From the first time I spoke with Tracy, I could tell he was different from other morning show coaches.  He is highly engaged and passionately wants every one of his morning shows to win!   He’s available whenever I need him to pick his brain or gut-check a decision I have to make.  He’s become an invaluable advisor and partner to me in growing Tad and Drex on B98.5

Chris Eagan, VP/Programming
Working with Tracy Johnson has been pretty fantastic. He helped our show level up in the way we focus and present our content as well as helped us hone in on our character development.  Emotion is the key! Tracy is always super responsive and has personally given me more confidence in my writing, storytelling, and presentational skills.
Kara Wilson, Producer & Cohost, B98.5/Atlanta

Tracy started by helping us identify our characters based on who we actually are.  He has since guided our show to be more relatable and consumable to the audience.  The exciting by-product of working with Tracy is that our show now has incredible chemistry and is actually easier to perform now that we are all rowing in the same direction! 

Tad Lemire, Host, B98.5/Atlanta

Tracy isn’t just a consultant, he’s the 4th member of our show! He helped us identify our strange, fun and unique personality traits. It turns out, that’s exactly what our listeners were looking for!

Drex Rener, Cohost, B98.5/Atlanta

The Challenge

Becoming a market-leading morning show is difficult. But one of radio’s greatest challenges is re-exciting the audience (and potential audience) for a legendary show that had fallen on hard times. In Houston, Cox Media’s Dean and Rog have regained their position as top performers on Classic Rock KGLK.
As a legacy show, the team enjoyed great success for many years. However, over time, the show was not shining as brightly as it once was and some listeners had moved on and the station had not been able to replace them with new fans.

Ratings had declined to a point that didn’t reflect the talent of these strong personalities.

The Process

The first step was an in-market visit with the team to get to know Dean and Rog, along with their cohost Kelly and producer Bret Gipson. We then conducted a TJMG Deep Dive analysis of the show, which revealed a show that was genuinely funny and exceptionally well-executed.
The main problem was the show had fallen into a common habit of long-running personalities. It needed to be re-energized with a fresh approach while re-introducing the strongest legacy features to an audience that didn’t have a long-term point of reference.
The recipe:
  • Revisit the Basics: The show made a conscious effort to have a more frequent presence throughout the clock.
  • An Updated Presentation: By eliminating dated references, sound effects, and music beds, the show started sounding more “now”, and opened it to a broader, younger audience.
  • Tease More (and Better): Dean and Rog were never lazy, but they undervalued the importance of building excitement through promotion! This helped the show sound “bigger” and begin to stand out again!
  • Double down on their signature feature, the Birthday Scam, a prank call feature the team has excelled in for more than two decades.
  • Integrate Kelly Ryan: In addition to making Kelly’s excellent information updates more lifestyle-focused and conversational, she became more involved in the show as a regular contributor and reactor.

The Growth

 

Read More Case Studies: