I recently was invited to make a guest appearance on a Kansas City radio station’s (1510 AM) talk program...

...dubbed “The Brand Show.” The show airs on Wednesday mornings, 9:00 AM, central time. It was great fun, but besides that, it brought me back to the discussion of core marketing concepts that we all work with daily, but rarely stop to reflect on.

The show’s host, Rick “the Dean” Nobles, and his two side kicks, Lou Thurmon and Nick Main joke, laugh, chat and exchange their views on a number of branding issues. Beneath the jocularity on the show, though, some very important subject matter is discussed. In fact, I was impressed that on the show’s Web site, the following statement appears in the midst of the jargon on the home page:

“If you've ever wondered why your company just doesn't seem to connect with today's customer, tune in and get ready to be enlightened and entertained.”

Obviously this radio show reaches out to business owners, large and small, and seeks to assist them in their marketing efforts. . . a great service to the business community of St. Louis—a happening, growing city in the Midwest. Call-ins are solicited, guests share their perspectives and experienced insights with the hosts, who likewise have strong resumes and business insights of their own. I call this a win-win for the St. Louis area. I mean: great information at no cost to listeners, but an hour of their time!

The theme of the show I participated in was “Brand Differentiation,” and I was to give my take on what this really means as well as examples of brands that have masterfully differentiated themselves from their competitors. Of course, how packaging can assist in the branding and differentiation of companies and products (one of my fortes) was also discussed.

Bottom line: I found my segment invigorating and it really brought home the core of what we all do as marketers and consultants. I really enjoyed the repartee and the ideas we were all able to share, and was amazed at how much information was packed into that hour-long show. You can catch any of these recorded shows yourselves (Archives section of the site). Wow!

Couldn’t this be the kind of radio talk show that could be effectively transplanted to all markets? I know there are biz talk shows, but something like this that’s specifically about branding and marketing issues. . . Wouldn’t this be a valuable “brand experience” (pun intended) for all local business audiences?