#GoodBroadcastDelivered talkRADIO

Johnny Seifert, producer at talkRADIO, told a Manchester audience about how PR can and can’t work in broadcast news.

He was invited up as part of a series of events, held by Good Broadcast North.

Here is a summary of the evening.

talkRADIO were celebrating their growth in the recent RAJAR results – now at 386,000, which represents a 34% increase since the last quarter. The station has seen continual growth and is now one of the UK’s hottest stations.

Johnny attributes some of the growth to the recent elections (Conservative and Liberal Democrats) as well as the ongoing machinations of Brexit.

However, it is not limited to that. Johnny highlights that talkRADIO can confidently be ‘heavy Brexit’ one minute and then be ‘heavy Love Island’ the next to represent the interests of its audience. He expects that there could soon be a day where Amber (Love Island) is waiting in the green room to go on after Boris.

talkRADIO is now the only station in the country to consistently have live output. No shows are pre-recorded, which means the station is incredibly reactive. A rough guide to the station output includes;

Breakfast Show – mostly politics

Mike Graham – politics and lifestyle

Matthew Wright – showbiz, entertainment and news

Eammon Holmes – lifestyle

What works?

TV is a big driver of what the station will cover. Johnny advises that PRs should know what major shows are about to air and pitch stories that fit within a theme – for example, Strictly is around the corner so are there dance education groups that should be taking advantage of this?

talkRADIO aims to be driven by content – and wants to have ‘fun’ with its listener. Therefore a guest interview can be naturally extended if it is doing well. For the right guests, they will triple the interview in total.

What they want to see is ‘personality’ within the story.

talkRADIO has their radio running across social channels in a visual format. Therefore, being able to offer your guest in the studio is just as important as the story itself.

The station has recently moved into new studios – which have been designed with ‘online TV’ in mind.

Want guests to be seen as ‘friends’ of presenters

Who is the listener?

From a PR point of view, we will be looking for who we are reaching when undertaking broadcast.

talkRADIO believes its audience to be fairly evenly split across males and females. It spans politics, business, life, showbiz.

The average age of the listener is 25 – 44 who are looking for ‘tabloid’ within radio. They would connect the listener as being close to the This Morning viewer.

It is not ‘white van man’ or a ‘hardcore radio listener’.

What relationships are there in the group?

In the same building is the Wireless Group, TalkSport and Virgin Radio. They are also connected to The Sun and The Times. He suggests that PRs should consider this as a major benefit to target media based on location.

However, PRs need to do this. There is some sharing of content amongst the teams, but PRs should alert the outlet.

What About Celebs?

They are ideal for talkRADIO… But they have to be right. Due to the station’s power, they feel they can gain access to most brand guests – and celebrities are often a prime example of speakers that the station struggles to get access. Therefore the opportunity for the brand is clear.

Case studies work particularly well for talkRADIO as these are the personal stories they want to tell.

Johnny reveals that ‘experts’ also work well when timely. For example, health experts and doctors were called upon to comment on the recent heatwave.

It is vital to know that guests will be asked about the broader news agenda – so looking at a number of different subjects that a guest can talk about will benefit the campaign.

Branding

talkRADIO will always support campaign objectives – as they see PRs as a vital source for them. He feels that PRs need to relax when it comes to branding. He revealed a recent interview where the speaker branded 14 times within a 7-minute interview – which they felt went over and above the need.

He believes that this happened because the PR was pressing so hard in the briefing that the speaker lost confidence to hold a natural interview. His view is that this perhaps the opposite impact that the brand would want to achieve amongst audiences.

His advice? Avoid heavy briefings and let it ‘breathe’.

Third Parties?

Groups like charities work well – but he is much keener on case studies. Charities often will open a case study – he is looking for people who have ‘lived’ the experience of the story.

He has a feeling that PRs prefer to put forward spokespeople rather than case studies to deliver branding, which is not necessary. He highlights that he often receives ‘case studies’ that have very minimal insight on their story – just that they exist. He wants to know how you make a story last for 15 minutes on air.

Debate and impartiality?

In the current world, debate works well.

However, Johnny has to find two sides of the debate. He highlights that often the presenters will play devils’ advocate to balance a debate.

He reminds that PRs need to remain impartial when working with debate. Sometimes, a PR will create a ‘debate’ but will have the desired outcome before the interview even takes place – and both speakers are briefed.

Research

Research is important, but samples need to be strong. They should never be under 1,000 respondents. However, talkRADIO is more interested in the stats and what they mean. Simply having a point which backs up what a brand is trying to do is not enough – it needs to make a talking point.

Research that just says what a brand is pushing is ‘boring’.

What stands out to Johnny?

He wants to recognise you. He wants to get to know you.

You can do this by getting to know the station.

Do not BCC into emails and avoid ‘Hi There’.

He does not want press releases. Put the name in the subject and adapt the pitch in the way broadcast wants.