Keeping it Clean

If you are a fan of comedy then you probably know Nate Bargatze - he's the world's top touring comedian.

He recently took a detour from his hugely successful stadium gigs to create his own media empire focused entirely on family-friendly content. 

I'll be honest. It never occurred to me that Bargatze was "family-friendly." It was only obvious to me that he was really, really funny.

And that's the point.

Being family-safe isn't about being "safe for the family," it's about being so funny, compelling, heroic, interesting, attractive, emotional, knowledgeable, endearing, sincere, etc. such that nobody even needs to consider whether or not you are "family-friendly."

You. Just. Are.

Put another way, "family-friendly" should never be the destination, but only the way you get to the destination. It's the "how," not the "what."

More about Nate's plans:

Studio money for family films is hard to find? Brand money isn't.‘The Breadwinner’ has landed 11-12 major sponsors, including Walmart, General Mills, and KFC. Producer and former Marvel exec Jeremy Latcham says he's never seen more incoming calls from brands on any project, including ‘The Avengers.’ Turns out there's massive demand for association with clean, family-friendly content.

And the brands favor this content because the rest of us do, too (tell that to your potential underwriters).

PG-rated films had their biggest year in decades. And the kinds of non-R-rated comedies that used to be box office gold (remember Mrs. Doubtfire, anyone?) are barely getting made nowadays.

So what does this have to do with you, the air talents of the Christian music radio business?

Recognize that you can do and be more.

You are not there to be family-friendly. That's just the "how," not the "what."

You are not there to be "relatable." That is the lowest of low-hanging fruit. And it's the goal of every voice behind every mic at every radio station in every format (if they're allowed to talk at all).

You are not there to be "local." Lots of stuff is local and it doesn't need to come from the radio. And what about that 95% of your content that's NOT local?

So why are you there?

You are there to be impossible not to listen to.

You are there to be unforgettable.

You are there to change lives with your words and your deeds.

You are there to represent the kind of heroism listeners can identify with so they see themselves in you.

You are there to help people laugh. At you and themselves.

You are there to make us all feel a little bit better and offer up some relief from a world gone mad.

You are there to show the way.

We settle for too little, in my opinion. We should expect more from ourselves and each other.

What can you try that you've never tried before?

Try that tomorrow.

Mark Ramsey Media does audience research for Christian Media - Perceptual research, digital studies, donor studies, underwriter studies, music studies, etc. Learn more here. Call Mark at 858-414-4191 or email markramsey@mac.com.

And if you want a strategy to solicit major donors to pay for your research, look here and download this Listener Impact Study solicitation for donors from WAKW-FM.

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