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No one has
ever walked into a restaurant and asked, “How many different kinds
of meals do you serve?”
But every day someone asks, “What do you like here?’ Every day a
waiter says, “It’s one of our favorites”.
If I really wanted to impress you I would talk about the reticular
area of the brain. That’s the reason you can hear a song that you
haven’t heard in years and sing along with every word.
“In the 1904, Ivan Pavlov won a Nobel Prize working with dogs and
their drool. What he noticed was that the dogs tended to salivate
before food was delivered to their mouths. He further discovered
that anything associated with food, even a symbol or sound, could be
used to cause the dogs to salivate.
Modern scientists call
these elements, like a symbol of food, reticular activators. Things
like food, smells, music, and visual icons instantly remind us of
something we’ve experienced, seen or heard.”
In other words, things we’ve experienced—things that are familiar—we
value differently than things we haven’t.
That’s the reason why certain smells conjure up memories of your
grandmother. (For me it was her Ford Rambler with those weird
plastic seat covers).
Here’s the bottom line---in our format those that listen know the
music; those that don’t don’t.
It’s this simple---if you fill the gaps between the music with
things that are familiar, and relevant, and interesting, your
station will be successful. Beyond your wildest dreams.
And, yes, I’ve left some stuff out. Next time, perhaps.
John is a partner in Goodratings
Strategic Services, and has been a successful major market disc
jockey and program director for such companies as CBS, Cap Cities,
Westinghouse, Sandusky, Gannett, and Alliance during his 38 year
broadcast career. John joined Goodratings’ partner Alan Mason in
1999.
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