I know local people who went on Facebook and saw 92.3 NOW FM. They added them thinking it was PRO-FM. It seems that the word NOW didn't make a bit of difference. The only thing they paid attention to was 92.3 Anyone working in radio or otherwise ever experience this? People just being totally oblivious to anything besides the frequency?
-
Get involved.
We want your input!
Apply for Membership and join the conversations about everything related to broadcasting.
After we receive your registration, a moderator will review it. After your registration is approved, you will be permitted to post.
If you use a disposable or false email address, your registration will be rejected.
After your membership is approved, please take a minute to tell us a little bit about yourself.
https://www.radiodiscussions.com/forums/introduce-yourself.1088/
Thanks in advance and have fun!
RadioDiscussions Administrators
Do people pay more attention to the frquency number than the call letters?
- Thread starter Skynet74
- Start date
M
musicman3355
Guest
In that case, the people who added 92.3 NOW instead of 92.3 PRO FM probably got confused on the names since the names sound similar.
On other cases, some people don't care about calls, they just care about the frequency. I heard some people saying "put 102.7" or "put on 97.1". I noticed if the station has an easy to remember branding, they'll say "put B96".
On other cases, some people don't care about calls, they just care about the frequency. I heard some people saying "put 102.7" or "put on 97.1". I noticed if the station has an easy to remember branding, they'll say "put B96".
Call letters or dial position?
You raise an IMPORTANT concern.
But when you ask to-which-do-people-pay-attention, you're asking-the-wrong-question.
Why: They don't.
They're coping with mental clutter.
It's OUR job to cut-through-the-clutter.
Not their job to come-find-us.
I've learned to say this REAL carefully, but here goes: "It's only radio."
They don't need to care much, because we're free.
We're just...there...UNLESS we pop-out-the-speaker.
RE call letters vs. dial position: It's always been an inside-the-box/outside-the-box thing.
Ask 10 people at your radio station (if there are still 10 employees there) to name their buttons.
They'll answer call LETTERS.
Buttonhole 10 people at the mall and ask 'em THEIR dashboard pre-sets, and:
a) they'll answer NUMBERS, and
b) they'll probably stall after 2 or 3 stations.
Now, with streaming audio in the dashboard, and on that-thing-we-used-to-call "a cell phone," stations are smart to mention the domain name at-parity-with their dial position, i.e., "WXXX AM860 AND WXXX DOT COM."
HC
www.HollandCooke.com
http://getonthenet.com/MonsterMash.mp3
You raise an IMPORTANT concern.
But when you ask to-which-do-people-pay-attention, you're asking-the-wrong-question.
Why: They don't.
They're coping with mental clutter.
It's OUR job to cut-through-the-clutter.
Not their job to come-find-us.
I've learned to say this REAL carefully, but here goes: "It's only radio."
They don't need to care much, because we're free.
We're just...there...UNLESS we pop-out-the-speaker.
RE call letters vs. dial position: It's always been an inside-the-box/outside-the-box thing.
Ask 10 people at your radio station (if there are still 10 employees there) to name their buttons.
They'll answer call LETTERS.
Buttonhole 10 people at the mall and ask 'em THEIR dashboard pre-sets, and:
a) they'll answer NUMBERS, and
b) they'll probably stall after 2 or 3 stations.
Now, with streaming audio in the dashboard, and on that-thing-we-used-to-call "a cell phone," stations are smart to mention the domain name at-parity-with their dial position, i.e., "WXXX AM860 AND WXXX DOT COM."
HC
www.HollandCooke.com
http://getonthenet.com/MonsterMash.mp3
Re: Call letters or dial position?
We're nowhere near that point yet. Maybe in select larger markets who have enough staff to make their web presence worth of a visit or two.
G
Holland Cooke said:
We're nowhere near that point yet. Maybe in select larger markets who have enough staff to make their web presence worth of a visit or two.
G
When radio people say "it's the future," it's often "the already"
"Have you driven a Ford lately?"
Pick a small market, a real small one.
Walk into a Ford dealer.
Look at the dashboards you see in those cars on the showroom floor:
http://www.fordvehicles.com/technology/sync/
Among other things, PANDORA IS THERE.
If your station streams, you're there too...unless you don't tell listeners you are.
"Larger markets" is about-the-transmitter.
People are using receivers, of all sorts, not just AM/FM radios.
"Have you driven a Ford lately?"
upstate29651 said:
Pick a small market, a real small one.
