COOL 1-0-WHAT?

[Runrigger]

I think it's a 2 again
By the way, Kevin Redding mornings is a good move but he's not the only new addition to the station. I believe Eddie Vedder & the bunch are now regulars. That one last flannel shirt I bought in 1992 that I was going to use on a scarecrow this year will have to stay in the closet. Doesn't this make me feel old & grungy.

 

[Kenny Atkinson]

I am so glad you brought this up.I was listening to Ron Dwyer oldies show the other night and heard him say "COOL 102". I had nt listened in a while and just thought he was doing his own thing.Then I heard a legal saying "102". I was going to post it but I forgot.
Cool 102 sounds a hell of a lot better than Cool 101.9.

Cool used to be a favorite of mine but B101 sounds alot like them now leaving out the Cheryl Crow tunes.

grammer police go a head........

 

[wknd92]

I am so glad you brought this up.I was listening to Ron Dwyer oldies show the other night and heard him say "COOL 102". I had nt listened in a while and just thought he was doing his own thing.Then I heard a legal saying "102". I was going to post it but I forgot.
Cool 102 sounds a hell of a lot better than Cool 101.9.

Cool used to be a favorite of mine but B101 sounds alot like them now leaving out the Cheryl Crow tunes.

grammer police go a head........

Oh, where to start! ;D
After a year straight of Coast and Lite overhead at work, the 3 weeks we had of the B around Thanksgiving when both Coast and Lite went X-mas has made me miss the poor girl. Thank god for the iPod because I am ready to take a chair to the stereo closet to eliminate our angst.

 

[aqualung]

I'm not sure I understand what you said wknd92. Who's the poor girl? Anyway I don't see that Cool and B are even the same format. Maybe they're both classic hits but B is more top 40 gold that's heavier on rock hits but still top 40 gold. I hear Sade on B. Cool leans more straight classic rock without the Ozzy, Rush and such. ROR in Boston is classic hits too but they'll play KC and The Sunshine Band like B. Every classic station has a different interpretation I guess but if Cool is adding Pearl Jam they're obviously getting into the 90's and going for some younger listeners.

 

[Kenny Atkinson]

ROR in Boston is classic hits too but they'll play KC and The Sunshine Band like B. Every classic station has a different interpretation I guess but if Cool is adding Pearl Jam they're obviously getting into the 90's and going for some younger listeners.

B101 doesn't play KC and the Sunshine band in regular Dayparts.You may hear it during the 70's at 7 but that's it.
The only disco they play is Barry White,Thelma Houston's "Don't leave me this way and a Bee Gee's tune.That's about it.Disco wise.

 

[TopOfThePops]

With the fall book about to start. I guess management finally got the message that more people know the
station as "Cool-102" not Cool-101.9. And every bit of diary credit helps. Some of the imaging they are running still
says Cool-101.9. Hopefully that will be corrected. They also need to bring back Johnny Rock to nights.
Song,jingle,song,jingle, commercial. Does not fit.. I also think they tweeked the music too.

 

[wknd92]

The girl is the radio station, calling it a female like a ship seeing a smost of them target women anyways.

I agree that Cool and B have different niches and was lamenting the fact that we can't get a good enough signal in Lincoln for Cool as we might be able to have that on. Coast, Lite, B and Cool have pretty similar "Golds" that they play and as far as music being tweaked, I wouldn't be surprised if all of them had music tests done within the last couple of months in advance of the book opening 9/20. I really haven't noticed too much new on Lite (a couple of songs sprinkled in the past week or so) and have stopped listening to Coast for my sanity sake

 

[faderraider]

I think it was our rantings on radio info that got them to change back to COOL 102 ( in ron dwyers best bass sound).....lol

 

[BostonRandy]

I think it was our rantings on radio info that got them to change back to COOL 102 ( in ron dwyers best bass sound).....lol

Exactly. I'm sure that Allison and Steve check the message boards before making any command decisions involving the Qantum/Cape Cod cluster.

 

[Skynet74]

One thing is clear. Management at the station had to admit to themselves that everyone here was right. Otherwise they wouldn't have changed it back.

 

[MoLarryMoLarry]

agreed. there are some smart people who post here, and there are some Qantum people who read here as well. Not saying our brilliant posts did the job, but you have to admit, if we're bitching about it, there certainly may have been some rumblings internally as well.

and good move by qantum flipping Kat and Jen Arra in the middays slots at COD and Cool.

 

[Runrigger]

I think at one point Randy had mentioned they had a consultant It may even be the powers that be at the station were never completely sold on the change to Cool 101.9 if the suggestion came from a consultant then decided to revert back to Cool 102. They're calling themselves the all new Cool 102 & saying they're redefining what's cool. I assume that refers to the music. The Cool 500 Memorial Day Weekend countdown list is off their website now, but besides Pearl Jam there were artists like Dishwalla, Semisonic, Stone Temple Pilots, & Green Day & I'm not sure I even saw much 60s music on the list. Combine the songs on the list with others they actually do play (some still from the 60s) & you've got a pretty big playlist.

On consultants, frankly, I used to think an outside opinion was a good thing but I'm not sure how much gut feeling they bring into anything. To have any kind of gut feeling or even feel for the market I really believe you have to live with the station.

 

[MoLarryMoLarry]

that's why they're called "insultants" and not consultants.

 

[PoonJuice6969]

It was a consultant that saved WCOD from dropping into the ratings cellar. The Qauntum OM hired his clueless buddy to program the station and the ratings immediately began to tank. Quentam finally grew a brain and hired a consultant to turn the ratings around. Consultants are a must-have in small-markets where OMs and PDs don't know how to do their jobs.

