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Tune In To The Helium Radio Network

todayAugust 2, 2017 27

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Our parent company, Life Improvement Media Group (aka LIMG), has given birth believe it or not! They launched us—the Helium Radio Network! Our radio content, our process and our network have all been completely restructured from top to bottom. It’s more than a re-brand. It’s a brand new brand altogether. Note: we are not a one-hit-wonder and never have been. We say “believe it or not” because the developmental timeline of Helium Radio will surprise you.

Concept Development & Execution

The original vision of the radio station was created  back in 2009. Before LIMG, there was a whole team (including our CCO) who managed a wellness center. It was in the late stages of that business that Erik, the CCO of LIMG, spawned the idea of podcasting. He wanted to podcast from the wellness center to further grow the business.

Life Improvement Radio (LIR) was born in a spare room of the wellness center on its own individual station. Upon initial development, Erik and his team didn’t see Life Improvement Radio as its own network. In essence, it wasn’t housed under a larger network and ran solo for a long time. The goal of LIR was to educate, inform and improve the lives of the people. The wellness team realized LIR would appeal to the masses.

The Birth of Healthy Radio

Soon, a radio show called “Living Healthy” was created. Their very first radio studio was inside the wellness center. They regularly broadcasted on the airwaves during business hours. The Tampa Bay Times featured them on the news as well. As the show grew by listeners, the wellness center expanded alongside it.

Even though, living healthy and weight loss were topics on people’s minds, it wasn’t everything they discussed. Like everyday, topics such as war, politics, religion and so on are discussed. Living Healthy only represented half of the spectrum in 2013.

The First Re-Brand

Fast forward to 2017. One morning in early 2017, our staff sat around the office to learn of the ideas bubbling up. Our CCO said to us, “Let me run something by you guys. You know how I appreciate your input.” We said, “Sure.” Erik continued, “The radio station … looks dated. I’ve been wanting to do a complete overhaul for a few years now.” From there, we dove right into it. The brainstorm session began at a high-level. Nothing has changed from our roots. Everything underneath Life Improvement Media has always been started in the St. Petersburg, Florida area. The Helium Radio Network was no different!

The biggest problem we faced was finding both a brand name and a domain name that weren’t already taken. In 2016, the LIMG team rebranded themselves from top to bottom. With the parent company rebranded, it was time to move onto the radio platforms. The “children” needed a new wardrobe. The branding was kept on a loose string so-to-speak. It paralleled the look and feel of the multi-colored balloon. Yet, it had its own attitude.

The Second Re-Brand

The vision behind Helium Radio was to have more radio stations with multiple forms of content. Essentially, we want to emulate larger networks like Sirius XM or Blog Talk. This is very possible by having a plethora of content, among many other things. By plethora, we mean simultaneously managing 50 or more channels with content rolling 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

At the final stages of development but before design, we sought the input of one of our show hosts. Cindy Stovall, host of Beauty & The ‘Burg, also has a mind for branding. She provided her thoughts on our logo design. It was very helpful to have an outside perspective. We want to thank her for her assistance!

The website was a complete re-design from scratch. A “brand new brand” needs a brand new look and feel. Therefore, we went with something off the beaten path that doesn’t feel like LIR or LIRAD. Once we saw the finished product, we all cheered. Without a doubt, Helium Radio screams “global radio station.”

The Other Sky-High Balloon

"helium radio network" The idea behind Helium Radio was expansion through syndication and streamlining. At first, the challenges of timing reared their ugly heads. It was a struggle to create a name and a digital identity that matched. Helium Radio was the first instance where both the domain and name were free and up for grabs. Helium brought the listenership over to the new station. We’ve been rolling ever since with our two standard stations. We decided to keep the theme going with hot air balloons. There’s still no place like the top!

STATION 1: Enhancing Lives Daily "life improvement radio"

Our previous slogan might sound familiar to you. Life Improvement Radio was the station that enhanced lives daily. Fortunately, nothing has changed. LIR parked itself as the first station on Helium Radio. We have content filling time slots and still have plenty of room to grow our PG-rated, family-friendly stream.

STATION 2: Entertaining You Nightly with Mature Content For Immature Audiences

"helium radio after dark" The wellness team felt the desire to also feature content from the other side of the spectrum. Considering, the average Joe wouldn’t care to learn about stress release. He unwinded with the weekend off and, most likely, a cold 6-pack from the liquor store.

A lot of listeners wanted shows that didn’t deal with controversial topics such as religion, politics, debates and adult entertainment. Erik’s team created a second station to give the alternative listeners a place to turn. That way, they would cater to everyone.

Life Improvement Radio After Dark (aka LIRAD) was the R-rated, mature station for immature audiences. In 2013, LIRAD was launched and ran strong for four years. Now, a small change has taken place. Life Improvement Radio After Dark was transformed into Helium Radio After Dark (aka HRAD). We are currently seeking show hosts with bold, racy content to fill the open time slots. On this station, anything goes!

Stay tuned as we redevelop the mobile app for both Google Play and iTunes Store. This is just the beginning too. As we grow with radio content, so too will our team and brand! If you’d like to be a part, drop us a line at [email protected]!

Thank you for your attention! Click the eBook below to download a copy of this blog as a PDF!

"tune in to the helium radio network"

Written by: #HeliumRadio

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