Lesson #20: Relevance Happens in Real Time
Winning stations don’t simply follow the plan.
They recognize the moment—and seize the opportunity.
They pay attention to what their audience is talking about, celebrating, worrying about, watching, and living through—and reflect it back on the air.
When Bonnie Tyler died, tributes to her music and legacy immediately filled television, social media, and conversations around the world.
It was a natural moment for radio.
Play the songs.
Share the stories.
Invite listeners to remember her.
Celebrate an artist whose music helped define an era.
Yet many stations missed the moment because the music log was already done.
The songs were scheduled.
The imaging was loaded.
The station carried on as if nothing had happened.
A music log should be a plan—not a prison.
But not every opportunity arrives as breaking news.
A few weeks ago, I was meeting with a European client when I noticed a commemorative Coca-Cola World Cup can.
I picked it up and asked:
“How is your station relating to the World Cup?”
There was a pause.
Then came the aha moment.
The world’s biggest sporting event was happening all around them, yet the station had failed to join the conversation.
Coca-Cola had recognized the moment.
The station hadn’t.
Sometimes the moment is breaking news.
Sometimes it is hiding in plain sight.
Great stations stay alert, curious, and willing to change the plan.
Real-time relevance is the job.
Takeaway
Relevance belongs to the station that notices what matters to its audience—and acts before the moment passes.