Thank you for saying that. I think it is because I love my job and because I've learned from amazing people like for example Dennis Clark (Clear Channel Los Angeles), Jean-Paul Baudecroux (NRJ), Eric Stephens (Clear Channel Australia), Max Guazzini (NRJ). Whether it was working in a radio or TV channel, I know we need to bring love and emotion into the brand, every day. There was a book written by Kevin Roberts the CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi that talks about that. We need to bring love and emotion in, and for me, the 'brand' IS the product. The neurologist Donald Calne puts it brilliantly: 'The essential difference between emotion and reason is that emotion leads to action while reason leads to conclusions.'

Radio is a business where passion comes first. You need to build a spirit among the team and make sure listeners feel that in the program.

Sign up to receive an email alert when a new article is posted - This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

SRS: How do you build that 'esprit de corps' among the staff?

I don't have a system - every person and team is different. My love and passion for media and music, I guess, is contagious and I like to think that people around me catch it. When we are working together as a team, we LIVE the brand and feel the brand.

Honesty. I want somebody who is not 'safe.'

SRS: And that needs to come out on-the-air.

Yes. And, also someone who respects the clock. Someone who can take that clock and create a rhythm on the air. The clock is there merely as a way to create a rhythm and balance, and a personality who is honest and sincere, authentic and respects that rhythm is someone who is good for my on-air team. I believe that in entertainment, pleasure comes from the rhythm and that's why clocks are so important.

SRS: Could we in radio be doing a better job at building a new generation of personalities?

We could definitely be doing better. We are not utilizing our night shifts and web channels and weekend shifts. We are not taking advantage of the opportunities we have to develop new talent. The radio industry didn't build yet radio universities. It's a shame because radio is a media of the future. Radio receivers will one day become completely digital and we will offer radio programs with fabulous sound, attach data like album cover and artist info, and give listeners the ability to record or/and pause the show. Radio is free and it can be used anywhere, anytime without any need to watch a screen or use a keyboard. Radio will always be the companionship people need while they work, while they drive, while they play and music from the radio will always be the soundtrack of your life.

Learn more about our next-generation research. Click here.

SRS: You twice worked for Fun Radio in France, which is one of the world's most fiercely competitive markets. In your first tenure in the late 90s, Fun re-launched as a flanker against NRJ, one of the strongest CHR brands in the world. I saw first-hand how well you created a clear point of difference with NRJ, using the "Groove, Dance, Fun" position. You helped Fun reach record ratings highs. What were the lessons you learned there?

The first lesson, I've learned the hard way, is to be unique. If there is nothing very special about your radio station, you won't get noticed, and that means you won't get good rating results, either.

Second, choose a style and stay consistent.

Many companies waste loads of marketing money on products that are not being positioned. In the late 90s, web sites were marketing their names to simply build name recognition without communicating what they stand for and what the product or service is. They threw money away.

Your positioning needs to combine what the product is and perhaps what result you will have when you use the product all within a unique style. Imagine if a candy bar had a position of "chocolate, caramel and nuts" without communicating the feeling you get from it. The consumer won't connect to it because there is no benefit in that statement.

Absolut's positioning is a blend of the product quality - pure water used in the creation of the vodka - and the styling of the bottle.

SRS: The new Poland Spring Aquapods are creating a buzz simply because of the bottle redesign, even though the water comes from the same spring in Maine.

The brand is more than the name.

SRS: The strength or weakness of the brand is a sum of the emotions people feel for the product or experiences the consumer has had with that brand. The logo or brand name is the symbol of those consumer experiences.

You just used the right word, "the experience." For me, the brand is the experience you have with the product. That has worked with Apple, Prada, Bose, Google, Virgin Airlines, NRJ radio in France, HBO and in some countries, MTV. Swedish people are great with that. Consider the products coming from that area - Skype, Absolut, Saab, Ikea, Sony Erickson.

SRS: Radio stations who do NOT have good on-air talent, exciting promotions and dynamic production have a hard time building a deep brand. Because the listener experience has not been deep. Correct?

Exactly.

SRS: You have put together some fantastic TV marketing campaigns. The spots you did while at Mix in Sydney are some of the best aesthetically and most effective I've seen anywhere. What are you philosophies on that?

Most the time, the key for me is understanding HOW the audience will be touched.with what kinds of symbols. What kind of message?

After knowing those parameters, I work with the marketing team on the spots, bringing these symbols and images to life in a subtle way.

Now the difference is the design. Look how fast you can choose to use a website or not, it's just based on the design. Same service, same level of quality but you prefer to use the well-designed one. It takes half a second to make your choice; radio is the same.

SRS: Do you see a trait that holds stations back from performing better?

Having fun. Most of the time, radio stations act too much like a business and they don't have fun, and as a result, the listeners don't experience fun on the air. It is not entertaining.

That is what many radio stations miss out on.

In fact, there is a good book that profiles the famous fish market in Seattle. They invented the Fish Philosophy. I've experienced the Fish Philosophy program in the UK with the Chrysalis team and it has made a huge difference in the interactions and relations in the team so directly in the output of the station program. It's based on the right interactions between team members. I know that even a hospital in the States used that program.

SRS: That is true for so many stations in the US. There is so much attention paid to monthly and quarterly revenue figures and less time is given to thinking about how to just have fun on the air.

The business of programming is becoming too automatic. A person chooses to listen to the radio to feel companionship, to be entertained, to have fun and to feel like someone is talking him or her. It is especially true now with all of these new digital options for receiving music and building your own playlist.

In the 80s and early 90s, a good playlist was magical. Now, individuals can make their own playlist. The human value needs to take more of a center-stage and the station has to stand for something beyond being a jukebox.

SRS: When a radio station receives its audience ratings, what should it look at first?

The core target's Time Spent Listening.

SRS: What radio stations do you enjoy listening to for inspiration?

I love Kiss-FM in Los Angeles especially the morning show, Elvis Duran on Z100 in New York, Nova in Sydney and Skyrock in France for the packaging. I also enjoy MTV Base in the UK for the packaging too and Club-V in Australia, very creative, the kind of TV you can have on 24/7.

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Check out our previous articles, including Jack Trout, Guy Zapoleon and Douglas Rushkoff. Click Here.