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Men Under 50: The Demo Everyone Forgot In Ocean County

S

SoulCrusher

Has everyone realized that there isn't a single station that targets Men under 50 in Ocean County? Isn't that just insane? It's a known fact that Women of all age groups are the most attractive demographic to advertisers for obvious reasons, but how everyone in half the market can totally forget about male listeners is beyond me. You really have to ask yourself what these people are thinking, and if they really study the market before they decide to greenlight a format. As far as the Country format was concerned, I can only imagine the folks at Press saying "Alright, let's do a format that won't take listeners away from The Breeze and G Rock Radio - hmmmm, how about ... Country?".

Basically, if you're female, Press has got you covered - it doesn't matter if you're a bingo player, a pink-wearing thrush that loves pretty boy bands like Fall Out Boy and Switchfoot, or a cowgirl that loves to dance on top of bar tables. Basically, The Breeze competes with WOBM for the older demos and Alternative/Hot AC G Rock Radio takes on WJLK (94.3 The Point) for the younger demos. The "New Country" that is played on WKMK (Jersey Kountry 98.5) and WPUR (Cat Country 107.3) couldn't more obviously be geared toward Women, since it's heavy on the ballads and lots of pretty boys like Rascal Flatts, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, etc. That leaves WJRZ (great if you're into bell bottoms, not so great if you're not) and WCHR (105.7 The Hawk), the latter of which definitely covers the older male demos with its Classic Rock format - this station is great if you just can't get enough of those "I wanna make sweet love to you all night, woman" type songs.

That leaves Men under 50. Someone has to target them, right? ... (scans dial) ... This station sounds like it might, but there's too much static ... (scans some more) ... Ditto here ... (scans again) ... This one sounds right up the male listeners alley, but it barely comes in ... (scans to the end of the dial) ... Nothing. Not a single station in this part of the market targets Men under 50, and that's nothing short of astonishing. No Active Rock, no edgier Alternative, no Urban, no Sports or male-oriented Talk - nothing. I guess this area still has the reputation of being a tourist destination and a haven for senior citizens. Never mind the fact that it's the fastest growing county in New Jersey and we're in the midst of a huge real estate boom.

That said, don't you think it's foolish that no station in Ocean County targets this demo? I mean, one of these formats might not be an immediate sell, but then again, Country isn't an easy sell in a market not known for its rodeo culture and cowboy bars that already has another Country station that covers the same area! While the ad revenue might not be huge right off the bat, the ratings would be solid and that the advertising will come in strong after the first book. This coming from someone that doesn't even work in the radio industry. Why didn't the insiders think of this?
 
The only thing I can tell you is, at least they did not flip to another failed Urbanic Format. In Philly, the dial is over, over saturated with urban, its all over. The only station I have close to Active is MMR(yuck), YSP is the music choice, but its part-time. I used to listen to 98.5, as a alternative to MMR during the day (106.5 is unlistenable in Philly), now that is gone. It would of been nice to put the RAT on 98.5 but that never happens, nothing to please the Metal/Hard Rock-Alternative/Classic Hard Rock fan. I know many white males over 55 that love Active, that is way over the demo, but they spend, drive expensive cars, have nice homes, spend the bucks, is anyone listening.
 
Male-Oriented talk?

You must not be looking very hard. New Jersey 101.5, 2-7, 11-3, you're welcome.

Sports talk? What the hell is WFAN and WIP?

And as I said before, country music crosses demos a lot easier than Alternative.

This coming from someone that doesn't even work in the radio industry.
Click to expand...

That much is obvious, from the majority of your posts.
 
Starscream said:
Male-Oriented talk?

You must not be looking very hard. New Jersey 101.5, 2-7, 11-3, you're welcome.

Sports talk? What the hell is WFAN and WIP?

And as I said before, country music crosses demos a lot easier than Alternative.

This coming from someone that doesn't even work in the radio industry.
Click to expand...

That much is obvious, from the majority of your posts.
Click to expand...

Alright, I'll give you the first part on NJ 101.5. The Jersey Guys and Tommy G, right? I have to say that they have a pretty nice variety of talk radio - I just wish they could keep it going into the weekend instead of playing that generic music mix that they have. But I'm pretty sure the Sports stations you just mentioned put a weak signal into Ocean County. I'll give it another try to see if it works - where's WIP on the AM dial?
 
Tom McNally said:
Soulcrusher .... 2 letters .... X M
Click to expand...

I'm thinking about it. I'd like to find a device that is compatible with anything, that I could listen to at the office, while I'm walking, at home, etc. I think XM has a better selection of Active/Alternative Rock radio stations than Sirius, right? In other areas, the two seem pretty even, aside from the types of sports that are offered - I think XM offers MLB and NASCAR while Sirius has exclusive rights to the NFL and NBA.
 
SoulCrusher said:
But I'm pretty sure the Sports stations you just mentioned put a weak signal into Ocean County. I'll give it another try to see if it works - where's WIP on the AM dial?
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Please do not tell me that you just intimated that a 50,000 watt AM stick, and the highest billing station in the country, "has a weak signal" in Ocean County.

You can get WFAN in NORTH CAROLINA on a good night.

WIP (610, Philaldelphia Sports) may have a weak signal in Ocean County. WFAN (660, New York Sports) most certainly does not.
 
