In 30 years of Talent Coaching all sized markets, I’ve found that the smaller market radio stations often have something that the medium and large markets don’t have – Authenticity.

While their formatics may sometimes be weak by major market standards, they often MEAN more to listeners. The reason is simple: they can be local. So, they can reflect more easily what the majority of their listeners really care about and identify with – and that’s the whole Content ballgame.

If you’re in a small market, you should touch on the most important “big” stories. But even then, make an effort to be as local as possible – or you can easily LOCALIZE that big story. Ask yourself: what does it have to do with you, and your neighbors?

Relevance is King. “Items to talk about” are blah-blah. To connect with your listeners, put yourself in their shoes, see what they see, and reflect their emotions. In the process, share yours – serious or not-so-serious.

These thoughts apply to the most successful personalities in ANY size market, and in any format.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2026 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

There’s an old saying, “Give the people what they want.” That was the gospel.

But Volkswagon didn’t agree. People were driving huge cars when the original Beetle came out – but then millions and millions of VW Beetles were sold.

George Lucas didn’t. The sci-fi genre was pretty sparse when “Star Wars” came out. Hollywood moguls said people didn’t want that. They were, uh…wrong.

Apple didn’t. They knew a more intuitive computer was better. And a laptop (or later, an iPad) was a much better choice for millions of people than a giant, heavy desktop computer. Plus, Steve Jobs knew that a sleek, futuristic design for a mobile phone was going to make huge, complicated phones horribly outdated. They CREATED desire.

Give people what they want, sure, but also give them new approaches.

Example: My brilliant partner John Frost consulted a station in Austin, Texas. One of the first things he did was to have them play “The Eyes of Texas” at noon every day. People didn’t know they wanted this, but it set the station’s tone as being a TEXAS station. It was what they wanted, but they may not have known that.

Don’t kid yourself into thinking that a corporate, format-wide 300-song playlist is what people want. I’d like to drive a couple hundred miles WITHOUT hearing the same, beaten-to-death songs on every station in a given format.

I’d like to hear Promos and Production in general that can compete with Hollywood movie trailers.
I’d like to hear disc jockeys that sound like they came from the same region they broadcast to.

I’d like to hear something that SURPRISES me, rather than just “what people want.” And I’ll bet you would, too.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2026 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

A song I wrote a few years ago contains the line, “To refuse to see is the same as being blind.”

This definitely applies to radio, and raises questions:

Do you listen to your own show regularly?
Can you hear the things that you don’t do that well?
If you can, do you work on correcting and upgrading those things?
Do you have a P. D., friend, or talent coach to help you recognize where you can improve, and define what your greatest strengths are?

The point is, you want to eliminate the subpar things, discover what you do really well, then only do those things.

I believe that anyone who wants to become an elite Talent needs that focus.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2026 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.

Here’s how careers are made…

When something happens – something that seemingly everyone is buzzing about – and you make a comment, what will you say that no one else would say?

If you can get past that, and own that, and get to where that’s the way your brain works, you will be a major star.

Read. Watch great movies. Listen to great songs. They all have that in common.

– – – – – – –
Tommy Kramer
Talent Coach
214-632-3090 (mobile)
e-mail: coachtommykramer@gmail.com
Member, Texas Radio Hall of Fame
© 2026 by Tommy Kramer. All rights reserved.