S
SuperAdventureTeam
Guest
I've always enjoyed radio battles. My favorite one to follow here has been the Buzz vs 99X. After the ratings came out, The Buzz staff got this e-mail. I'm working on getting the one from 99X. It's bound to be an interesting read. Keep checking, when I get it, I'll post it too.
--------
Buzz family, congratulations!!! We have accomplished our short-term goal of beating our direct competitor, 99x. You should be proud to know that you've accomplished something in 15 months that many stations have tried, but few have been able to ever accomplish, topple an entrenched 14 yr. old heritage competitor. And this win was a beat down!!! Heritage was one of the formidable advantage that 99x had at the beginning of this fight, yet we have been able to overcome all their advantages and beat 99x in every key demo and in every daypart. This is a remarkable feat and one you will be able to brag about for years to come in your broadcast career! Be proud! Before I get into specific ratings numbers, I thought you would find it amusing to read what Leslie Fram had to say about us 15 months ago:
"As you know by now, Clear Channel has moved The Buzz to 105.3. The signal is better than 96.7 but is still shaky at best. The approach is louder, harder and one-
dimensional. Clear Channel is touting this as a male-25-34 station but will clearly compete with their own Classic Rock station, 96 Rock.
Hasn't 96 Rock been saying for years that they are 'Atlanta's Rock Station'. So does this mean now they are just 'Atlanta's Rock Station' for old guys?! How does this position
The Regular Guys?!
This switch to a more straight down the middle rock station is a clear victory for 99X. We are now the only true alternative station in Atlanta. 99X will be the only station
where you can hear Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins & Alice In Chains along side new music from Weezer, Audioslave, Beck, Coldplay,
Nine Inch Nails, Queens Of The Stone Age and Garbage!
Now, we move on. 99X is the only true alternative station in Atlanta. Clear Channel will screw this up like they have before. It's been Radio Roulette on that frequency First
it was The Max (80's), Real Radio (talk), Cool (oldies) then Viva. OK, testosterone rock for meatheads. They will voice track this, no opportunity for listeners to call the station,
nothing live. It's narrow too. If you wanna bang your head all day to Metallica, then this is the station for you. The nature of alternative is to win with both men and woman and
we have that opportunity.
Don't forget your roots, where you work and who the real music fans listen to in Atlanta. This should get everyone fired up. The Buzz has been on the air since 2002. They
meant nothing then and they mean nothing now. Be proud to work for the best damn alternative station in the country. You'll hear sweepers on the air now from Audioslave,
Coldplay and Garbage attesting to that fact.
Wear this on your sleeve......................WE ARE 99X!
Leslie"
15 months later and here are the results:
----NUMBERS AND DAYPARTS WERE LISTED HERE----
Every demo, everydaypart....it only got worse when you look at just the men!!! I wonder if Fram still thinks the Buzz move to 105.3 and our rock leaning approach is still a "clear victory" for 99X. If 99x had the opportunity to win with both men and women, why didn't she? Where are all these voice trackers on the Buzz Fram promised? If you are being beaten by a radio station that "means nothing" to Atlanta, what does that say about 99x? I wonder if she's apologized to her staff for completely missing the mark, being out of touch, and not understanding the audience? Does Fram realize that while she may be proud to wear "We Are 99X!" on her sleeve, thanks to her programming over the past 2 years, the rest of Atlanta has said "No Thanks!"
You should be excited that the same PD who missed the mark so badly when 1053 the Buzz launched is still there "not getting it" today. 99x continues to move backwards. Notice, every "New" idea is a regurgitation of something 99x did a decade ago? Members of the "new" morning show have already started leaving. Let's do the opposite, let's continue to push things forward, try to spark our audiences imagination, be dangerous, lets surprise them with new ideas and of course lets continue to be a station with a sense of humor. Look, 99x has to start going back up after this book (Even WGST beat them 12+). But now we have shown that we can win...on this signal and with this team, we can win. The momentum is ours, don't give it back! I don't even think we've reached our full potential yet.
Of course this win deserves a victory lap! We'll throw down next week and I owe each and everyone of you a beer! Thank you for being such an amazing team! Wanna do it again in the Fall!? I'm in!
