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#11 How 970 WFLA Became #1: Branding, Strategy & Hard Decisions | Sue Trecasse

In this episode, Nicole Alicea sits down with Sue Trecasse, former Operations Manager and Program Director of 970 WFLA, one of Florida’s top-performing News/Talk radio stations.

During her tenure, WFLA consistently ranked in the top 5—and often #1—in the highly competitive Tampa market, a rare achievement for an AM station.

But this success didn’t happen by accident.

Sue reveals the hard decisions behind building and protecting a dominant brand—including turning down advertisers, rejecting short-term revenue, and maintaining strict control over the listener experience.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why protecting your brand sometimes means saying no to revenue

• How content and advertising together shape customer experience

• The real reason WFLA attracted both older and younger audiences

• How consistency, tone, and positioning build long-term loyalty

• Why short-term thinking destroys strong brands

Sue also shares behind-the-scenes stories of programming decisions, internal conflicts between sales and leadership, and the philosophy that kept WFLA at the top.

This episode is a must-listen for business owners, marketers, and leaders who want to build brands that last.

Produced by David “Fingers” Bell and Nicole Valentin Alicea.

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