With Mark Elliott
The 7 Stages Of Brand Building
There is a long running expression that says "management doesn't plan to fail, they just fail to plan". This is something I learned very early in my career as a programmer and it still holds true today. While it's important to have a plan, it's more important to give yourself enough time to develop a solid strategic plan. Everyone is different but I found July first to be the best time to start the planning process for an upcoming year. It depends on how detailed of a plan you want to create.
The 7 Stages of Brand Building is an excellent tool to help guide you through the planning process. In this piece, I am going to give you the condensed version to layout the guidelines you'll need to start developing your annual strategic plan.
The reason I start the process on July first is each of the 7 stages requires the entire management teams participation regardless of size. By doing this, everyone feels like they had a say in the process so when it comes time to implement it, they have a vested interest. This process also helps reinforce the chain of command.
I recommend these 7 stages be executed in the order I've laid out because one planning stages leads to the next.
S1- The SWOT Plan- Identified the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats for each station in your cluster and your competition. Do one that is sales oriented and one that is programming oriented. The SWOT is what you'll work from to develop the other six stages.
S2- The APEC- Layout your annual promotions and events calendar. Include the promotions and events you do annually but leave room for adding others throughout the coming year. You'll want to plan a minimum of six months in advance for each to give you ample time to sell them. (use my 11 Immutable Rules of Promotion on my website under services/presentations)
S3- The LPU- This is your listener profile update. This is a tremendous exercise to get the entire staff involved. It helps everyone understand who the average listener is for each format. The LPU allows you to identify common characteristics for each stations audience and should be completed within two weeks after completing the SWOT and APEC.
S4- The SPS- The annual sales and programming summit is where you plan a day or even a weekend retreat to meet with the entire management team out of the office at a hotel or resort. Using the results from your SWOT, APEC, and LPU, discuss ideas on how to achieve your sales and programming objectives for the coming year. The SPS allows sales and programming to get on the same page by understanding each others challenges. It improves communication between both departments and gives them a detailed outline to refer two in the months ahead.
S5- The BIC- The brand imaging checklist helps you identify what defines your brand which allows you to create a story for each format. The goal is to develop the image you want to project to your audience and advertisers.
S6- The POA- Plan of Action lays out your entire sales, marketing, promotions, digital and programming plan for the coming year. Even though your plan is complete, you'll want to be flexible to adjust as necessary to take advantage of unforeseen opportunities that might present themselves throughout 2027.
S7- The QPT is the quarterly programming tune-up at the end of every quarter. It requires the entire management team to meet and develop a progress report to insure you're still on point and if necessary, reset goals based on current market conditions.
Finally, make sure you implement realistic drop-dead dates for each stage to be completed taking into consideration your staffs current workload. This is another reason why you want to start the process on July first to prevent overload which clouds the thought process. In most cases, budgets for the next year won't be approved but you can use your current budget and adjust when the new annual budget is approved. The advantage of creating a plan like this is it helps insure you have a more accurate budget to present for approval.
Finally, make sure you implement realistic drop-dead dates for each stage to be completed taking into consideration your staffs current workload. This is another reason why you want to start the process on July first to prevent overload which clouds the thought process. In most cases, budgets for the next year won't be approved but you can use your current budget and adjust when the new annual budget is approved. The advantage of creating a plan like this is it helps insure you have a more accurate budget to present for approval.
As you can see, there is a lot that goes into planning for a new year and why it makes sense to start the process six months in advance. If you wait to plan until the last two or three months of the year or wait for budgets to be approved, you will find yourself always leading from behind when the new year begins.
I can assist you with putting a
comprehensive plan together for next year, regardless of when you start the
process. Contact me at Mark Elliott Media and let’s discuss it.
In 2009, I launched an internet radio station called Axe Radio, and it grew to be the 3rd most listened to Rock format on the Apple Internet radio platform. When I agreed to take on overseeing Cherry Creek Media's 54 radio stations programming towards the end of 2015, I shut it down so I could focus on my new role.
I applied the principles of Axe Radio to all of Cherry Creek Media's existing Rock stations and it won in the rated markets and made a lot of money in both their rated and non rated markets. Today, the majority of Rock stations I watch via Mediabase have lost their way because the Classic Rock audience is aging out and there simply isn't much interest in newer Rock by a mass audience. The majority of Rock programmers today don't seem to understand the Rock life group and I suspect it's because they don't fully understand the music because they didn't grow up with it like most Rock listeners have.
The Rock stations that get it are still doing very well but there are several former dominate Rock stations who are now struggling because they're trying to appeal to too many and end up appealing to none. The answer is simple, if you're going to be a Rock station, be a Rock station and own it. There is only room for one Rock station per market regardless of market size. The Axe Radio concept is focused on where Rock needs to be today because it appeals to Rock listeners across all demos. The key is "Rock listeners" who appreciate the genre.
Axe Radio plays familiar Rock, but also allows room to reintroduce deep cuts from core artists and present newer Rock music to help sustain the format in the future.
Here is a sample hour of the Axe Radio concept to demonstrate how dynamic the format is and can be adjusted to appeal to each individual market based on demographics and the available audience for the music.
Guns N' Roses/Welcome To The Jungle
Pearl Jam/Alive
Pink Floyd- Have A Cigar
Aerosmith/Sweet Emotion
Rush/Limelight
Foo Fighters/Window
Heart/Barracuda
The Police/Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
Bon Jovi/Wanted Dead Or Alive
Led Zeppelin- Ramble On
Metallica/Enter Sandman
The Axe Radio model will sure up and improve an existing brand in every market because it appeals to the Rock life group that still appreciates the genre today. It is certainly more than worth your time to have a conversation about it. Also know, there is a lot more involved than just playing the right music to be a successful Rock station.
Contact me anytime by using the information below.
E: mem@markelliottmedia.com
P: (818) 259-0091
Copyright 2026
P: (818) 259-0091
Copyright 2026
