"You Spin Me Round..." - RAJAR Spin

With the publication tonight of the latest RAJAR results for Q2 2011, there will no doubt be a flurry of activity and the ‘in house’ radio station Alastair Campbell’s will be doing their best to spin the results one way or another. If your results are great, that’s perfect... you can let your figures do the talking and can quite rightly shout out loud. All power to you and your message.

If however, you get a tricky book, (as we all do from time to time) then here are some firmly ‘tongue in cheek’ methods you can use when putting your press release together to send off to the local paper.

If you’re not Number 1 overall, just find a demo you’re number 1 in...

E.g. “We’re the Number 1 station for in our area (Men 50-59)” And be a bit generic about it all too. Paint the impression of success without quantifying it too much.

Confuse people with terminology...

Some journalists at local newspapers aren’t that clear on the difference between reach and share, so use the words ‘listeners’ and ‘listening’ quite liberally over your press release just to confuse them a little, and again create that sense of ‘victory’! E.g. “Listening at key times has increased once again, with even more listeners tuning in every week too.”

Find an increase that sounds better when expressed as a percentage...

For example, if you’re share in a particular demo has gone up from 5% to 8%, then you can quite rightly claim that “We’ve increased listening by 60% with women aged 30-39”. Sounds impressive, though in reality it may mean very little, and your overall share may gone down.

Change the range...

If you’re down quarter on quarter, then take a look at the year on year figures, and see if there’s an increase there. Then talk about the important long term growth of the brand. Or just mix it up a little! E.g. “More people are tuning in to XYZ-FM than this time last year, with an impressive increase in listening over the last 3 months to Freddie and Barbara in the Morning”.

Compare Apples with Apples...

If you’re a commercial station, make your station sound even better by just forgetting the BBC! After all, they’re a “different animal” aren’t they? In some markets, the BBC are clear market leaders with BBC Radio 2, or in London with BBC Radio 4. If that’s the case, just use the phrase “We’re the Number 1 commercial station in the area”, which for many will be perfectly true.

Star comparisons...

If your station has more listeners at breakfast time than say Chris Moyles, or Chris Evans... stick that in your press release, as comparisons with national personalities always make great copy for local newspapers. Plus, the local papers don’t really get stuck in to TSA size that much. You’re judged by the company you keep! E.g. “Debbie and Dave at Breakfast now bigger than Chris Evans”.

Include a quote...

Detract attention from generally bad figures by making up an anodyne quote from the breakfast show team. E.g. “Phil from Phil and Morning Crew said ‘I love getting up at 3am every day to entertain the people of Scunthorpe. It’s the best job in the world. We’re delighted that even more people are hearing about our show and we’re making it more successful every day. And don’t forget, the Mystery Word jackpot is at £63 tomorrow morning!’... etc...”

Ultimately, these kind of press releases are really designed for non-industry types, with the hope that people outside the sector will get the impression that your station is successful. What is it they say about perception being reality? And why not. All brands need to paint the picture of success to a certain degree. Consumers like to be associated with winning brands that are going somewhere. It confirms they are making the right choices in life.

Those in the radio industry know the tricks, so can spot them when a rival station uses them. We all know if a station is doing well or not. And as long as everything written is within the rules, and you’re not making stuff up... that’s kind of OK in my book. It’s the game we all play and will continue to play. Spin is nothing new.

If you spot any great examples, do let me know by posting a comment below!

So good luck to all UK stations today. I look forward to reading later that “more people than ever before are tuning in!”