49° - overcast at 8:12am

Good Morning From Okemos, Michigan.

Congrats: To WDRV/Chicago's Bob Stroud on releasing Volume 10 of his Rock & Roll Roots CD series, with proceeds going to charity. The CD series an extension of his long-running Sunday Morning "Rock 'N Roll Roots" program. I covered the release of Volume 9 last year here. Read more about this year's CD on The Drive website here.

Election Day: Headed down the street to my polling place on the way to work this morning. Starbucks offering a free cup of java if you go in and tell them you voted. Harve Alan asks: "What "free for a day" styled promotion could radio be doing to rekindle interest in our aging brands?"

Meanwhile - Dave Lange makes some observations with "Lessons for Radio From Campaign 08" - a great read here.

Yesterday I wrote about the cutback virus that is spreading throughout the industry. Not to ignore those who find themselves out of work, but I feel that those who still have a job in radio need some TLC and attention during these tough times.

Dave Martin - in the second part of a series for media CEOs titled "Execution, Not Excuses", notes that 2009 is "mission critical" for HR:

"As a practical matter, making HR important beyond compliance issues will be a new concept for many media firms. We have to start treating our employees like our best customers. Every person on the payroll is talent. Employees help the company achieve its goals by becoming the best at what they do."

"Leadership must create the context in which people can do their best work. An important part of the D in R&D is HR-D. The key to growing profits is growing people. Employees deserve and need an advocate, that's a critical mission for HR."

As I've written here before - PDs have the responsibility of being an advocate for their staff as well as station listeners. Fear is counter-productive - and in talking to others still employed in the industry, there's too much of it getting in the way of the job.

As a sidenote, PDs also now - more than ever, need to be an advocate for their station's sales departments when neccessary...and find ways to make revenue opportunities integrate well with programming and listenership goals.

More later today. Get out and vote!

Starbucks And Radio

59° - sunny at 7:40am

I've read more than a few articles regarding the troubles Starbucks is having these days. Some of those come from the radio bloggers who note similarities to whats happening in the radio business these days.

For example - consultant Harve Alan asks: "How could this be happening to Starbucks--arguably one of the hippest, coolest, well respected brands ever?" Harve then points to a Reuters article that features some choice consumer quotes:

"Starbucks was a cool brand, and then all of a sudden it's not a cool brand," he said. "There's this new global consciousness that is out there that can suddenly shift." "The people that work there are very pleasant, but the stores are devoid of any kind of real charm or personality," he said. "They push a button, and a machine does everything from grinding the beans to brewing the drink."

As Harve comments on his post, that last line hits home. A DJ just pushes a button and a machine does everything. Ouch.

Its my take that Starbucks simply lost its charm. It simply became too big. Uhhh...way too big when you can drive down a street and see location after location within blocks of each other. Instead of being the neighborhood coffee shop, they became McDonald's. And I haven't thought McDonald's was "cool" since I was six years old.

Digressing just a bit - but I think there's a real need for radio to act small in the eyes and ears of its listeners. Being the hometown station. The neighborhood station. Not the corporate franchise.

Think everything from air talent and content down to listener marketing. Low-key or eliminate the corporate identification on the air (what brand truly matters?) Small. Community. Act like a mom and pop with great resources.

No matter how big you might really be.

Input From The Audience

19° - overcast at 8am

In the past I've mentioned programmers who have sought out ideas and thoughts from the audience and have actually put these ideas on the air. Most notable is John Hager, Program Director for Citadel's WGRF/Buffalo (97 Rock).

Back in December, Fred Jacobs (here) used an example where John sought out feedback on Christmas music - and then took it to the next level:

"...the key to getting the most out of this process is that he shows the results of the survey on the station's website, allowing the audience the opportunity to see the findings and buy into 97Rock's course of action with Christmas music. It's a great way to learn more about the audience, answer important programming questions, and make the audience feel very important in the process."

I'm reminded of this by the new effort of Starbucks where customers are asked to contribute and vote on ideas for the coffee giant. Mark Ramsey covers this here - and pointing out:

"It's not simply the lazy old radio trick of "we're building your station - tell us what you want." It's evidence of what people are asking for, what is most popular, and what Starbucks is actually doing about it. And meanwhile, it builds Starbucks' community and engages its consumers for their own benefit and that of the brand."

So far - according to the website ChaosScenario - the top ideas include free wi-fi, a point card where customers can get free drinks - and free drinks for birthdays, new coffee introductions, etc.

Here in my area, Starbucks biggest competitor, Bigby's (formerly known as Beaners) offers both free wi-fi and a point card - and those are two reasons why Bigby's is my first choice for coffee. Starbuck's only advantage - at least in my neighborhood - is a drive-up window.

As ChaosScenario points out:

"...all of these ideas involve an investment by Starbucks, essentially giving something away. The activity on the site is reflective of their loyal customer base. If they don't implement some of these ideas and communicate them back to their customers, the whole initiative may backfire."