Walk into a Ford dealer.
Look at the dashboards you see in those cars on the showroom floor:
http://www.fordvehicles.com/technology/sync/
Among other things, PANDORA IS THERE.
If your station streams, you're there too...unless you don't tell listeners you are.
"Larger markets" is about-the-transmitter.
People are using receivers, of all sorts, not just AM/FM radios.
Non-radio people refer to radio stations by frequency only. Unless the brand is really strong. This is a BIG problem.
I'm witnessing PDs in PPM markets (my own PD included) not mentioning the calls/moniker as often and/or using frequency-only sweepers because "they don't have to mention the calls, just the dial position" mainly because it doesn't have to be written in a diary anymore. This. Drives. Me. CRAZY.
We gotta stop thinking terrestrial. The mobile internet is here, and Holland gave another great example of that with what Ford's doing. Content is the name of the game, and over time audience will all migrate to the internet and you will have to deliver your content to them there. So in preparation for this, radio stations are hurting their brands by focusing on PPM.
Here's an example. "92 Pro-FM" is a brand. Now, I don't listen to Pro-FM, so I don't know if they're doing this or not, but in a PPM market, you'll start to hear stations ID more as "92" or "92.3". To anyone outside Rhode Island, those numbers mean *nothing* (or worse, something else, like in NYC it means *their* 92.3). But the thinking is... listeners don't have to write in a diary anymore, so why push "Pro-FM" anymore?
Because you need to protect your brand!!
I see so many radio stations throwing their branding out the window that it makes me wonder if they even care about competing in the mobile internet space. There are thousands of "92"s out there. But there's only one "92 Pro-FM" or "Pro-FM" out there. How can you differentiate yourself from what's available out there if you're going to condition people to think "92" and not "Pro-FM".
This should be the progression. You continue as "92 Pro-FM". As the majority of your audience moves to the mobile space leaving the terrestrial side (and this will happen), you can phase out the "92" if you like (I wouldn't though for this particular station). But "Pro-FM" should ALWAYS be part of the brand.
KYW here in Philly has already done this. They've pretty much dropped mentions of 1060 on the air and focuses entirely on "KYW". Because that is the heart of the brand. CBS is one of the few media companies that tends to understand these things and anything related to the mobile internet.
Splitting hairs? Perhaps. But we live in a new media world and this stuff does matter. Don't kill your brands! It may be all you have left in some cases!
I'm witnessing PDs in PPM markets (my own PD included) not mentioning the calls/moniker as often and/or using frequency-only sweepers because "they don't have to mention the calls, just the dial position" mainly because it doesn't have to be written in a diary anymore. This. Drives. Me. CRAZY.
We gotta stop thinking terrestrial. The mobile internet is here, and Holland gave another great example of that with what Ford's doing. Content is the name of the game, and over time audience will all migrate to the internet and you will have to deliver your content to them there. So in preparation for this, radio stations are hurting their brands by focusing on PPM.
Here's an example. "92 Pro-FM" is a brand. Now, I don't listen to Pro-FM, so I don't know if they're doing this or not, but in a PPM market, you'll start to hear stations ID more as "92" or "92.3". To anyone outside Rhode Island, those numbers mean *nothing* (or worse, something else, like in NYC it means *their* 92.3). But the thinking is... listeners don't have to write in a diary anymore, so why push "Pro-FM" anymore?
Because you need to protect your brand!!
I see so many radio stations throwing their branding out the window that it makes me wonder if they even care about competing in the mobile internet space. There are thousands of "92"s out there. But there's only one "92 Pro-FM" or "Pro-FM" out there. How can you differentiate yourself from what's available out there if you're going to condition people to think "92" and not "Pro-FM".
This should be the progression. You continue as "92 Pro-FM". As the majority of your audience moves to the mobile space leaving the terrestrial side (and this will happen), you can phase out the "92" if you like (I wouldn't though for this particular station). But "Pro-FM" should ALWAYS be part of the brand.
KYW here in Philly has already done this. They've pretty much dropped mentions of 1060 on the air and focuses entirely on "KYW". Because that is the heart of the brand. CBS is one of the few media companies that tends to understand these things and anything related to the mobile internet.
Splitting hairs? Perhaps. But we live in a new media world and this stuff does matter. Don't kill your brands! It may be all you have left in some cases!
MarcB said:
Uhhh...isn't the brand "KISS". Why is that stupid?
- Status