At RadioDays, the Creative Service Director of Z100 New York, Staxx Williams shared some of his tips for making great imaging.

Those who create station imaging must have the perfect balance of creativity and production skills. Once you have gained the skills it is important to keep feeding your creativity, according to Staxx.

“Start with your creative diet. What are you putting into your brain?

“Search for ideas and interesting audio to feed your creative brain, despite how busy you may be at work. Don’t get too busy to feed your creative diet.
 
“I think in pictures because I’m not that great with just words. I avoid thinking of words first, I think in pictures then the words come after that.”
 
He also advised audio producers to use the same tools as the artists do, such as loops, beat mixers, voice tuners and other tools musicians use.

With the growth of listening to smart speakers with voice recognition on devices such as Alexa, Staxx believes it is important to train your audience how to find your station on these new devices. Z100 is embedding the sound of Alexa into their imaging, to place the right recognition phrases in listeners minds for when they use Alexa.

Listen to some of his imaging examples below.