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Kool 98.3 and WIBG-FM

O

observer2

If I were Longport Media...

Consider the legacy of the WIBG 990 call letters (most late 1950s and the 1960s) and that is reflected in the music of the current WIBG-FM at 94.3.

On the other hand, consider where a lot of the WIBG-AM listeners, especially the younger ones, now living full or part-time in the Atlantic and Cape May County areas are more likely to find their music, and I think that answer is Kool 98.3. I would suggest that the WIBG brand might add a bit of oh-wow factor to the audience listening to Kool, and that it has already done all it can do with respect to 94.3. At a certain price, it might be worth Longport trying to obtain the calls/branding. To a limited extent this could also be true with the WFIL brand, which is pretty dormant on Salem's religious talk station.

I know that the southern shore is also influenced culturally by New York, but I think with respect to radio, that is much less true.

I know there's a lot of room for disagreement on this one, but I'm interested to hear either way.
 
WIBG,for now, is continuing to go in the "Oldies" direction whereas "Kool" has moved into a "classic hits" mode and sometimes sounds, musically, just short of a classic rocker. The station should probably shed the "Kool" moniker since it hints so strongly of an oldies station..which it is not.

As far as the value if the WFIL or WIBG call letters, I'd say they are doubtful.. First, virtually no one cares about what WIBG anf WFIL used to be. It's too far down the road and people really don't care about radio stations any more. Only radio geeks, like oursleves, care about this stuff..it's more academic than anything else. There are no "magic" call letters that will draw listeners. Anyone old enoigh to remember WIBG and WFIL is statitically "dead" in the eyes of marketers and agenices. What has to be done is stay local and stay relevant to the target audience in the face of serious challenges from other media.
 
Is it me, or is it difficult hearing a station adopting the "Kool" moniker long associated with oldies stations, playing 80's songs like "Our House" and "Come On Eileen," as 98.3 did yesterday?
 
WIBBAGE FM

We respectfully disagree with Pete on the blog. Quite to the contrary.
the vast number of former Philadelphians who populate Atlantic, Cape May and Cumberland Counties know WIBBAGE and our registered trademark. As a matter of fact, with thousands of calls and e-mails each week, it is clear that Veteran PD has little clue as to what legacy radio calls are. And, under the leadership of our General Manager Jerry Beebe, the station's P1's and core have grown exponentially. Couple that with strong local news and primary community of license coverage, and our excellent staff of professionals, and an entirely new generation of listeners whose parents grew up with WIBBAGE are solidly in this camp.

Sure there are those who don't know WIBBAGE, but they catch on quickly
and the retro component of our station remains great ear-candy.

Should also remind you that perhaps agencies overlook the 45+ crowd, they are the ones with spendable income. Those yields came in less than a month and from no other external promotion than at WIBBAGE 94.3 That is reaffirmed by a cruise promotion that yielded over 150 patrons participating at nearly $2,000 each.

That's a far cry from the HotAC crowd of 22 year old beer drinkers that can't find work. Today there remains still. only one WIBBAGE. There is little identity for oldies stations who are trying to placate their audience by moving into 80'd and 90's music and mixing the two. Sounds like trying to mix oil and water.
 
DToTheJ said:
Is it me, or is it difficult hearing a station adopting the "Kool" moniker long associated with oldies stations, playing 80's songs like "Our House" and "Come On Eileen," as 98.3 did yesterday?
Click to expand...

It's you. :)
 
I turned 60 this year. I am at the LOWER end of the age demo that remembers WIBBBAGE.

Yes, me and those old 990 listeners still make purchases. But we don't buy many new appliances. We have probably purchased our last Buick (although my Dad bought one when he was in his 70's). Oh yes, we do take crusies, but that's because we are retired.

Back when the Phillies were on 990, it was already WZZD. Like Imus said when WCBS-FM was killed, "you can't keep playing 'in the still of the night' forever."

It needs to be kept in mind also that WIBG did not play that many oldies. They played the hits. The current Top 40 hits. And the oldies they played were not more than 10 years old. To be locked into 50 years ago is a sinfull way to remember that great station.
 
The point about purchases is on the mark. And though perhaps just a quip, the line about purchasing the last Buick is a key reason the advertising focus is not on that demo: brand preferences. On average (we all know there are anecdotal exceptions, but let's be realistic here) brand preferences are well established by that point, and one key purpose of advertising is to convince the audience that brand x is better than brand y. But if one is of the mindset that "I've always bought a brand x car and I'm going to keep doing that for however long I buy cars," then hitting that listener with advertising for brand y is a waste.
 
Can't argue about the demo likely listening to the current WIBG-FM.

