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Christmas in July? Viable format switch? Will anyone tune in? Will advertisers buy?

M

Mikey Radio

I've heard of malls, department stores and even auto dealerships having "Christmas in July" sales in the past, especially during slow years when sales were down and they had no solid promotions between July 4th and Labor Day to try and push inventory. However, I heard a lower-rated AC station advertising they'd be playing patriotic music for a few days ahead of and during the July 4th holiday. I tuned in a few times; it was mostly patriotic music, orchestras playing Sousa marches, and most any Top 40 tune from the 80s and newer that mentioned "summer" or "vacation" or "America" in the title. Lee Greenwood, Neil Diamond, etc.

The next day, July 5th, they started playing Christmas music and announced it was now "Christmas in July" on their station, for the remainder of the month. My fingers couldn't reach the radio quickly enough to switch it off! I know stations have been playing holiday music earlier and earlier, but IMO the entire month of July is pushing it, especially when it's sweltering hot outside and many are thinking of vacations, beaches, swimming pools, picnics and the like. Even if they play the occasional sentimental tune that may normally invoke holiday thoughts, I'm not sure it has that effect in July.

Are any other stations doing this, or is this a programmer trying something out of the box to see if it works? The station is an independent so I'm not sure what if any research they may have done or if they're just tossing this against the proverbial wall to see if it sticks?
 
I've heard of stations doing that for an hour, or maybe an entire air shift. I'd imagine some have tried it for a day, but four weeks of ho-ho in mid-summer is running a joke right into the ground.
 
CTListener said:
I've heard of stations doing that for an hour, or maybe an entire air shift. I'd imagine some have tried it for a day, but four weeks of ho-ho in mid-summer is running a joke right into the ground.
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Yeahhhhh, as a gag/bit, sure. Beyond a couple of songs scattered in as the obvious joke, I can't fathom how that benefits anyone, format flips notwithstanding.

But...I also still am baffled that Christmas music weekends seemingly worked for some stations in the early weeks of COVID. Yeah, yeah, I get the weird times we were living in, but the yearning for "normalcy" didn't mesh, to me, with playing Christmas songs for entire weekends in spring. If anything, it was a reminder of just how abnormal things were.

Many times, I can easily wrap my head around things that don't work for me on a personal level and understand the perspective from an objective standpoint. That is just one where I openly admit I fail to grasp it.
 
CTListener said:
Anyone ever tried a day/week/month of summer songs in January?
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Might work. especially in the northeast US, where many are happy to see the first snow fall as they know the holidays are coming and have fond memories of winter, sled riding, skiiing, playing in the snow and family gatherings..But most I know are tired of the snow and cold temperatures by late Jan/early Feb and are looking forward to spring and summer.
 
One day each July, the Positive Life Radio network in eastern WA goes to Christmas music as the foreground for a 'Christmas in July' food drive. I've also seen AC stations in Des Moines and Boise flip to Christmas for either a weekend or on a certain day in July (and no, not July 4th).
 
I don't know...someone would have to be pretty desperate to run Christmas music in Summer on something other than an HD-2/whatever channel, change back until November, then do it again. It might seem like a quick shot in the arm, but just like becoming an opioid addict, will eventually kill you.
 
There are people in this country who leave their Christmas trees, decorations and Santas up all year long. I think I've seen some of them on TLC reality shows. To them, Christmas is 'comforting'. And so is Andy Williams, Mariah Carey, and Ray Conniff.
 
crainbebo said:
There are people in this country who leave their Christmas trees, decorations and Santas up all year long. I think I've seen some of them on TLC reality shows. To them, Christmas is 'comforting'. And so is Andy Williams, Mariah Carey, and Ray Conniff.
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I can listen to Andy Williams and Ray Conniff all year, and I do. They sing about other topics. Ray, to my knowledge, just leads the singers.

I don't want to hear Mariah Carey even at Christmas.
 
crainbebo said:
There are people in this country who leave their Christmas trees, decorations and Santas up all year long. I think I've seen some of them on TLC reality shows. To them, Christmas is 'comforting'. And so is Andy Williams, Mariah Carey, and Ray Conniff.
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I was in John O'Groats, Scotland, a couple weeks ago (not a destination I'd recommend, I was early for a ferry) and stumbled across an all-year-round Christmas decoration store.

As for summer tunes, is it not the radio law that all stations must play the frankly awful Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince once the temperature reaches a certain threshold?

This, however, smells of a stunting station to me.
 
Miss Tuned said:
I was in John O'Groats, Scotland, a couple weeks ago (not a destination I'd recommend, I was early for a ferry) and stumbled across an all-year-round Christmas decoration store.

As for summer tunes, is it not the radio law that all stations must play the frankly awful Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince once the temperature reaches a certain threshold?

This, however, smells of a stunting station to me.
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I love Summertime by DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince
 
Miss Tuned said:
I was in John O'Groats, Scotland, a couple weeks ago (not a destination I'd recommend, I was early for a ferry) and stumbled across an all-year-round Christmas decoration store.
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Myrtle Beach used to have one. I'm not sure it still does.

The Gay Dolphin used to have a Christmas section. After all, if you only go to the beach in the summer, why not go to the store that has everything for your Christmas stuff?
 
Greenville / Spartanburg has Audacy’s WSPA-FM, an AC which normally goes all Christmas for a weekend in July, then again in September after Labor Day. They are generally among the first stations in the country to make the switch very early in November, and run the format up to New Years.

They used to just run it from the Friday of the second week in November or so to 12/25 but now it seems to be more and more each year.
 
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