Moneyball: Three More Things that Make (Country) DJs Great

We’ve been reviewing insights from a new CRS360 webinar, “A Face for Radio?” …A Difference for Your Listeners,” for the past two weeks. The webinar features iHeartMedia Nashville’s Gator Harrison, new Country Radio Hall of Fame inductee Clay Hunnicutt, along with Carolyn Gilbert and me. The webinar is available from the CRS website or from YouTube.

From the hundreds and hundreds of listener comments in the national sample of nearly 1200 Country radio listeners aged 18 to 54 nationwide in our study for CRS emerged five things that make Country DJs great. The underlying principles really apply to all types of music radio, though the webinar is about Country radio. iHeart Nashville’s Gator Harrison reset the topic perfectly just a few minutes into the webinar:

“When you think about a radio station (or a personality) and a listener you really should think of it more as a friend group. We all have friend groups. And we have different personalities in that friend group. We have the smart friend. We have the funny friend. We have that idiot friend, the one who’ll do anything we ask them to do. The empathetic/sympathetic person you go to when you need that. The information [in the study] is going to have you asking, ‘What friend are you?’”

All hosts need to decide what kind of friend they are to their listeners. While our best friends manage to shift from one role to another as situations change, it’s fair to say that different friends stand out in our minds for different reasons. If you’re on the air, get feedback from those you trust to help decide which type of friend you should lean into most of the time.

Two weeks ago, we highlighted the first of the five themes: humor and entertainment. Last week we highlighted the second theme: relatability and personality. This week we’ll review the last three themes:

• Knowledge of Music and Artists
• Community Engagement
• Interactive and Engaging Content

Knowledge of Music and Artists. Listeners appreciate DJs who know a lot about country music and share insights about the artists, tell stories about musicians, and have great passion for the songs they play. Interestingly, the perception that the DJs pick the music remains. Clay Hunnicutt added some great tactics that hosts can employ to support these ideas.

Community Engagement. Respondents noted that hosts who engage with the community, participate in events, or share local news stand out for them. Many enjoy it when DJs give updates on concerts, ticket giveaways, or play audience requests. Community service came up many times – simply picking a cause or charity and staying true to those.

Carolyn Gilbert highlighted the wonderful community service efforts of the late Jim Scott in Cincinnati. Jim rang bells for the Salvation Army for decades. We’ve seen the power of aligning with local children’s hospitals or pet rescue agencies. The most important thing is starting and staying with it.

Interactive and Engaging Content. Respondents enjoy DJs who interact with listeners through call-ins, games, trivia, and contests – feeling that those who involve the audience make radio more engaging. Even if they can’t call in, many listeners felt included in a show if the host mentioned those who have texted or emailed. The specifics depend on what kind of a friend you are to your listeners. The most important thing is finding time to involve listeners – spending precious air time relating to them (in addition to hitting all the different points demanded by corporate and sales).

If you’ve just found budget for a music test or a promotion, NuVoodoo would love to help. An email to tellmemore@nuvoodoo.com will get quick attention from the right member of our team.