Congratulations,
Chris
--------------
My favorite line, "Even WGST beat htem 12+". That's hitting a little below the belt.
--------
Buzz family, congratulations!!! We have accomplished our short-term goal of beating our direct competitor, 99x. You should be proud to know that you've accomplished something in 15 months that many stations have tried, but few have been able to ever accomplish, topple an entrenched 14 yr. old heritage competitor. And this win was a beat down!!! Heritage was one of the formidable advantage that 99x had at the beginning of this fight, yet we have been able to overcome all their advantages and beat 99x in every key demo and in every daypart. This is a remarkable feat and one you will be able to brag about for years to come in your broadcast career! Be proud! Before I get into specific ratings numbers, I thought you would find it amusing to read what Leslie Fram had to say about us 15 months ago:
"As you know by now, Clear Channel has moved The Buzz to 105.3. The signal is better than 96.7 but is still shaky at best. The approach is louder, harder and one-
dimensional. Clear Channel is touting this as a male-25-34 station but will clearly compete with their own Classic Rock station, 96 Rock.
Hasn't 96 Rock been saying for years that they are 'Atlanta's Rock Station'. So does this mean now they are just 'Atlanta's Rock Station' for old guys?! How does this position
The Regular Guys?!
This switch to a more straight down the middle rock station is a clear victory for 99X. We are now the only true alternative station in Atlanta. 99X will be the only station
where you can hear Stone Temple Pilots, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, The Smashing Pumpkins & Alice In Chains along side new music from Weezer, Audioslave, Beck, Coldplay,
Nine Inch Nails, Queens Of The Stone Age and Garbage!
Now, we move on. 99X is the only true alternative station in Atlanta. Clear Channel will screw this up like they have before. It's been Radio Roulette on that frequency First
it was The Max (80's), Real Radio (talk), Cool (oldies) then Viva. OK, testosterone rock for meatheads. They will voice track this, no opportunity for listeners to call the station,
nothing live. It's narrow too. If you wanna bang your head all day to Metallica, then this is the station for you. The nature of alternative is to win with both men and woman and
we have that opportunity.
Don't forget your roots, where you work and who the real music fans listen to in Atlanta. This should get everyone fired up. The Buzz has been on the air since 2002. They
meant nothing then and they mean nothing now. Be proud to work for the best damn alternative station in the country. You'll hear sweepers on the air now from Audioslave,
Coldplay and Garbage attesting to that fact.
Wear this on your sleeve......................WE ARE 99X!
Leslie"
15 months later and here are the results:
----NUMBERS AND DAYPARTS WERE LISTED HERE----
Every demo, everydaypart....it only got worse when you look at just the men!!! I wonder if Fram still thinks the Buzz move to 105.3 and our rock leaning approach is still a "clear victory" for 99X. If 99x had the opportunity to win with both men and women, why didn't she? Where are all these voice trackers on the Buzz Fram promised? If you are being beaten by a radio station that "means nothing" to Atlanta, what does that say about 99x? I wonder if she's apologized to her staff for completely missing the mark, being out of touch, and not understanding the audience? Does Fram realize that while she may be proud to wear "We Are 99X!" on her sleeve, thanks to her programming over the past 2 years, the rest of Atlanta has said "No Thanks!"
You should be excited that the same PD who missed the mark so badly when 1053 the Buzz launched is still there "not getting it" today. 99x continues to move backwards. Notice, every "New" idea is a regurgitation of something 99x did a decade ago? Members of the "new" morning show have already started leaving. Let's do the opposite, let's continue to push things forward, try to spark our audiences imagination, be dangerous, lets surprise them with new ideas and of course lets continue to be a station with a sense of humor. Look, 99x has to start going back up after this book (Even WGST beat them 12+). But now we have shown that we can win...on this signal and with this team, we can win. The momentum is ours, don't give it back! I don't even think we've reached our full potential yet.
Of course this win deserves a victory lap! We'll throw down next week and I owe each and everyone of you a beer! Thank you for being such an amazing team! Wanna do it again in the Fall!? I'm in!
Congratulations,
Chris
--------------
My favorite line, "Even WGST beat htem 12+". That's hitting a little below the belt.