SoulCrusher said:
Tom McNally said:
Soulcrusher .... 2 letters .... X M
Click to expand...

I'm thinking about it. I'd like to find a device that is compatible with anything, that I could listen to at the office, while I'm walking, at home, etc. I think XM has a better selection of Active/Alternative Rock radio stations than Sirius, right? In other areas, the two seem pretty even, aside from the types of sports that are offered - I think XM offers MLB and NASCAR while Sirius has exclusive rights to the NFL and NBA.
Click to expand...

Music with XM and Sirius is pretty much even - XM has been making strides in the rock department. It basically boils down to what kind of receiver you want - XM has been lauded as having the better equipment, although Sirius has been catching up - and what kind of exclusive content you want.

Equipment, you would want the the MyFi, or the second generation XM Handhelds. Sirius does not have a "true" portable yet, that can get live coverage anywhere.

Both XM and Sirius offer free online streaming as part of their package, so even if you can't get reception in the office, you can still get it online.

XM has NHL and MLB, and NASCAR until the end of the year. Sirius has the NFL and NASCAR starting next year.

And of course, Sirius has Big Bird, and XM has Dopey and his Pervy Pal.


Honestly, listening to NASCAR isn't that great on the radio; it's good if you have to make a quick run to the store and want to keep up to date on the race, but other than that... meh.
 
Starscream said:
SoulCrusher said:
Tom McNally said:
Soulcrusher .... 2 letters .... X M
Click to expand...

I'm thinking about it. I'd like to find a device that is compatible with anything, that I could listen to at the office, while I'm walking, at home, etc. I think XM has a better selection of Active/Alternative Rock radio stations than Sirius, right? In other areas, the two seem pretty even, aside from the types of sports that are offered - I think XM offers MLB and NASCAR while Sirius has exclusive rights to the NFL and NBA.
Click to expand...

Music with XM and Sirius is pretty much even - XM has been making strides in the rock department. It basically boils down to what kind of receiver you want - XM has been lauded as having the better equipment, although Sirius has been catching up - and what kind of exclusive content you want.

Equipment, you would want the the MyFi, or the second generation XM Handhelds. Sirius does not have a "true" portable yet, that can get live coverage anywhere.

Both XM and Sirius offer free online streaming as part of their package, so even if you can't get reception in the office, you can still get it online.

XM has NHL and MLB, and NASCAR until the end of the year. Sirius has the NFL and NASCAR starting next year.

And of course, Sirius has Big Bird, and XM has Dopey and his Pervy Pal.


Honestly, listening to NASCAR isn't that great on the radio; it's good if you have to make a quick run to the store and want to keep up to date on the race, but other than that... meh.
Click to expand...

Thanks for all the information. It seems like the main selling point for both XM and Sirius are the sports that they cover and their personalities (Big Bird vs. Dopey and his Pervy Pal - LOL). I think XM covers more rock genres (indie rock, and I believe they have Little Steven's Underground Garage and a punk/ska station) than Sirius, which is why I was considering them initially. With the exception of personalities, they're poth pretty similar in terms of Talk formats - they both have sports, progressive talk , conservative talk, comedy, and talk shows for pretty much all ages and genders.

NASCAR was actually broadcasted fairly often when 100.1 WJRZ was doing the "Jersey Shore Country" format before they flipped to Oldies. It doesn't translate well to an audio format, because there's only so much action you can call (like "Kahne just passed Gordon" and "Petty's headed to the pit stop"). The one difference I can discern between WJRZ as a Country station and 98.5 WKMK is that JRZ did use some satellite programming during their run - if WKMK goes live and local 24/7 that would definitely help their cause, and they would need that against their stiff competition in WPUR.

Speaking of WJRZ, what could you call the format they're doing now? Technically they're Oldies, but they don't even brand it as that on the air any more. They could almost fall into the Classic Hits categorization now, it seems.
 
This is the topic. There's enough frequencies in Monmouth/Ocean for stations to legitimately serve the Under 50 Male audience - yet we are almost completely ignored. We don't get the Urban stations to the North or South, we don't get the Active/Alternative station in the AC / Cape May market. As stated in the subject, Men Under 50 really represent the demo that everyone forgot in the Monmouth/Ocean market. Why is this the case, and what can be done to solve this problem? Discuss!
 
G Rock Radio is a good station, but you can't tell me for a second that this station is geared toward Men first and foremost.

Lately, they are playing Yellowcard's "Ocean Avenue". A LOT. This song is the epitome of bubblegum pop for teenage girls. Any song that gets regular rotation on Radio Disney should not be getting spins on an Alternative station. This is corny pop music - let the teenyboppers have it. But I guess every cloud has a silver lining - now they're playing "Please Do Not Go" by Violent Femmes. If only they could always follow up the rubbish with something good.

This station would be great if they just dropped the polarizing kiddie junk along with the excessive Female pandering. I'm sure their ratings would increase if they were to do this - why ignore the untargeted demo?

I'm done with the ranting on this topic, though it will remain open for discussion. This is a call for all Male fans of the Alternative format in the area to let their voices be heard. Maybe if we make enough of an impact, they will take note of us and start programming more for the Male part of their audience and leave the TRL-oriented artists where they belong - to the teenies who are probably listening to Z100 or Radio Disney.
 
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