98.3's should be younger, but, in many cases, still old enough to remember classic Top 40 radio, even if they don't want to hear a steady diet of 1957-65.

Perhaps it's simply been too long for folks 40 to 50 years old to care WFIL and WIBG, even if they remember them. Initially I did not think so.

Regardless 98.3 does seem mislabeled as "KOOL" which will serve to alienate younger listeners in the same way that "Oldies" branding has with other stations.

98.3 is much less an oldies station than it once was and much more of a classic hits station, even though Jerry Blavat's show is still featured.
 
inhomer....please. When you have placed yourself in as many seats and hours at NJBA, NAB, & RAB sales seminars as I have for the past quarter century, write more on the psychology of boomers and buying trends of 50-65 year olds. Until then, let me set the record STRAIGHT. That is NONSENSE. I work for neither station mentioned here, but must defend their audience as viable and valuable. Boomers have drawbacks, true. All demos do. But not switching brands? If I buy a new HDTV, do you think I get a Union-made, hand-wired, 'the quality goes in before the name goes on" crafted in Chicago Zenith? No, Overseas crap (using Zenith HDTV patents). My current car is an import because Chevrolet would not back the warranty that expired by 53 miles when it blew a head gasket. There goes my loyalty. But YOU say I won't switch brands? I'm ready for a new dishwasher...no more Frigidaire because they've moved to Mexico and the quality is poor. Mine's 4 years old and needs to be replaced...again. Next one will be a GE (not because of 'brand' beaause it's American made in KY). There, I switched brands. AND my retailer may switch from whichever will throw in free delivery, period. I shop. BTW, my telephone does not have a cord or rotary dial either.

That 'story' of older demos being brand loyal and set in their ways was lore from NY 6th Avenue 'Mad Men' Ad Agencies in the 1960's, and MAY have been true of my grandparents and parents. But certainly not Boomers. Got news for ya...if Coke's on sale for 99 cents this week, and Pepsi is $1.49...we drink Coke. If it's reversed next week, we drink Pepsi! Do you think we old geezer Boomers still drive out of our way for Atlantic Red Ball Service too? Well meaning people write these things, but it's an old wives tale...stop telling it. It's simply not true.
 
amfmsw...could not agree with you more. Those demo stats are for our father's and grandfather's generation, not ours. What was true in the 60s and 80s is not true today. Who the heck are trading their Lincolns for Lexus, their Whirlpools for LGs, and NBC Nightly News for the Fox News Channel?? People who Madison Avenue thinks are stuck in the past! Do they think we don't do research on the Internet, read consumer magazines, and buy things like I-Phones, I-Pads, and the like??
 
In the short term markets are subject to irrationality, in the long term they correct themselves.

There is a reason that otherwise outdated brands have been preserved or revived or licensed: "Westinghouse" appliances (shhh, it's really an entertainment company now), "Emerson" and "RCA" stereo equipment (not much connection with the original), the Ford "Five Hundred" of a few years ago (smaller, techier, less pleather), and the upcoming Chevy "Caprice" (fewer fleur-de-lis throughout). None of these "brands" bear much in common with the originals, but it's pretty clear why they are revived.

Does this mean that a 65 year old must be assumed to be a blindly-brand-loyal luddite (previous two posts), or that a 22 year old is by nature a beer swilling slob (WIBG post)? No, that's not fair or valid on an individual basis, and it's a pretty extreme (and obnoxious) way of making a point regardless. But, if there weren't buying patterns to analyze, there would be no effective advertising, and no radio.

We will see if the revival of "Oldies 103.3"KLOU in St. Louis or "Oldies 95.7" KJR in Seattle pay off in the long run. I can't say that I could predict that answer. But even those stations do not play the same music they would have in 1995, and not the same music as WIBG or WVLT now. They are in fact, more like 98.3. And my original post questions how 98.3 ought to be branded, and to some extent whether it succeeds.
 
Listening to those 2 stations...the lights are on, but nobody's home. At least the local stations have humans at the board most hours. And I can't FATHOM why they would saddle themselves with the name "Oldies"...the hour I listened, they're Classic Hits, almost Classic Rock! The St. Louis station is more concerned with promotion Christmas listening on the web than live listening! Talent (?) all voice tracked...boring as hell to listen to.