 

[MoLarryMoLarry]

and therein lies the problem - why spend the money on an insultant, when you can put that money toward hiring an OM and/or PD who DO know how to do their job and who DO understand both format and market strategy? Personally, I dont think COD ever needed a consultant - and I'm talking about when you and Cheryl were on the morning show - you already had the talented people in place with enough experience to program and market the station by yourselves.

I understand consultancy in large markets - its like having an offensive coordinator call the plays instead of the quarterback (PD) because the game has changed so much that the QB can barely read the defense, let alone call all the plays. but in a small market like Cape Cod? If you're a PD or OM in that market who cant figure it out and make it work year round, you shouldnt be in the chair at all.

Dont mean to insult anyone reading this, but programming in the cape cod market is not that hard. If consultants in that market are so smart and important, why aren't the stations they consult reporting their playlists to the trades so they can be recognized as a valuable asset to the format regionally and nationally? First consultant rule of thumb is to establish relationships within the industry to maximize the opportunities to promote and market the station thru non-traditional sources of revenue. And to do that, you need financial support from labels and promoters and music management groups. Formating the playlist can be done by anyone sitting in front of Selector and anyone who hires a consultant to do that is wasting their money and time.

 

[wknd92]

and therein lies the problem - why spend the money on an insultant, when you can put that money toward hiring an OM and/or PD who DO know how to do their job and who DO understand both format and market strategy? Personally, I dont think COD ever needed a consultant - and I'm talking about when you and Cheryl were on the morning show - you already had the talented people in place with enough experience to program and market the station by yourselves.

I understand consultancy in large markets - its like having an offensive coordinator call the plays instead of the quarterback (PD) because the game has changed so much that the QB can barely read the defense, let alone call all the plays. but in a small market like Cape Cod? If you're a PD or OM in that market who cant figure it out and make it work year round, you shouldnt be in the chair at all.

Dont mean to insult anyone reading this, but programming in the cape cod market is not that hard. If consultants in that market are so smart and important, why aren't the stations they consult reporting their playlists to the trades so they can be recognized as a valuable asset to the format regionally and nationally? First consultant rule of thumb is to establish relationships within the industry to maximize the opportunities to promote and market the station thru non-traditional sources of revenue. And to do that, you need financial support from labels and promoters and music management groups. Formating the playlist can be done by anyone sitting in front of Selector and anyone who hires a consultant to do that is wasting their money and time.

Wow Molarry nailing it on the head! My problem over the last 15 years re PIXY and COD is that they catered to the "Summer folk" and ignore the year round listeners. The summer book was the end all/beat all for them...at leats from what i could fathom about their habits as they would pour all and any promotions/research into the summer book. Granted, the audience was bigger; but skewed the rest of the year because of it.

I can remember PIXY hosting Nuno Bettencourt at a local guitar store and if I remember correctly (was the about a month before "the season") had about 30 people show up and 20 of them were regulars of the store anyway looking to pick up strings/picks etc during the time he was there...and the only reason that Nuno was going to be there is that he knew someone who owned the store in the first place and the PIXY ad rep actually saw the big picture in front of him and glommed on to the situation...(this would have been early to mid 90's just as Extreme was hitting (More than words had just hit the charts, Get the Funk Out was their biggest hit of the time). I had just seen them at the Living Room over at their old place at the Foundry (damn, I miss that place!) and my cousin's ex husband relayed the story to me about the appearance (lived in Plymouth at the time) and then got the ad exec end of it a number of years later

 

[BostonRandy]

wknd92:

With all due respect, I have to disagree with your perception of catering to the "summer folks" on the Cape as it pertains to WCIB & WPXC.

Having worked there for 4 years and being an integral part of the operation, I can tell you, in no uncertain terms, that your assessment is incorrect. The only difference in what you, as a listener, heard during the summer was a heavier spot load from May through September. The programming, imaging, presentation and branding did not change to appease visitors and tourists. The number 1 priority for all of the Qantum (previously Makkay) stations was the Cape & Islands' year-round residents and radio consumers.

 

[wknd92]

wknd92:

With all due respect, I have to disagree with your perception of catering to the "summer folks" on the Cape as it pertains to WCIB & WPXC.

Having worked there for 4 years and being an integral part of the operation, I can tell you, in no uncertain terms, that your assessment is incorrect. The only difference in what you, as a listener, heard during the summer was a heavier spot load from May through September. The programming, imaging, presentation and branding did not change to appease visitors and tourists. The number 1 priority for all of the Qantum (previously Makkay) stations was the Cape & Islands' year-round residents and radio consumers.

That may have been the goal, Randy; but the impression/perception that came off in listening to the station to me didn't meet that goal, in my opinion. And that where the failure stands out, is if a listener percieves that, then the plan is a failure as the appearance of anything else leads to that percieved slight. I understand the inside info you share goes to prove otherwise and that was not the working goal of the station; but that was my perception of the stations when I heard them during the different seasons. The summer season always seemed to have more energy, that is all

 

[PoonJuice6969]

Uhhhh.......I didn't, or don't, do a morning show on the Cape. I'm never awake to hear Cheryl on 'QRC. The Rose, Ocean, and QRC do consistantly well in the ratings and they're not consulted. Their programmer's obviously have a clue. In fact...isn't 'COD the only consulted station in the market? 'COD is basically a Hot AC....a format that doesn't require a degree in rocket surgery to program.