DON’T BE AFRAID TO RECYCLE

I don’t hear enough recycling of great bits on the radio. When I talk to talent, many are afraid to recycle. They think the listener will think “they aren’t creative or funny enough and keep doing the same thing over and over” or the talent thinks they can hit home runs 100% of the time in every break. Neither are true.

Don’t be afraid of recycling. If you have a great bit, phone call or an idea, why just do it once on the air? If you put a lot of energy and effort into the bit/break, why not do it two or three more times and expose it to a different set of ears. Of course, be strategic in your recycling so you can hit the most different listeners.

Look at all the major brands that are built on recycling and extremely successful doing it. Watch CNN Headline News. It’s the same stories over and over repeating every 15-20 minutes (probably about the same time as your TSL). 1010 WINS in New York is consistently one of the most listened to radio stations in the country and they have built their success on “give us twenty minutes and we’ll give you the world.” They recycle news, traffic, and weather every twenty minutes. If you have HBO you know how much HBO recycles movies and TV shows. It’s helped make them one of the biggest premium channels in the world with over 40 million households.

I could go on with more successful examples of other media outlets that are successful with recycling their programming, but you get the idea. Recycling isn’t bad. Go for quality, not quantity.