Which gets back to radio. Are you soliciting and implementing listener ideas in a credible way? Or is your request for input just empty lip service? Another radio trick, perhaps? And are you prepared to act on those ideas?

Added: More on the Starbucks "web 2.0" initiative from Advertising Age here.

More here tonight. The day job awaits.

Wednesday Blogs

81° - Sunny at 10am

From my blogosphere:

Share of Mind. John Moore via Consultant Alan Mason here on the "The Visionary's Handbook". John points to some thoughts from the book that makes things like this very important for share of mind.

This is all about marketing for actual listenership. And Mark Ramsey writes about that topic as it applies to PPM here.

Your station's vibe. Not on air - but around the office and studio. Seth Godin writes that "the vibe changes everything". Read here.

Your internal vibe. Still excited about what you do? If not, Jay Trachman here with some ways to get out of your rut. Added: David Martin here - this morning - on enjoying what you do.

Seth Godin on radio. Next week Mark Ramsey's blog presents "7 Days of Seth" - with the "Agent of Change" sharing thoughts on the future of radio as well as his new book "The Dip". More here.

The Conclave. Dave Lange writes here on this year's event in Minneapolis; wish I was attending, but the Kelley family budget is just too tight. Next year perhaps.

Both the Conclave and Dan O'Day's PD Grad School are the best values for the dollar for any programmer - if you've got the budget - personal or company.

McCartney. Street Pulse reporting via All Access that Paul McCartney's "Memory Almost Full" debuted at the #1 position for overall sales this week. Paul is working this one hard - and with radio. Stations around the country have been sending listeners to a secret, private "invitation only" performance.

The cynic in me. The past few days I've had Court TV on as I do other work - watching the Duke prosecutor hearing and Phil Spector's trial.

Oreo Cookies has been running a saturation campaign on the channel with what they're trying to pass off as YouTube-style CGM commercials. They just appear to be a bit too perfect to pass my " B.S. Test". I could be wrong, but....

Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

Writing outside: sunny and 75° at 10:30am.

Did work around the house yesterday while listening to streams of WDRV and WKLH . Heard some listener-voiced sweepers on 'KLH. Quite nice.

This morning Stroud on WDRV is blacked out on the stream due to RIAA issues; listening to Steve Palec on 'KLH instead. Very psychedelic. Too much information?

Bob Seger going to Starbucks? The new Starbucks record label that is. This story from the Detroit News is almost a month old - but new to me. Bob's been with Capitol Records for 40 years - and his latest "Face The Promise" just went platinum.

Speaking of Starbucks: Just finished "What Must Starbucks Do" - by marketing consultant John Moore - written in response to Starbucks Chairman Howard Schulz's concern over the direction the coffee chain is headed. Its a brilliant piece; you can read it here. (Personally, I wish for free wi-fi at my nearby Starbucks...)

Chicago Ed. I've never heard anyone relate to a city like Ed Schwartz. And its almost a crime that he's not on the now. In today's Chicago Radio Spotlight, Ed talks about his health, career - and offers his thoughts on present-day Chicago radio with Rick Kaempfer.

My memories of Ed go back to 560/WIND - my parents fav station - with talents like Benson & Russell, Dave Baum, Connie Szersen - plus others that don't come to mind right now; and of course, Chicago Ed.

Jim Peterik. Chicago-based singer/songwriter. Think The Ides of March and their 1970 hit "Vehicle" (not to forget follow-up "LA Goodbye"); or the band Survivor - with hit after hit in the 80s. He's the guy.

In the latest podcast from Cara's Basement - Jim shares some great stories with Cara Carriveau and performs a few songs you might know well. No IPOD required. Listen here. Thanks to Cara for the heads-up; its truly wonderful content.

Radio Stories. Spend some time with John Long's journey through his Top 40 radio career. This is a book you can read on the web here. John spent many years with RKO - with some legendary call letters. A great read for anyone in the business.

Have a great Sunday. Get outside if its nice where you are.

Wednesday Blogs

An early morning surfing the net...

WCSX/Detroit is offering listeners a chance to make the station's next TV spot with a prize of $20,000 to the winner for the best commercial. More here.

Listener Advisory Boards and more. The concept of "research by marketing" in a great post by Fred Jacobs. You can get a lot for $50 in pizza.

Step Away From The Keyboard. "Great radio stations are not completely built on the science of crunching numbers, analyzing research, and working behind the computer screen." Think art. Mandatory reading from here from Dave Lange.

More Art. Focus on the experience, not the beans. Read "What Starbucks Knows That We Don't" from Alan Mason here.

Sound Cool. The always entertaining and brilliant Phil Hendrie here with "Some Inside Radio Terms You Can Know and Sound Cool Using". Phil explaining radio speak to those outside the industry.

Have a great Wednesday!