and Encouraging…” (But many people, on first “listen”, might add “predictable, not always grounded in the real world around me, and full of ‘fluff’ feel-good stories.”)

To the people in the hallways of the station and to your P-1 listeners, these resonate to a degree. But these claims still don’t tell me much except what you aspire to be.

Your NAME is really your brand, not your slogan. Ask Spirit 105.9 listeners in Austin, Z-88.3 listeners in Orlando, KSBJ listeners in Houston, or KLTY listeners in Dallas what the station is about, and while they may include some of the “buzz” words in their response, it probably won’t be expressed in “pat” phrases. More likely, the response would be about how they’re “friends on the radio with the same values I have.”

Questions for you:

• Why don’t you trust that just your name is enough? It works for Apple.
• Why do you think you need some “slug line” to stand out? Don’t you believe in your programming?
• Why do we want to resort to words that often just sound like ad campaigns for a sugary soft drink or Hallmark Channel movies?
• Why not just BE what you claim to be – and let people make up their own minds?

I’m sure many programmers will automatically pooh-pooh this idea, but I think it’s enough to just be who you are, deliver things that entertain and inform people, and stand out in a sea of slogans by NOT having one.