|
Everything’s Great
– Let’s Switch
More often than not, typical
industry reaction to a station’s format alteration is
wondering why it took so long.
It’s the exception
rather than the rule when a facility doing well – at least on
paper – decides to go in another direction.
A
picture-perfect example of precisely that, however, surfaced
early last month (4-6-2005).
It would be a major shock
and absolute folly if someone asked to name the country’s top
three Hot ACs didn’t include KFMB-FM “Star 100.7”/San Diego as
the first or second response.
In addition to leading
the way nationally as the format’s poster-child, Star
perfectly captured the vibe of America’s Finest City.
Paramount reasons for Star’s consistent triumphs are
Tracy Johnson, the gold standard programmer who graduated to
the GM’s chair, and morning drive mainstays Jeff & Jer.
By all accounts, including the fact that the Midwest
Television-owned outlet is San Diego’s No. 1 billing station,
Star was in great shape and its ratings continued to be
strong.
In fact, of all Top 35 Market Hot ACs this
winter, Star 100.7 had the highest market rank (No. 4).
Danger Signs
Over the last few years,
however, Johnson started noticing some cracks in the
foundation. “It was not only at Star but also at other
stations like ours around the country,” the VP/GM/PD remarks.
“Some real fundamental problems were starting to creep up that
we had to pay attention to.”
Specific areas of
listener concern dealt with song repetition; excessive talk;
and not enough variety in different music styles.
Furthermore, a major red flag went up when Johnson
witnessed a general decline in the audience’s overall passion
for the station, which had been one of its key strengths. “One
problem we’ve been facing the past few years is that Star has
done so many over-the-top things,” he notes. “[Events] like
our `Jingle Ball’ concert and other promotions and what Jeff
& Jer do in the morning have been incredible experiences
for listeners.”
Elevated Expectations
Such
elements as satellite radio, iPods, Internet radio and
increasing niche-formatted competing terrestrial radio
stations produced a significant result. “[Songs by Star
artists such as] Kelly Clarkson, Matchbox Twenty and
Switchfoot didn’t stand out as being unique or exciting,”
Johnson explains. “There was a general dissatisfaction with
listeners over music in general and music on radio stations,
in particular.”
The audience, meanwhile, had become
conditioned and accustomed to Star’s major events. Doing
something outrageous almost became expected. “It was harder
and harder to surprise our listeners,” Johnson maintains. “It
was almost like a marriage where they were beginning to take
us for granted. The bar was raised so high it’s hard to
compete [against] yourself and the legacy that’s been built.”
With those things weighing heavily on Johnson’s mind,
he marched into Midwest Television Broadcasting President Ed
Trimble’s office and declared that Star needed to change
formats.
Tired Horse
But even Johnson
readily admits the notion seemed a bit illogical. “It doesn’t
make any sense and [my feeling was] that Ed would think I was
nuts,” he recalls. “But he was very supportive and said it was
a brilliant idea. I wanted him to assure me I wasn’t crazy,
because I could have made a pretty good argument that it was
the dumbest thing I ever thought of.”
A thorough
assessment of many different factors made Johnson’s decision
to jettison Hot AC in favor of JACK-FM an easy one, but he
emphasizes, “It still wasn’t a traditional one. I’d wake up at
3am and think I was committing career suicide. It may still
turn out to be that way. JACK may be a flash-in-the-pan, but I
have a company that backs me on the idea.”
That was
certainly evident in Johnson’s conversation with Trimble and
was reinforced when Johnson and Trimble presented the proposal
to Midwest Television owner Chris Meyer. “Chris said that it
sounded to him like we were riding a horse that’s getting
tired, and a younger, stronger and fresher horse that’s had
plenty of hay and water is coming up beside us,” recounts
Johnson. “He said that we’d better get on that one, if we want
to keep succeeding.”
Ownership Luxury
So
Johnson was granted the opportunity to have the market’s
top-billing radio station mount JACK-FM and acknowledges,
“That doesn’t happen at most companies that operate a lot of
stations and answer to investors and Wall Street. It’s one of
the luxuries we have being owned by a [private, family-owned
company] like Midwest Television. It’s a company that’s
conservative in nature [yet] isn’t afraid to take a calculated
risk for the right reasons.”
Being elevated from the
programming ranks to the GM chair helped Johnson learn to
examine situations from both a business and programming
perspective. “Star was doing great financially, but in many
cases, it far outperformed what it should have been doing,” he
reveals. “I knew if JACK came in to compete against us, we had
a lot to lose from ratings and financial standpoints. I
evaluated the risk/reward ratio of changing the station or
staying the course.”
Answer Man
The
conclusion was Star could’ve survived in the face of a JACK
attack, but as Johnson opines, “We couldn’t have thrived as
Star. A new and exciting product created a buzz and gave us a
chance to re-launch the station in a position of strength,
rather than being attacked by a strong format competitor.”
A very well received 90-minute conference with 125
advertisers was held the week of April 18th, during which
Johnson explained KFMB-FM’s new format and answered questions.
But Johnson comments that whenever a significant change is
made, “The first thing listeners and advertisers are going to
do is cancel. There was actually a minimal amount of that and
far less than what I expected. Most advertisers trusted us.
We’ve been in business together for a long time and they
believe in us. I recently received six e-mails just from our
website asking for a sales representative to contact them.
They had never considered advertising with us before. We
didn’t lose anything in April or May and just a little in
June, but we already replaced much of that.”
Enormous Potential
Although San Diego’s
JACK-FM is still very much a work-in-progress, it’s a concept
Johnson studied for about a year before he unveiled it to San
Diego listeners.
The format enjoyed success in Canada
and Johnson knew it was going to be introduced in the United
States, so he researched it in May 2004 as part of KFMB-FM’s
perceptual studies. “We dedicated a section of our strategic
research to what would happen to San Diego radio listening if
a station like this existed.”
Results indicated there
was a huge potential for it in the country’s 17th largest
market. “There was passion for the concept of playing a lot of
songs with many different styles and variety, but anchored in
the 1980s Pop/Rock and 1970s-1980s Classic Rock,” Johnson
states. “It was overwhelming how interested people were in the
format.”
Easy Target
A further probe to
unearth which stations would suffer the most if JACK surfaced
in San Diego revealed Star would have a lot to lose. “Hot AC
and Adult CHRs would be the first stations to get hit,”
Johnson notes. “I spent a lot of the last few months studying
what happened in Canadian markets where the format has been
on. Programmers who put the format on the air said if it’s
available, you want to do it. Those competing [against] it
said if someone does it against you, you want to look for a
new job.”
A principal root cause for such defeatist
and gloom and doom attitudes can be traced to JACK-FM
programmer/consultant Garry Wall, whom Johnson has known for
15 years. “[Garry] tried to get me to come to San Diego in
1989 [and finally convinced me to come here] in 1992.”
Each JACK station is locally programmed and Wall
guides station personnel through the complex route. “I thought
I knew everything about this format because I’d studied it
[but] it would have been a huge mistake not to hire Garry,”
Johnson maintains. “It was very impressive when he sat down
with our programming staff to teach us the nuances, details
and thought process that go into this. I knew within the first
few hours that we made the right decision to change format and
to go with them. This is an extremely detailed, well-developed
and intricate product. I didn’t appreciate the depth to which
it had been thought out and researched. To just throw this on
the air without tapping into Garry’s experience and knowledge
would have been a big mistake and we would have sounded
completely different.”
Staying Power
There’s a certain level of excitement and sexiness
that go along with any new format, but Johnson was most
concerned about long-term shelf life. “What I learned is that
there’s a lot of room for this format to grow,” he maintains.
“Once you own the variety position in a market, you have a lot
of room to maneuver. Stations that have been successful with
it are ones that have introduced personality-oriented morning
shows and remained a vibrant part of the community. They’ve
stayed promotionally active, marketed the station and have
grown the format.”
Unlike most other stations involved
with a format flip, KFMB-FM was in the unique position of
already being a mature station. “It wasn’t a `blow it up,
start over with nothing to lose’ situation,” explains Johnson,
who might be re-inventing the mold for such modifications.
“Jeff & Jer anchor the morning show and give us a head
start on the day. They also leverage their popularity into the
rest of the format. We can grow and develop the station
quicker than [other JACK-FM] stations. I’m satisfied that
[JACK-FM does have legs], as long as you pay attention, put
resources into it and have a strong morning show. We are fully
committed to all of that.”
Freshness Factor
It’s Johnson’s contention that, in six months, his
station won’t sound the way it does now. “Listeners and music
tastes will take it in one direction or another,” he predicts.
