Working for a radio station can be a bit like working in a closed box. Team meetings and brainstorming sessions often occur in studios that are sealed off from the spontaneity and inspiration of everyday life. Programming content is created and developed in a cocoon-like space for an audience who live and breathe in the outside world. Radio is a business after all and, like any other commercial agency, would want to gain the maximum out of the product and brand. This can be achieved by getting ‘outside the box’ and walking in the shoes of the key demographic (the listeners).
Track The Audience
There are sophisticated software programmes for tracking the target audience. We, however, suggest that radio producers set aside the algorithms and step outside the studio to experience what the listeners do with their daily lives.
Here are a few suggestions that radio producers could try:
- See what they see
Try and see the world the way the listeners do. Programming executives should see the TV, the movies, the YouTube videos and read the news, the magazines, and the books their key demographic indulge in. This will give the executives a fair idea of the content that works with the audience.
- Hear what they hear
There is no better way of gaining a better sense of the audience’s listening culture than by flipping through the records and artists they listen to. Radio producers can go a step further and stream podcasts that are popular with their demographic. Know the music, and producers will know their playlists.
- Do what they do
This can turn out to be an interesting experience. A radio producer should do the things that the demographic does. This includes going to the places where they would, such as restaurants, pubs, and even attend concerts or other mass events.