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December Ratings Hartford

The latest Hartford Ratings came out.

Down: 100.5 WRCH, 1080 WTIC (AM), 93.7 WZMX, 102.9 WDRC-FM, 104.1 WMRQ, 97.1/98.5/99.5 Bomba Radio, 97.9 WUCS, 1360/103.3/1470 WDRC (AM),

Up: 96.5 WTIC-FM, 90.5 WNPR, 95.7 WKSS, 92.5 WWYZ, 105.9 WHCN, 101.3 WKCI,

Same: 88.5 WFCR, 96.1/990 WNTY, 100.9/1410 WPOP

Full Numbers: Nielsen Audio Ratings
Whats been going on to 102.9 the whale. Going Down every book lately
 
They have a strong signal up north, so I imagine they do well.
My guess is that they do the same 1.0-2.0 numbers that KC-101 does. Hartford has its own classic rock station (and a rock-leaning classic hits station as well) that are strongly Hartford-branded and carry Hartford/Springfield-area advertising, with very little from New Haven County. WPLR is a New Haven institution and everything about its presentation screams "New Haven." Just because WPLR has a better-than-average out-of-market signal into Hartford doesn't mean Hartford people want to seek it out on their receivers and listen to it.
 
My guess is that they do the same 1.0-2.0 numbers that KC-101 does. Hartford has its own classic rock station (and a rock-leaning classic hits station as well) that are strongly Hartford-branded and carry Hartford/Springfield-area advertising, with very little from New Haven County. WPLR is a New Haven institution and everything about its presentation screams "New Haven." Just because WPLR has a better-than-average out-of-market signal into Hartford doesn't mean Hartford people want to seek it out on their receivers and listen to it.
Honestly I don't think people care where the ads are from as long as the music is good. Most people probably tune out the ads anyways. How many radio ads do you remember when you are listening? Besides the Kia Trump ones,
 
Honestly I don't think people care where the ads are from as long as the music is good. Most people probably tune out the ads anyways. How many radio ads do you remember when you are listening? Besides the Kia Trump ones,
It's all in the subconscious. That's how advertising works. You hear the name of an area business day after day on a radio station, it's in the back of your mind when you need whatever item or service that business offers. And if you live in, say, Glastonbury, aren't you more likely to remember a store or gym or dealership in your own town or Wethersfield or Cromwell when the time comes to shop and buy than one in Milford or Branford?

Remember Hartford listeners' resistance when The Whale launched with a morning show that originated in New Haven? They didn't give a crap what an institution that show was at 'PLR because they hadn't been listening to 'PLR. Not only weren't the voices relevant to them, the stuff they talked about on-air was irrelevant and most of the ads were, too. (And no, most people stay tuned during the ads, especially when the jock says ZZ Top or Aerosmith or Springsteen is up next or that "you're only minutes away from 10 in a row.")
 
It's all in the subconscious. That's how advertising works. You hear the name of an area business day after day on a radio station, it's in the back of your mind when you need whatever item or service that business offers. And if you live in, say, Glastonbury, aren't you more likely to remember a store or gym or dealership in your own town or Wethersfield or Cromwell when the time comes to shop and buy than one in Milford or Branford?

Remember Hartford listeners' resistance when The Whale launched with a morning show that originated in New Haven? They didn't give a crap what an institution that show was at 'PLR because they hadn't been listening to 'PLR. Not only weren't the voices relevant to them, the stuff they talked about on-air was irrelevant and most of the ads were, too. (And no, most people stay tuned during the ads, especially when the jock says ZZ Top or Aerosmith or Springsteen is up next or that "you're only minutes away from 10 in a row.")
I see plenty of ads on TV and I will never buy any of the products they are selling. Its the same with radio. They can sell what ever they want, I'm not buying a new car any time soon.
 
I see plenty of ads on TV and I will never buy any of the products they are selling. Its the same with radio. They can sell what ever they want, I'm not buying a new car any time soon.
Car manufacturers and dealers know that. They advertise specifically for the small percentage of listeners who are thinking about a new car and, then, thinking about a particular kind of car in a specific price range.

It's no different than advertising any specific product. Advertisers know that any mass audience is going to be overwhelmingly populated with people who are either non-users or who are currently not in need of a product or service.

Specifically, I hear and see lots of ads for Ford vehicles. I'd never, ever, consider any of them. But there are others who will be moderately interested and might ad a Ford product to their checklist due to ads, and others who are Ford partisans who might be persuaded by a specific offer to go and see a car or truck.

And some ads are intended to maintain market share. Most Coca-Cola ads are aimed at keeping the cattle in the herd so they do not stray off somewhere else.

There is a lot of research and science behind major ad campaigns.
 
I wonder how WPLR does in Hartford I know they aren't listed. But I notice WKCI is now listed being they are from New Haven
In a newer Nielsen policy, non-subscribers are not listed in the public releases no mater how well they do in the numbers.
 
Car manufacturers and dealers know that. They advertise specifically for the small percentage of listeners who are thinking about a new car and, then, thinking about a particular kind of car in a specific price range.

It's no different than advertising any specific product. Advertisers know that any mass audience is going to be overwhelmingly populated with people who are either non-users or who are currently not in need of a product or service.

Specifically, I hear and see lots of ads for Ford vehicles. I'd never, ever, consider any of them. But there are others who will be moderately interested and might ad a Ford product to their checklist due to ads, and others who are Ford partisans who might be persuaded by a specific offer to go and see a car or truck.