“We’ll continue to be highly researched and I can even see a
scenario down the road where currents become a vibrant part of
this format. They probably won’t be as [important] as when the
station was [Hot AC], but, depending on the market and
competitive situations, I think currents can play a role on
JACK stations. I don’t know exactly where [KFMB-FM] will end
up going, but I’ve learned a lot since we put [JACK] on the
air.”
Currents might seem to compromise the format’s
novelty, but as Johnson suggests, “There has to be something
[else] to live on [after listeners] get tired of the surprise
of hearing you play [Carl Douglas’ 1974] `Kung Fu Fighting.’
My gut tells me that the Beatles songs and some heavier
Classic Rock music aren’t going to fly long-term. In the short
term, however, all those elements are important to us.”
Former Star afternoon drive personality Greg Sims is
currently helping Johnson with various programming aspects,
but the future on-air status for Simms and on-air partner Sara
Kiani is unclear. “Our vision and intention is they’ll come
back and do an afternoon show with us again,” Johnson remarks.
“I don’t know how soon that will be because the format is
going so well after the initial response from listeners who
wanted to burn down my house for changing Star. Greg wasn’t
sure about this format the first few weeks, but now gets it.
Songs he never thought he’d like suddenly sound fresh, [and
titles] he was tired of playing when we were Hot AC are
popping out.”
When The Honeymoon Is Over
While still in the honeymoon phase, one thing
listeners say that like about San Diego’s JACK-FM is the lack
of chatter. “We have to feel our way around and figure out
when the right time is to re-introduce more personality on the
station,” Johnson maintains. “I think it’s something in our
future, but don’t know if it’s a month from now, three months
from now or six months from now. I don’t think we’ll put
anyone on in middays, nights or weekends anytime soon.”
Similar stations haven’t had any on-air personalities
for the first 12-18 months. “It exists on its buzz and how
different it is,” Johnson explains. “But over a longer period
of time, stations have to evolve into something that’s more
than a collection of songs that don’t traditionally fit
together.”
Farewell To Family
The genuine
family atmosphere Johnson oversees made it especially
difficult for him to part with on-air staffers. “I love these
people,” he states in an unwavering tone. “They’re an
important part of the history of this station and to my life –
both personally and professionally.”
The format
change, however, actually helped facilitate a happy outcome
for veteran midday talent Anita Rush. “She’d been talking with
me for several months about retiring,” Johnson notes. “She was
a little burned out on radio and wanted to be a stay-at-home
mom. I talked her out of resigning a few months ago, but when
this came up, it turned out to be a pretty easy decision for
[all of us].”
Meaningful Moniker
Listener
feedback thus far indicates San Diego’s KFMB-FM is radically
different from its days under the Star banner in presentation,
style and overall sound. “Jeff & Jer listeners have
evaluated the music and are saying they like it better – a lot
better,” Johnson maintains. “The music comes from their era.
It’s broad and diverse and they don’t know what to expect
next. The music elicits more passion than [what Star was
playing].”
A somewhat curious reaction is that many
listener complaints involve the station’s name change and not
what JACK-FM does. “`Star’ represented so many different
things in the community,” Johnson points out. “We even
considered going with this approach without re-naming the
station. We thought about keeping Star and doing a campaign
that we were taking it to the next level. After evaluating
that, I didn’t think we’d be successful in communicating
change and still calling the station Star.”
It’s
possible another San Diego station might entertain thoughts of
picking up the abandoned Star handle, but Johnson cautions,
“It would be very difficult to re-create Star and what it
meant in this market. It wasn’t just a name – it was a
relationship with listeners. Developing that type of
relationship takes a lot of time and patience. Not many
companies will nurture a format. They want to see immediate
results. It would be sad if someone [tried to] take everything
we built and capitalize on it; I’m not sure it would be
successful.”
Same Name – Different Approach
A Southern California JACK-FM cousin is approximately
125 miles away via the Golden State and San Diego Freeways
(the 5 and 405, respectively), as the former “Arrow 93”
(KCBS-FM/Los Angeles) adopted the JACK handle on St. Patrick’s
Day (3-17-2005).
Some similarities are manifest
between the two facilities, but Johnson stresses there’s a
completely different feel to the stations. “[KCBS-FM became
JACK] with an older heavy male audience, while we were much
younger and female-based,” he explains. “Their music has a
heavier edge and is more Classic Rock-based, [whereas] we’re
more Pop and Euro/Alternative. There might be a 25% difference
in titles – if that much. We’re a little more up-tempo,
faster-paced and brighter. The stations may look basically the
same, but if you take it on a sonic listening experience,
there’s a [clear] difference.”
