Dave, Sue & the Data Dilemma: What BBC Local Radio Taught Me About Storytelling

Let’s talk about data-driven storytelling, the buzzword that’s become a must-have in every communicator’s toolkit.

It’s never been easier to collect data, slice it, dice it, and serve it up with a personalised narrative garnish. But here’s the kicker: just because you have data doesn’t mean you have a story.

Sometimes, data helps you frame a story. Sometimes, it tries to be the story. And that’s where things can go sideways.

🎙️ Once Upon a Time in BBC Local Radio…

Back in the early 2000s, I was working across several BBC Local Radio stations. If you’re not familiar, this is a network of 40 stations across the UK, each serving its own patch, each with its own breakfast show; and if you added them all up they rivalled Radio 1’s audience.

Local Radio mattered.

But the audience was shifting. The traditional over-50s listener was changing. The Silent Generation was giving way to the Boomers, and they were people who didn’t want to hear about the war or “Help the Aged.” They were ex-mods, rockers, and rebels. They had house extensions, kids at university, and credit cards, and they weren’t tuning in.

📉 The Identity Crisis

Every station I worked at had the same problem: who are we talking to now?

The old certainties were gone. When I got my first full-time daytime show I had to meet with the station’s “Listeners Group” who were a well-meaning bunch (that’s a very kind euphemism) and all 30 years older than the target audience.

They hated my show; it was too silly and there weren’t enough 40-minute interviews with local councillors... yeh, I know.

Something had to change.

🎯 Enter: Project Bullseye

The BBC launched Project Bullseye which was a data-driven mission to save Local Radio. Surveys, focus groups, music testing, you name it. And out of the data fog emerged two mythical beings: Dave and Sue.

Dave and Sue were the new target audience. We knew everything about them. Their hobbies. Their health issues. Their music tastes. Their caravan. Finally, we had a clear demographic to aim for.

And I loved it.

Not because I wanted to talk about caravans, but because Dave and Sue were basically my mum and dad and I knew how to connect with them.

📻 When Data Becomes the Dictator

But here’s where it went wrong.

Most stations took the data literally, and if you have ever worked under random BBC edicts, you’ll understand that there were organisational drivers that would force you to tow the party line.

This meant that if Dave and Sue like caravans. Let’s do loads of caravan content. They remember the '60s? Let’s talk about the '60s all the time. Sue’s perimenopausal? Let’s go deep on hormone chat.

Lots of excellent, outstanding, creatives were trapped by the data.

It became cringey and worst of all… dull.

Like that friend who finds out you like jazz and won’t shut up about Miles Davis for the next six months.

And guess what? Listeners left. In droves.

🎧 Where We Got It Right

At my station (and this was a team effort from the Editor to Broadcast Assistants and everyone in-between) we did something different. We didn’t let the data write the script; we used our skill as programme makers and content creators to frame the story using the data.

We made content we genuinely found interesting, then pitched it to Dave and Sue in a way that made sense to them. We were curious, playful, human. We didn’t talk about caravans because even caravan owners know caravans are dull, no, we talked about the freedom of the open road, the joy of getting lost, the weird things you find in service stations.

We were the friend who starts a weird conversation that somehow ends up being the best chat of the day.

💥 The Fallout

Eventually, Dave and Sue were quietly retired. The people behind Project Bullseye moved on. Local Radio continued to be defunded and sidelined.

But the lesson stuck with me.

🧠 4 Things Dave and Sue Taught Us About Data-Driven Storytelling

1. Data is just data. It’s what you do with it that matters.

2. Stay agile. Listen to the feedback loop and be ready to pivot.

3. Ask better questions. Don’t just ask what people like—ask why.

4. Keep it human. Stories stick when they spark emotion and connection.

   
   
   
   

Final Thought

Data-driven storytelling isn’t about ticking boxes. It’s about using insight to spark imagination. When done right, it doesn’t just inform your content—it elevates it.

So next time you meet your own Dave and Sue, don’t just talk about their caravan. Ask them where they’re going, and why.