Different Or Difference?

Maybe at one time "different" was good enough.

In the 1950s, if your station was the only one playing rock and roll, it was different enough to grab the attention of every young listener.

In the 1960s, if your station was tightly formatted, as in the Drake format, that was different enough to win in your town.

In the 1970s, if your FM station played album cuts and you sounded stoned, that was different and edgy and attractive.

In the 1980s, if your station did music research and weeded out most of the songs listeners had always hated, it sounded different in a good way.

In the 1990s, if your station had great talent in every daypart, it was noticeably different from all the other stations in your town.

For the past decade, at least, if your station has live talent in every daypart, it is rare and different.

But different is no longer enough in a world of unlimited choice.

Seems the key now is "difference."

What difference does your station make in your community?

What difference does your station make in the lives of those who choose to listen to it every day?

What difference do you make, inside your station and in the lives of your listeners?

If you think that's a tough question to answer, ask someone to talk about the difference Apple, or Starbucks, or Google, or Oprah, or Amazon has made in their lives.

You will never be a dominant brand, regardless of market size, until you make a difference in the lives that bump into yours each day.

It can be done. I know radio stations that are doing it.

But it can't be done being safe and sterile.

It can't be done with voicetracking and the same old liners designed to control jock talk.

Ready to make a difference? I hope so.

If you need help starting, call me. I have a long list of talented people who know how to make a difference listeners and communities notice.