How Context and Collaboration Improve AI Responses
Every program director in country radio has had this moment: the unblinking thousand-yard stare caused by the non-negotiable, brand-squashing sales promotion idea a client has attached to a significant buy. The potential revenue is huge. The idea is a gut-punch to the brand image.
The PD’s inner monologue is on fire. ‘Why?! Why would they want us to do that? It's a guaranteed tune-out. Listening occasions will drop along with our rank. If I say no, the lost revenue is on me. But, … where did this come from, … how can we be expected to, … how did I get here!?’
I decided to put AI to work on this all-too-familiar dilemma. A simple prompt yielded some interesting ideas, but none that would entertain listeners or make the agency bat their eyes at the station’s creativity on behalf of their client.
AI on its own won’t swoop down with creativity that gets the buy and saves the station’s image when Waffle House Menu Trivia and the Preparation H Word Search sales promotions hit you head-on. In moments like these, AI needs a human to provide the context, the challenge, the consequences, the background, the constraints, and what good looks like.
More importantly, a human who knows the value of having a conversation with AI is when the magic happens. Ask follow-up questions. Clarify your goal or expectations and ask the AI to try again. Tell it what good looks like and why its response doesn’t measure up. Give it an example and tell it how to think.
If you expect AI to help, you need to tell it how. It works for you. Start training it to do that, your way. Here’s how you could do that before the thousand-yard sales promotion stare tries to clamp down.
This is the abbreviated version of the prompt, the conversation, and some of the final results. The prompt I wrote used 450 words. But that had nothing to do with the results. That was just the number of words I used to write everything I thought the AI needed to know to help me.
I gave it a role: Think like a creative marketer with expert skills in creating highly engaging campaigns for the radio industry. You are an expert at generating ideas that amplify a station’s brand, ranging from subtle to over-the-top. Your definition of a great radio contest: the listeners who have no interest in playing enjoy listening to them.
I gave it a job, with context: You’ve been hired to help a station overcome a potentially harmful sales promotion attached to a significant ad spend by a client that makes cat food: a contest where listeners meow their version of the cat food’s well-known jingle, live on the air once an hour, for an entire week.
I gave it a challenge: Reimagine and modify the contest so that it keeps the station’s brand image intact using a creative angle that satisfies the advertiser’s marketing objective.
I uploaded a document of the station profile and brand strategy to the chat and hit the return key. I immediately received a response asking,
What's the actual marketing objective here? Create viral/social media moments? Drive in-store traffic? Maximize brand mentions? What’s the trackable success metric? Knowing their real goal helps me craft alternatives that satisfy their KPIs without the meowing execution.
The AI asked relevant questions and told me why they mattered. I taught it to do that by putting this in my settings:
Keep explanations brief and to the point, and always ask if I'd like more details or depth. Always avoid making assumptions as you consider the nature of the response I seek, and ask me for more information or context when it seems necessary to focus and improve your response.
I answered the questions and got 10 pretty good ideas. This is a mashup of elements from my favs:
"Meow-sic City" scavenger hunt. Hide 50 cat statues with QR codes around town. Scan the code and upload a video of you meowing at the statue. Collect all 50 for the grand prize entry. On-air = clue drops + tracker updates. Social = user-generated content at landmarks. In-store finale: statue auction (proceeds to the shelter). Brand becomes part of city lore.
Not perfect, but not too bad either. All it needs is your creative touch.
Tell the AI how you want to be helped. Prompt with roles, context, goals, constraints (always/never), what good looks like, and start having conversations with it. These are the keys to getting more out of AI now, and understanding how to use what’s coming next.
