Consultant Steve Renolds talks about enhancing the image of radio talent:
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Steve Reynolds | Major Market Radio Talent Coach
Hoping to create a high-impact radio show? You need a high-impact talent coach. And Steve Reynolds IS that coach. Here's why...
reynoldsgroupradio.com
Even for non-football fans who’d never heard of him, one day he wasn’t there and the next day he was. That was not by accident. In this terrific NY Times article, the story is told that he was driving around Los Angeles with his business managers, brothers Andre and Aaron Eanes, when they happened upon a billboard with The Rock. Travis looked at them and wondered if he could ever be as famous. The Eanes brothers said, “yes, you can.” Which began a business plan to do just that. Then came Travis’s second Super Bowl win, hosting SNL, starring in seven national commercials, doing a popular podcast with his brother, Jason, and a clothing line. Dating the world’s biggest pop star (what’s her name again?) was unexpected, unplanned, and gravy on the meal. Travis Kelce’s ascent was years in the making and, as the article says, a carefully manicured business plan developed by the 34-year-old Eanes team that blossomed at precisely the right moment. In radio, I’m thinking Ryan Seacrest, Bobby Bones, and Charlamagne tha God. All three more than just radio stars. None of it “organic”. My work with shows is to get the show right – we develop a strategy, working to get the program loved because of its content, features, and characters. We work hard to get those on the show beloved, so the program is personality-based. But what happens when we’re successful, and my work is done? That’s when companies must invest in the next step by hiring PR teams and business managers to turn their radio stars into multimedia stars. If we want our radio talent to be true difference makers, we’ll invest to help get them a presence on TV, put social media teams around them so hundreds of thousands (if not millions) follow their content on social media, and turn them into both the mayors of their local town and national super stars. Like Ryan, Bobby, and Charlemagne. Instead of telling our local personalities to “post more” and become friends with local dignitaries and TV personalities (which is not a strategy), they need a business plan much like the Eanes brothers did for Travis Kelce. This business plan would not just be a ratings boost for the station, but a financial win, too. Marketing money and products follow trusted, well-known talent. If you’re a talent and work for a company that doesn’t agree or have those resources? Then, how about investing in yourself if you do? As I shared with one major market show I work with that keeps churning out #1 ratings in key demos month after month, doing that assures your relevancy and success for the future. The work I do on the show and its content is the start of that multi-year process. What are your plans that come after my work for the ratings, financial health, and relevancy of your brand? What commitment can you make for all of that, and then some? Because success, especially at that level, is never by accident. In an age of dwindling resources, investing so your good talent become great, your great talent become epic, and your epic talent become legendary would be a no-brainer. |
