Can you Feel “Fall” on Your Station?

Labor Day weekend means a lot more than the end of summer. It means the beginning of what is arguably “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.” Looking back at my PD days, I always loved this change of seasons. No matter the station or format, fall was a new beginning.

 Remember how television networks used to make a big deal about their new fall seasons? New shows, new promos, new excitement. Everything suddenly felt fresh again. I wanted my radio stations to capture that exact same feeling.

 Around Labor Day, we would introduce a theme that could run through everything on the station. Something like “The Best Fall of All” or “The Fresh Fall Sound of Magic 102.7.”

We weren’t changing the format or reinventing the station. We were creating a feeling.

Summer was ending. Kids were going back to school. Vacations were over. Football was starting. Routines were changing. Our listeners’ lives were changing, and I wanted the radio station to change with them. And we didn’t just do it on the air. We lived it inside the station.

We decorated the studios with pumpkins and turkeys. As Christmas approached, out came the lights and decorations. I wanted the staff to feel the season, too.

If our personalities walked into a studio that felt like fall, some of that enthusiasm was going to find its way onto the air. The station sounded more alive because the people inside were living the season right alongside the audience.

Now walk into any big department store or your local Hallmark shop. What do you see?

Pumpkins. Fall colors. Halloween decorations. Thanksgiving merchandise. And it’s not even Labor Day yet. Give it another week or two and Christmas will start appearing.

Some people will say it’s too early. But retailers understand something radio programmers should understand, too.

They know where their customers’ heads are.

Moms are already talking about what their kids are going to be for Halloween. Costumes are being discussed and Halloween parties are being planned. Football weekends are back. Before long, families will be talking about Thanksgiving plans and where they’re going for the holidays.

Your listeners love this time of year. So waiting until a few days before Halloween to suddenly start talking about it is, to me, a programming mistake. I’m not suggesting you play Christmas music in September or spend every break talking about pumpkin spice.

I’m talking about something much more subtle. Make the station feel like fall.

Freshen the imaging. Change some production. Talk about what’s happening. Have some fun with football. Start building excitement around Halloween. Highlight the fall events happening in your market. Let your personalities talk about what they’re doing with their families.

And don’t underestimate something as simple as decorating the studio. Sometimes a small change inside the building can change the attitude of an entire station.

Then comes Thanksgiving.

And after that, Christmas, when the feeling goes to an entirely different level. The music, the decorations, the traditions, the shopping, the family gatherings, the excitement. For many listeners, there may be no more emotional time of the year. Your station should be part of all of it.

A great station should sound like it knows what day it is, what season it is, and what is happening in the listener’s life. That’s something radio can still do exceptionally well.

Fall is more than a date on the calendar. It’s a mood. It’s anticipation. It’s tradition. And from Halloween through Thanksgiving and Christmas, it’s one opportunity after another to make your station feel connected to the life your listener is already living.

So when Labor Day weekend ends, listen to your station. Does it still sound like July? Or can you feel that something has changed? The answer should be obvious. Welcome to the "Fresh Fall Sound" of your station.

Have some fun with it. Your listeners already are.