LIVE AND LOCAL wins every time. And stations that SAY they're live, trying to fool listeners, will have their hat handed to them. Got to hand it IBG, their honesty shines when they say "you're listening to the best of..."when one of the jocks are out on vacation. How damn refreshing is that! Yes, Talk Shows do it often...but music programming?
 
amfmsw said:
inhomer....please. When you have placed yourself in as many seats and hours at NJBA, NAB, & RAB sales seminars as I have for the past quarter century, write more on the psychology of boomers and buying trends of 50-65 year olds. Until then, let me set the record STRAIGHT. That is NONSENSE. I work for neither station mentioned here, but must defend their audience as viable and valuable. Boomers have drawbacks, true. All demos do. But not switching brands? If I buy a new HDTV, do you think I get a Union-made, hand-wired, 'the quality goes in before the name goes on" crafted in Chicago Zenith? No, Overseas crap (using Zenith HDTV patents). My current car is an import because Chevrolet would not back the warranty that expired by 53 miles when it blew a head gasket. There goes my loyalty. But YOU say I won't switch brands? I'm ready for a new dishwasher...no more Frigidaire because they've moved to Mexico and the quality is poor. Mine's 4 years old and needs to be replaced...again. Next one will be a GE (not because of 'brand' beaause it's American made in KY). There, I switched brands. AND my retailer may switch from whichever will throw in free delivery, period. I shop. BTW, my telephone does not have a cord or rotary dial either.

That 'story' of older demos being brand loyal and set in their ways was lore from NY 6th Avenue 'Mad Men' Ad Agencies in the 1960's, and MAY have been true of my grandparents and parents. But certainly not Boomers. Got news for ya...if Coke's on sale for 99 cents this week, and Pepsi is $1.49...we drink Coke. If it's reversed next week, we drink Pepsi! Do you think we old geezer Boomers still drive out of our way for Atlantic Red Ball Service too? Well meaning people write these things, but it's an old wives tale...stop telling it. It's simply not true.
Click to expand...
Couldn't agree more, there is no such brand loyalty for most boomers, I'm 66 with an iPad, iPod, Roku box etc, quit putting us in the grave. I grew up with Wibbage, WFIL, loved them then, still like that era but with grandkids around I'm into Lady GaGa, Beyonce, Katy Perry, etc. also. I still want new things and the best deals, best price, and the latest and greatest product still comes into play.
 
That's the point, IH, there is NO data to support your claim about us 'old people'. You made a claim. Rick recoiled, I back him on most points, others support my positions. Where's the proof that we, people IN that demo, do NOT behave as we say we do. Please shoe us the data proof that we behave as you say we do, so we can debunk it.

I've read articles, webinars, psychology analysis, graphs, books; then listened to fascinating and blowhard boring consultants seminars on the subject ad naseum, the good, bad and the ugly. The vast majority agree: no or little brand loyalty, only brand recognition and image. Like stated above with RCA Victor, where billion$ have already been spent on promoting the logo and name. It was "The Most Trusted Name In Electronics"! Why not WIBG? Like comfortable slippers. If it claims just one pre-set on the car radio...it succeeded. But with everything, it will have a lifespan. KOOL is on curve and morphed well. FUN in Wildwood is very progressive, and will be set with the new signal and frequency.

While there are some who agree with what you believe about Boomers, my true LIFE experience and street smarts tells me they were wrong.
 
Not sure who you're responding to, amfmsw.

I started the thread. I also mentioned RCA, etc. I'm saying that there are folks who believe what you dispute about brand loyalty. I don't have enough data to tell who is right. But I can see that there are folks in marketing, right or wrong, who do believe what you dispute. Time will tell who is right (my other point). Some of the others have weighed in with far more definitive and provocative statements in this thread. Deal with them as you will.

My thread wasn't about WIBG, really. The one thing I did say, and it is not a negative, is that the folks who are likely to listen to the station, and are within its range, are very likely already aware of it. The station owner suggests as much also.

The Ford Five Hundred was not successful. It remains to be seen if RCA, Emerson, and Westinghouse succeed or fail, and if they succeed, whether it is based on "brand" or low price. But someone thought those were good ideas. It's hard not to feel a little cynical about it.
 
And speaking of WFNE, when is the move to 106.3 supposed to happen? Will it put the signal over more land in NJ than 106.7 does?
 
No ob2, I was only using (poorly) your observaions of salvaging the old names of American Industry to make a point. But really, for all intents and purposes, I really believe they are an afterthought on the shelves of Big Lots, K Mart and Wal Mart.
To address the second question, probably this month. and the signals:

106.7 3kw 233' = http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WFNE&service=FM&status=L&hours=U

106.3 6kw 300' = http://radio-locator.com/cgi-bin/pat?call=WFNE&service=FM&status=C&hours=U
 
106.3 is a significant improvement. It gets them Sea Isle and Avalon in addition to Stone Harbor, the Wildwoods, and Cape May, and, if Radio-Locator is correct, moves the northern range of the city grade signal from CM Court House to Woodbine.
 
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