Unhinge Your Marketing, Christian Radio

If I ask you what the purpose of your brand's social media is, chances are you'll say things like "to attract listening occasions to the station" or "to connect/engage with listeners." And you would not be totally wrong, but nor are you totally right.

That's because these answers assume that your social media assets are about and for YOU, the broadcaster. And they are not. They are about and for THEM, the audience.

You benefit by being the host at the fabulous party. Not by trying to pick up all the lookers in the room.

This is not a problem unique to the radio world.

Clorox, the famous cleaning product of the mammoth marketing machine at P&G, has a TikTok account where a typical "how to clean" video scores a few hundred or a few thousand views. "What's your favorite product to tackle a tough job?" Just ask Clorox. 500 people did and 21 even "hearted" the video.

Whoopee.

Meanwhile Clorox's sister-brand Pine-sol took a different approach. Hit "play" and check it out:

It's what marketing circles refer to as "unhinged marketing" - a bold, unconventional, and often humorous approach to brand messaging that prioritizes authenticity and connection with audiences by leaning into internet culture and breaking away from traditional marketing norms.

And radio doesn't do that...at all.

Ad Age describes the Pine-Sol campaign this way:

The OG Pine-Sol videos typically collected a few hundred or a few thousand views. But these new clips regularly top 1 million and sometimes 5 million views!

So I ask you: Exactly how are you "engaging" an audience when your content isn't viewed by more than a few handfuls of people?

Now I know what you're thinking...

"But this content is silly!"

So what? Does it engage or not?

"It's aimed younger than our audience."

Who says? Show the TikTok video above to any woman in your office in her 40's and see if she's not tickled. And then ask her if she's gonna think differently next time she passes the Pine-Sol aisle at the market.

"Yeah, okay, but we're not on TikTok."

You're not where, now?

Why not?

In my own research presented at CMB early this year, I asked a large 18-54-year-old sample of Christian music listeners where they go to hear new Christian music. Here's how they answered:

TikTok is almost as important as your radio station itself, on-air or online. And it's more important than Instagram.

Clorox is learning from their brand neighbors at Pine-Sol. Here's how their CMO, Erik Schwartz, summed up the lesson.

"Today," he says, "brands really need to activate differently...

Today your Christian media brand really needs to activate differently. You need to get close to consumers in the places where they spend time and with the style of content that rivets their attention, speaks their language, and enlists their participation in your brand and your mission.

That's what "engagement" really is.

Now how many folks did you "engage" today?

Mark Ramsey Media does audience research for Christian Media - Perceptual research, digital studies, donor studies, underwriter impact 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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