We Get What We Reward

Pity me that the heart is slow to learn
what the swift mind beholds at every turn.
~~ Edna St. Vincent Millay

How much video do you post on your website?

Consider these two facts:*

1. The number of American users frequenting online video destinations has climbed 339% since 2003

2. Time spent on video sites has shot up almost 2,000% over the same period

You probably think you need an expensive camera, the latest editing equipment and a USC Film School graduate to create compelling video content.

Wrong.

Check this out: Mankind Is No Island

Every image was shot on a cell phone.

The thing about creativity is ... it will find a way to express itself.

For a couple of decades, Radio hasn't placed much value in creativity.

In fact, it's done everything it can to kill creativity.

How else to explain scripted liners, the lack of any verbal entertainment outside of the morning show, and the paucity of amazing and fresh promotions?

That must be why most of the video I see on station websites is either girls in bikinis (or less) on Rock sites, or retreads of old YouTube material.

I don't see many attempts to create proprietary content that reaches people on a deeply emotional level.

Any behavioral scientist will tell you that the way to change behavior is to ignore what you don't like and reward what you do.

What has radio rewarded over the past 25 years?

Seriously.

We've staffed our stations with drones and milquetoast liner-writers, managed and programmed by people whose jobs are threatened weekly by bean counters.

Believe this: Right now, in your city, there are hundreds of young (and not-so-young) creative people doing what they are driven to do. Try to persuade me you can't find one who could make your radio station more interesting.

Prove to me you can't find one who knows how to create content, like that video, which would generate so much word-of-mouth for your website that you might need a new server just to handle the added traffic.

What have you got to lose except blandness and predictability?

*Media Post Research Brief: Online Ad Spending To Follow Video