In France, we are currently celebrating the 100th anniversary of the first radio broadcasts from the Eiffel Tower and the 40th anniversary of the first FM radio stations. 

What a story!

We have all listened to the radio at least once in our lives. We have all had a privileged link with a song, a broadcast, with a program, or with a host.

This media is an intimate one! Most of the time, we listen to it alone in the car, in the bathroom or even on our walkman in our bed when we were children.

Nothing is more magical than the imaginary world of audio!

Unfortunately, today, with each ratings, radio is losing listeners. Worse, most people under 25 don’t know how to listen to the radio outside the car.

Should we be fatalistic or should we question ourselves in order to move forward again and be attractive?

Personally, I think we have a lot of things to change if we want to re-enchant our listeners!

Let’s start with the basics of radio.

People and programs!

What do cult radio hosts and programs have in common? Max on Fun Radio, Arthur on Europe 1, Francis Zégut on RTL, Elvis Duran on Z100, Ellen K on KOST… ? All of these hosts are extraordinary storytellers! We have to relearn how to tell stories.

Storytelling has never been so important in our society. Marvel and Disney are the best examples: Avengers Endgame is the most lucrative movie of all time, because it is the culmination of exceptional and creative storytelling.

All brands try to create their own stories in their ads, to give meaning to their product, and have affect on the consumer.

We need to do the same in radio! Difool, a very famous french host and Skyrock program director, recently said in an interview that radio has a personality: let’s step back, let’s rework the story we tell with radio, in order to attract our listener back.

To tell a good story, we must rely on the host and their talent! The human element must be at the center of the strategy.

Even more so since the pandemic, we need authenticity. Would you rather eat in a self-service restaurant and order your meal on screens or go to a restaurant with a pleasant waiter and a chef who tells you why and how he/she designed the menu? I think we all have the same answer!

Radio is the media of reactivity.

Nothing should be easier than talking to a listener: grab a microphone and go!

Today, most of our radio stations are run like big ships. We are well installed, with high performance equipment. But haven’t you noticed that everything takes time and is regularly complicated to set up?

Which companies are working right now? The ones that go fast. The ones that are driven like Formula 1. You have to find the right driver, but as soon as you do, you’re way ahead of your direct competitors.

Why wait a whole day to play a new song, why wait for a Friday column to talk about a subject that fell on a Monday?

Our society is going faster and faster, especially with social networks and news channels. Let’s speed up the pace too!

As we talk about rhythm, let’s also talk about our sound-design and our interventions!

How long are your ads on YouTube (if you have any)? 5-10 seconds maximum!

How long are our promotions or jingles? Or how long do we take to introduce a topic? Too long!

We absolutely have to reduce the gift wrapping of our product (while keeping it beautiful of course) to work as much as possible on the gift itself: the content.

Do you prefer to receive a very large gift package with a gift card inside or a gift package the size of the personalized gift it contains? Once again, I think we have the same answer.

Society is constantly evolving. Unfortunately, we are not a big enough media to be a setter of trends. We have to adapt to the society.

For example, is it normal that almost no women are in charge of a national morning show? Our society is patriarchal, but it is (fortunately) starting to evolve little by little. Out of 7 billion people on earth, 49% are women. I’m not sure why we don’t have the same percentage of women hosts on the radio…

Let’s also take inspiration from the codes that work on social networks, in a series or on TV.

About TV ! It has also seen its audiences decline. But when it creates an event and offers quality programs, ratings are present! Survivor is always a hit, in France the series HPI has made exceptional scores, talk show also works extremely well.

Our playlists must be more linked to current events, native podcasts can help us to obtain qualitative content (which must be adapted for radio), social networks are a unique communication tool, and creatively link with the listener!

We have never had so many tools to get closer to our listeners, let’s use them even more!

And finally, why not rework our economic model?

When you talk to people outside our field, they always talk about the same thing: too many ads on the radio!

TV is also starting to reinvent itself on this side! Some TV channels broadcasts very short screens during the first shows of their flagship programs. When you watch a replay, a countdown displays the remaining commercial time, it’s very concrete and normally short enough to make you stay in front of your screen.

We can also reduce the duration of ads, develop sponsorship, generate revenue through exclusive content on our social networks … It’s essential for our survival!

For 100 years, our media has always known how to reinvent itself: it has resisted TV, cinema and the internet! However, when we take a step back, we are doing almost the same radio as 15-20 years ago…

That doesn’t exist in any other industry!

That’s why the radio of tomorrow has to be the opposite of today’s!

We need to refocus on what is the essence of our business and embrace our history! Let’s create again a strong link with our listeners, by being connected to their lives, to what they like and with the codes of our time!

Radio is magic, it has made us dream since we were children. So let’s challenge ourselves to make it grow again and touch our listeners!