Close The Brand Gap

Close your knowledge gap on branding with this presention from the author of the Brand Gap:

Oh, No! Not Another Meeting?

Here we go again (and again)…

From the moment you walk into the conference room door, do you feel like you are in a J.A.M. (Just Another Meeting)? Seth Godin advises to turn away from the typical meeting and do something different. Read his thought-provoking insights here.

Tiger Traits

In his book Tiger Traits, corporate trainer Dr. Nate Booth reveals nine success traits you can discover from Tiger Woods to be a business champion.

• Tiger Trait #1: Identify and Develop Natural Talents
• Tiger Trait #2: Create a Clear and Compelling Dream
• Tiger Trait #3: Select Teachers, Heroes, and Teammates Who Guide, Inspire, and Support
• Tiger Trait #4: Be Confident
• Tiger Trait #5: Manufacture Magnificent Mental Models
• Tiger Trait #6: Let Actions Do the Talking
• Tiger Trait #7: Constantly Improve in Good Times and Bad
• Tiger Trait #8: Be Likeable
• Tiger Trait #9: Be Grateful, Give Back

Emulate these traits today to become a better manager, programmer or personality – and inspire others. Resolve to be a champion in your company/cluster, family and community.

Download a free chapter from the book here.

*Note: The book and author are not affiliated or endorsed by Tiger Woods.

Mancow's Ten Commandments for Radio Personalities

In the wake of the Imus, Elvis & JV firings and the Opie & Anthony suspension, now might be a good time to take some advice from Mancow. Not the Bay Bridge blocking Mancow of old, but the new, rested, relaxed, reflective and self-regulated Mancow who’s now advocating that radio personalities practice responsible radio. To aid jocks in being responsible on-air, Mancow has created Ten Commandments for Radio Personalities. They are:

1. Thou shalt never endanger listeners.

2. Racism is always a dumb idea.

3. Complacency on the inside loses listeners from the outside. Work at your art.

4. Contests must always be straight forward. (Being too cute with contests can be costly.)

5. Advertisers pay you. They are your friends.

6. Have a delay button (preferably 20 seconds or more) and when in doubt use it.

7. Don’t dis someone’s religion.

8. Don’t let anyone curse in your studio ever. Get them out of that habit. If they are comfortable with cursing, it can someday accidentally get on the radio.

9. Instruct guests on your radio standards so they don’t get you in trouble.

10. Do good. (We’re not on earth to mark time. We’re here to make a difference).

Punk Marketing Manifesto

"Mediocre marketing does more harm than good" is just one of the new marketing paridigms revealed in Punk Marketing - the best-selling book from co-authors Richard Laermer and Mark Simmons. In a world where the lines between commerce, concent and consumers are continuing to blur ever more rapidly, Laermer and Simmons present a manifesto for any businessperson (programmer) needing to engage consumers (listeners) - or any consumer seeking to understand and employ their newfound power.

1. Avoid Risk and Die
In times of change the greatest risk is to take none at all.

2. Why Not Ask ‘Why Not?’
Assumptions are just that. Anything you assume is usually a half-truth or generalizations that once served a useful purpose but now hinders truly creative solutions.

3. Take a Strong Stand
Trying to be all things to everyone on the planet inevitably results in meaning little of interest to just about anybody.

4. Don’t Pander
Customers are important but they are not necessarily right.

5. Give Up Control
Consumers now control brands. Smart marketers recognize this and embrace it rather than fight the powerful truth.

6. Expose Yourself
A relationship of trust between brand and consumer, like that between two people, is built upon honesty.

7. Make Enemies
All brands need to position themselves against an alternative.

8. Leave Them Wanting More
Avoid the temptation to reveal all of your assets at once. Or as the masters have said: You don’t teach them everything you know. You teach them everything they know.

9. Outthink the Competition
Think smarter than the other dude. Do not be led into temptation by the fast buck and don’t try and outspend them.

10. Don’t Be Seduced By Technology
The media is not the message anymore. The message is the message is the message.

11. Know Who You Are
If you don’t understand what it is that you are good at you might be tempted to try and be something you are not.

12. No More Marketing Bullshit
Get to the point. Express it clearly and simply. Einstein said — we believe he meant marketers: “Things should be made as simple as possible, but not any simpler.”

13. Don’t Let Others Set Your Standards
Sorry to tell you this but good no longer means anything while mediocre does more harm than doing nothing.

14. Use the Tools Of The Revolution
Go write your own Manifesto. Remind yourself of its articles whenever you lack resolve.

Join the Punk Marketing revolution here.

Arbitron's First PPM Ratings Ever

Mediaweek's Katy Bachman reports:

Arbitron made radio history Friday, releasing the industry's first currency ratings from the industry's first electronic measurement system. From this point forward, there will be no more diaries and no more quarterly measurement. Ratings will be delivered monthly for persons six and older.

“This is an important day for the American radio industry. Radio advertisers have been united in their desire for radio to enhance its accountability by adopting electronic measurement of radio audiences,” said Steve Morris, president and CEO of Arbitron.