Paying Attention To
Feedback
Even with demanding VP/GM/PD responsibilities
for JACK-FM and being VP/GM of sister San Diego Talk outlet
KFMB-AM, an emotional attachment to Hot AC still exists for
Johnson, the former Alan Burns & Associates consultant.
“There’s a tremendous reason to be concerned [about that
format],” he stresses. “For years, radio stations have done
research projects and asked people what they think of radio.”
In response, listeners declare that stations don’t
play a variety of musical styles, resulting in repetition of
the same collection of songs. “They also say we talk too much
and play too many commercials,” Johnson notes. “When the
[research results] come back, we sit down and rationalize
everything by saying they want to hear variety of the style of
music they like. We think [complaints about repetition] mean
we play bad songs too many times. We interpreted what
listeners were trying to tell us right into sameness and
blandness. If we stepped back sooner and caught ourselves,
it’s possible we wouldn’t have found ourselves in this
situation.”
Commenting on markets where JACK stations
have signed on, Johnson says, “There’s a great difference in
the variety and [lack of] repetition compared to [the market’s
existing] Hot AC. As a result, the Hot AC is left without a
move. You can’t go back and get that variety position when a
JACK station goes against you.”
Sweet Dreams
As he played his own war game, Johnson pondered what
his move would be if JACK surfaced at a San Diego competitor.
“I couldn’t tighten up our playlist, because it would
exaggerate the difference and you can’t loosen the music
because it’s too late to win the variety position. I could
wait and let someone else re-position me or be aggressive and
re-position the station in an offensive mode. For our station,
in this market and at this time, I felt that was the best
approach for our long-term success.”
If Johnson were
at another Hot AC in a similar position, he’d pose the same
questions. “You have to take off the format glasses and ask
how you could make your Hot AC a better station and have it
appeal to listeners in a more compelling way,” he stresses.
“By doing that, it opens you up to many more possibilities.”
The first two weeks after making a format flip that
caught many industry insiders off-guard resulted in Johnson
agonizing and having sleepless nights. “We’ve calmed down and
gotten into a new routine,” he says with assurance. “I’m
sleeping well now.”
Ratings Trends
Here’s
how Midwest Television Hot AC KFMB-FM “Star 100.7”/San Diego
(now “100.7 JACK-FM, Playing What We Want”) performed in the
last five full Arbitron ratings books (12+) against cross-town
Clear Channel Hot AC KMYI.
The high point came in the
important spring sweep (2004) when Star reached a 4.6, but it
fell 33% in the fall book to 3.1.
KFMB-FM and KMYI
ranked sixth and 11th, respectively, in both the Winter 2004
and Winter 2005 books.
Winter 2005
KFMB-FM 3.6
No. 6
KMYI 3.0 No. 11
Univision Regional Mexican
KLNV-FM and Clear Channel News/Talk KOGO-AM (“News Radio 600”)
shared first-place 12+ honors (5.3).
Fall 2004
KFMB-FM 3.1 No. 9
KMYI 3.1 No. 9
KOGO
placed first (5.2).
Summer 2004
KFMB-FM 3.5
No. 6
KMYI 3.2 No. 10
Clear Channel CHR/Pop KHTS
was San Diego’s 12+ leader (5.0).
Spring 2004
KFMB-FM 4.6 No. 4
KMYI 3.4 No. 10
Star was
just 0.2 behind the co-leaders: Jefferson-Pilot Smooth Jazz
KIFM and KHTS (4.8).
Winter 2004
KFMB-FM 4.3
No. 6
KMYI 3.0 No. 11
KOGO led the way with a 5.2.
Inside Radio subscribers can read more about Tracy
Johnson in “The Mike Kinosian Interview: Personalities Inside
Radio” (10-4-2004). And don’t miss this past Monday’s
exclusive profile of TRN-FM “Morning Madhouse” host Mancow.
Last Thursday’s “Inside Story with Mike Kinosian”
addresses cell phone-only households. All these articles are
archived at www.InsideRadio.com.
We hope you have a
safe and happy Memorial Day weekend.
By Mike
Kinosian
Back To Home Page
| |
 | |
|
|
