| Radio Programming Consultation
& Air Personality Development |
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The need for what radio does best, inform, entertain and comfort, is great right now. However, our listeners are changed. And, in order to effectively connect with them and serve them, we must understand precisely what changes have occurred and where we are in the evolutionary cycle of American culture. To understand the present and clearly see the future requires understanding the past. Futurists look to the past to predict the future because they know history shows us that, while cultures evolve, a finite cycle of parallel eras repeat. Historians William Strauss and Neil Howe, in their book “The Fourth Turning”, write that culture goes through four distinctly different eras in each generation. Each generation lasts approximately 80 to 100 years and includes the high, the awakening, the unraveling and crisis eras. During the high era, institutions strengthen and there is a rise of a new civic order. Families are strong and society is united. In the current generational cycle, our most recent high occurred during the 1950’s and early 1960’s. The post-World War II economy was booming, jobs were plentiful and Americans lived in peace and prosperity. The high era created a culture of innocence. In the awakening, there is spiritual upheaval. Prosperity and peace cause social and personal introspection. In this generational cycle, the awakening began in the early 1960’s and continued into the early 1980’s. During this time, America experienced the civil rights, anti-war, women’s liberation, youth and sexual freedom movements. The awakening creates a passionate culture. The unraveling era had been in place in America from the early 1980’s until September 11th, 2001. During the unraveling, institutions become weak and individuals become strong. The civic order begins to decay and a new value system begins to emerge. In our unraveling era, old political systems, health care systems, legal systems, government, big business, religion, professional sports and many other American institutions began to fail us. The unraveling creates a culture of cynicism. The fourth era of Strauss and Howe’s historical cycle is the crisis, a catalytic event that changes how we look at the world and each other. Until September 11th, In the entire history of this country, America had only seen three other crisis eras: the American Revolution, the Civil War and the period covering the Great Depression and World War II. We are currently experiencing our nation’s fourth crisis era, the war against terrorism. On September 11th cynicism in America evaporated and was replaced by a renewed sense of patriotism, romanticism and appreciation of family and friends. As a result of this crisis, the values of Americans have changed dramatically. Things once viewed as important are now perceived as trivial. Things once taken for granted are bathed in a new light of significance. What does this mean to radio stations and air personalities? In order to really reach and have impact on radio listeners now, we must completely understand their underlying emotions and motives. Motives and basic human needs are at the root of all behavior. When the subconscious mind perceives an opportunity to meet a basic need, it stimulates emotion, which moves the body to act towards satisfying that need. Emotions actually stimulate the mind 3,000 times faster than regular thought. Emotions move a person to act long before the rational mind has the chance to catch up. R.C. Maddock and R.L. Fulton, in their book, “Marketing to the Mind: Right Brain Strategies for Advertising and Marketing”, document their research on the relative strength of human motives. The top three of the ten human motives are: spiritual, personal and physical. Spiritual needs trigger the emotions of love, passion, guilt and acceptance. This is the motive that was triggered in all of us as we watched the Twin Towers collapse and it is why billions of dollars in donations for the victims and their families poured in the days and weeks after the events of September 11th. The second strongest motive, personal, triggers the emotions that have to do with self-esteem and self-image. It is also this motive that moves us to do something to help in times of crisis. When we do something for others, we feel better about ourselves. The third most powerful human motive is physical, which triggers emotions having to do with health, security and safety. This explains why the firefighters and other rescue personnel put their lives at risk to save others. The two stronger motives, spiritual and personal come before physical health and safety. Your listeners, as they adjust to their world post 9/11/01, are trying to come to terms with constant new assaults on their basic human motives causing a prevailing emotional undercurrent in America of anxiety and paranoia. Americans are dealing with these emotions through action, affiliation and escape. We all know how much action the American people have undertaken in regards to the relief effort and fund raising in recent weeks. But Americans have responded with action in other ways as well. Before 9/11, the New York Times best seller lists were filled with the usual self-help books and fiction thrillers. After 9/11 best sellers included books on Osama Bin Laden, the Taliban, terrorism and germ warfare. Americans were taking action by becoming more informed. And it comes as no surprise to those of us in the media that news outlet usage is up dramatically. Knowledge is power in a crisis. The resurgent need for people to affiliate is something that has not existed in this country since the end of the awakening around 1980. So, radio stations need to be mindful of this cultural change as they look to create meaningful off and on-air events for listeners. But, this idea of affiliation also impacts radio audiences’ increased need for genuine companionship from radio hosts. Radio hosts who have good, existing, emotional relationships with their listeners will be even more highly valued by their audiences in this time of crisis. Escape has become one of the most powerful and frequently used words on the American marketing landscape. The need for escape in times of crisis is great. Radio can be a terrific source of escape on so many levels. Music is one of people’s most frequently used and cheapest sources of escape. Talking to others on or through the radio is a form of escape as well as action and affiliation. Providing people with avenues to escape their anxieties and using language to reinforce those moments of escape can help you make a meaningful connection with your changed radio audience in this new era of crisis. Radio is at its best in crisis. When listeners are reeling from a crisis, radio provides information, answers, comfort and companionship. The more aware we are of what Americans are feeling and experiencing, the more effective we can be at providing valuable programming for our listeners during this crisis and beyond as we move towards the new high! |
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