And some ads are intended to maintain market share. Most Coca-Cola ads are aimed at keeping the cattle in the herd so they do not stray off somewhere else.

There is a lot of research and science behind major ad campaigns.
How many local ad buys do stations get vs national. If a station has a 50,000 watt signal, why would they not try to advertise to everyone who can hear it. Let's say you know people listen 200 miles away. Why not target them as well. What's the point of having such a large pattern if you are not targeting everyone in it.
 
It's all in the subconscious. That's how advertising works. You hear the name of an area business day after day on a radio station, it's in the back of your mind when you need whatever item or service that business offers. And if you live in, say, Glastonbury, aren't you more likely to remember a store or gym or dealership in your own town or Wethersfield or Cromwell when the time comes to shop and buy than one in Milford or Branford?
Spot on. It's just like the advertising inserts in the newspapers- most people don't actually look at them in depth, but they still have to see the name of the business whenever they take it out and throw it away and that makes it effective enough because the name sticks in their head. The real specifics of the ads don't matter that much, it's all about just getting people to buy from a place they've heard of.

As a more educated listener who knows the ins and outs of all the local stations and when they usually go to commercial break, I am usually able to tune out the commercials. When a more casual listener is listening in the car or in an office/store though, they don't always pay that much attention and will typically hear at least some of the ads before they decide to switch over to a different station. Some stores and restaurants have a certain station playing all day long, so when a customer is waiting in line they have no choice but to hear whatever is playing be it music or commercials.
 
Spot on. It's just like the advertising inserts in the newspapers- most people don't actually look at them in depth, but they still have to see the name of the business whenever they take it out and throw it away and that makes it effective enough because the name sticks in their head. The real specifics of the ads don't matter that much, it's all about just getting people to buy from a place they've heard of.

The best print advertising around, IMO, are those menus every new pizza place that opens sends out in the mail. I always open them to see if the new pizzeria is offering anything different or unusual, or if it has better prices on the items I usually order than my usual go-to place. I'd say I give at least half of them a try. As for newspaper supermarket ads, well, as a regular Aldi shopper, I know that Stop & Shop and ShopRite aren't going to be beating them on price (or quality, for that matter), so I don't usually look at those stores' inserts.
 
If a station has a 50,000 watt signal, why would they not try to advertise to everyone who can hear it. Let's say you know people listen 200 miles away. Why not target them as well. What's the point of having such a large pattern if you are not targeting everyone in it.
The problem is the trade area of any given business, combined with the concentration of listeners for a given radio station. Take WTIC-FM. In theory, they have a listenable signal in the whole state of Connecticut along with slivers of Mass., R.I. and NY. But we would expect the wide majority of its listening to be in Hartford, Bristol, Waterbury and other nearby cities, where the signal is the strongest. The theoretical listening around the periphery of Connecticut does not generally pan out.

What is the trade area of a golf course in Danbury? Or a Chinese restaurant in Waterbury? If either of those businesses were to buy ad time on WTIC-FM, would they get a return on their money? It's hard to make that case.

Certainly the Chinese restaurant will get swamped out by all the other choices. Most restaurants are pretty interchangeable, and it would be hard to drive traffic to a single restaurant in a cost effective manner via broadcast. I've seen reports that the trade area of most restaurants in urbanized areas is about 3 miles. The advertising story changes if it's a chain of restaurants with 10 or 20 locations in the market, because it doesn't take a huge number of units to blanket a metro area with nearby choices.

The golf course is something of a different story. A golf course can have a significant trade area, although Connecticut has hundreds of golf courses. But there is also a problem of demographics. A golf course might be better suited to advertise on WTIC 1080 instead of a music station, because dedicated golfers tend to be older and male.

The businesses that work best for broadcast advertising are those that essentially everyone has a need for (autos, furniture, insurance, apparel) and which is readily accessible to the masses in the market where the advertising is placed.
 
How many radio ads do you remember when you are listening? Besides the Kia Trump ones
Some of the old vintage commercials on Rich Appel's show are cool to listen to. Those commercials are actually part of the show though.

There was one for State Farm recently where they rewrote the lyrics to Steal My Sunshine....
 
The best print advertising around, IMO, are those menus every new pizza place that opens sends out in the mail. I always open them to see if the new pizzeria is offering anything different or unusual, or if it has better prices on the items I usually order than my usual go-to place. I'd say I give at least half of them a try. As for newspaper supermarket ads, well, as a regular Aldi shopper, I know that Stop & Shop and ShopRite aren't going to be beating them on price (or quality, for that matter), so I don't usually look at those stores' inserts.
Every different pizzeria is unique in some way and while Frank Pepe's has deservedly taken the crown as best in CT for years, there are always so many other new places opening that are worth trying. Grocery shopping at a place like ALDI may be more cost effective, but it also saves me time to go to S&S vs anywhere else because I live right down the street from the local Stop and Shop. When I'm looking for more specialty items that only a place like Highland Park Market or Trader Joe's may carry, then I make a separate run there.
 
Whats been going on to 102.9 the whale. Going Down every book lately
One song The Whale played recently that I didn't expect to hear was Hello It's Me by Todd Rundgren. Whether that song qualifies as classic rock or pop is debatable, but I was surprised they played it because it's a slower tempo song from the early 70s and they usually go for more well known, harder classic rock songs from the late 70s and 80s.
 
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