The March Portable People Meter survey covered the period March 8 to April 4.

The top-10 stations (in Philadelphia) by average quarter-hour rating for persons 12 and over were: WBEB-FM; KYW-AM and WMMR-FM (tied for No. 2); WOGL-FM; WDAS-FM, WMGK-FM, and WXTU-FM (tied for No. 5); WBEN-FM and WPHT-AM (tied for No. 8); WHYY-FM, WIOQ-FM, WIP-AM, WISX-FM, WPHI-FM, WRDW-FM, and WUSL-FM (tied for No. 10).

The top 5 stations (in Philadelphia) by average-quarter-hour share for persons six and over were: WBEB-FM (9.2), Adult Contemporary owned by Jerry Lee; KYW-AM (8.4), News, CBS Radio; WMMR-FM (7.9), Rock, Greater Media; WOGL-FM (7.4), Oldies, CBS Radio; WMGK-FM (5.7), Classic Rock, Greater Media. Arbitron plans to roll out the PPM ratings service to the top 50 markets by 2010.

The next PPM market scheduled to go live is Houston in June, followed by New York in December and Chicago and Los Angeles in March.

The PPM has been in market trials since 2001.

More from Mediaweek here.

The Brand Formula

What is a brand?

According to Seth Godin, it is a product of two things:

[Prediction of what to expect] x [emotional power of that expectation].

Seth goes on to say...

If I encounter a brand and I don't know what it means or does, it has zero power. If I have an expectation of what an organization will do for me, but I don't care about that, no power.

Seth's advice (and I agree):

If you want to grow a valuable brand, keep awareness close to zero among the people you're not ready for yet, and build the most predictable, emotional experience you can among those that care about you.

Consider this: Does your station consistently deliver on listener expectations? Is your content engaging and emotional at all times? If not, the only thing you will deliver with inconsistent programming and non-compelling content is low ratings.

Click here to read Seth's entire post.

Jack Trout On Branding

Jack Trout, the prolific branding, advertising and marketing author, comments on branding in the latest Forbes:

"The last time I looked, there were over 2,000 books covering some topic related to brands or branding. What used to be just the logo and the name of a product or company has now become this almost mystic creation that encompasses unique identities and qualities separate from the product names. There is an army of consultants trying to sell you some branding system or another. Forget all that. Let's begin at the beginning. As Walter Landor once said, 'Products are created in the factory, but brands are created in the mind.'"

Fast and Furious Formats 2012: Demographic Shift and Internet Drift

Bridge Ratings released their format trends study, which projects with audience growth/loss by format into 2012.

According to the study, the top 5 terrestrial formats based on audience growth through “Demographic Shift”:

1. Country +24%
2. News Talk +20%
3. Urban +15%
4. Spanish +14%
5. CHR +3%

The formats projected to be the hardest hit by audience attrition through demographic shift: Oldies, Adult Contemporary, Classical, Rock and Adult Hits.

Although the Adult Hits, Adult Contemporary and Rock terrestrial formats will suffer audience declines, these formats are among those that will benefit from the migration of listenership to the internet.

The top 5 formats that will gain the most from “Internet Drift”:

1. Rock +45%
2. Adult Contemporary +38%
3. Alternative +35%
4. Adult Hits +30%
5. Smooth Jazz +30%

Click here to see more on the Bridge Ratings study including “Youth Inclusive” and 2 other youth-oriented formats that tested most positively with 15-22 year olds.

Are You "The Cup"?

From Kim George @ CoachingIntoGreatness.com:

People living in scarcity see the cup as half empty.
People who are positive thinkers see the cup as half full.
People living abundantly see the cup as overflowing.
But people Living into their Greatness ARE the cup.

What's keeping you from seeing yourself as "The Cup”?

The Two Reasons People Say No To Your Idea

According to marketing guru Seth Godin, two reasons people say no to your idea are:

1. "It's been done before"
2. "It's never been done before"

Seth's advice (and I agree): Even though neither one is truthful, accurate or useful, you need to be prepared for both.

More from Seth here.

How Listeners Will Fare In Merger

From the Wall Street Journal, Lee Gomes writes:

Business doesn't always look too kindly on a duopoly. True, there are the occasional twinned rivals that manage to sit happily atop an industry for decades -- Coke and Pepsi, say. But there are also many examples, like VHS and Beta, of pairs of competitors that battle it out in markets where, in the end, people want not a choice, but a single unambiguous winner.

Depending on antitrust regulators in Washington, the market for satellite radio may soon undergo a 2-for-1 deal of its own. In this case, the winner would involve a marriage of two incumbents, XM and Sirius, who have asked the Federal Communications Commission to be allowed to merge. A decision isn't expected for several months.

The request from the companies is, if nothing else, brash. XM and Sirius received permission to set up their satellite networks back in 1997, fully aware of an FCC rule specifically prohibiting the very sort of merger and resulting monopoly now being sought.

Click here for the complete article.