Radio; The Simplistic Powerhouse

Back in the early 1900’s, Netflix did not exist. People’s days were long and hard and away from home. Dad worked his blue collar job, mom tended house, Billy and Bobby killed bugs and built treehouses.

But come dinner time, everyone stopped what they were doing and gathered around a box. This box had no images to entertain them, no remote control to channel surf, no DVR to record for later. It simply was a box on the mantle that you twisted a few knobs back and forth like a safe until suddenly and miraculously it started spitting out sound. Sound that was then the evening’s entertainment. Sound that would bring joy and fulfillment to the day for every member of that family.

Radio.

So simple.

Now our world is vastly different. We’re constantly on the go and searching for bigger, better, faster. We’ve lost sight of that simple joy that happened way back when. Our content is loud and distracting and built for consumers that have the attention span of a goldfish (sorry but statistics say it’s true).

What if we slowed it down a bit? What if we explored that simple yet again?

What Made It Simple?

One focus and one objective; to listen.

We generally tie progressive learning and innovative society to more and bigger and complex. But what do we do after we’ve inevitably gone over board?

We step back and simplify.

Think about the last time that you “had” to slow down. It was probably after your phone notifications were out of control, your inbox was beyond repair, your Netflix playlist had 50 movies too many saved, and you’ve just driven through Hollywood and the billboards and sparkly sidewalks have given you an extreme headache (this legit happened to me).

What do you do?

You turn your back on your visual devices and get outside for a little bit. Get some fresh air and “reset”. You simply stop, close your eyes and breathe.

Complex can mean progressive but it can also mean chaos.

Back to the Basics

Whenever we create, we start with something simple. Because something has to come from… something. From there we iterate and iterate and iterate until we have a new creation.

But sometimes those iterations can go too far. Or we don’t take into account that that new creation is similar to another creation for a different platform, or that it might not be necessary paired with another creation, or that that new creation meant to simplify- complicates something else.

My father in law always says, “It takes 2 people to paint a painting. One person to paint it and another person to smack him over the head and say ‘it’s done, stop!’”

What Next?

Should you always keep it simple like the radio programming for an audience that only listens? No. There’s so much invention and innovation that needs to happen. However, we should never forget the root of the creative. Where did it start? Why was it great? What could be done better or more effectively?

The most important element of creation is to know, understand, and respect the root of what inspired you in the first place.

Radio will always be king over multimedia content that came afterwards simply because radio came first. Radio was the original spark that helped to steamroll and define television, internet, smart technology, streaming, etc.

Enter radio. What next?

To learn more about me and my research in sound in marketing, go to www.SoundInMarketing.com. If you are a brand and you are looking to create a sound experience or need a consultation on sound strategy, go to www.DreamrProductions.com and let’s chat further.

You can also find me on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Let’s make this world of sound more intriguing, more unique, and more and more on brand.