More Mix Observations

[elevator_opratr]

1) I find it amusing how when a station flips to some form of Rock, CHR, or Hot AC, there's a zillion people commenting on every song and liner. But when it's a something like a softer form of AC or jazz, it's three people commenting on it: elevator_opratr, elevator_opratr, and oh yea, elevator_opratr. LOL I guess I am a very old 28-year-old.

ANYWAY, sarcasm aside ... a few more Mix observations ...

2) A few days ago I made a comment that the "Mix" term is a poor moniker because it makes the station sound like a mainstream AC, whereas this is a softer AC. I don't want to say "pure" soft AC, as that, in my book, would be Neil Diamond, Kenny Rogers, and Barbara Streisand. But it's not regular AC either, which would be Dido and Nelly Furtado. I guess I'll call this "soft-ER AC." No currents. Some oldies. Some disco.

But are they hurting themselves by not advertising themself as a "unique" mix of music? I want their sweepers to say "songs you don't hear just anywhere" and "the great songs from the 60's, 70's, and 80's." Instead it's just "the best mix of music" which sounds like any other station. What makes the listener want to sample a station with a slogan that sounds like any other?

3) There is a heavy influence of disco-type music on Mix. And if you recall, toward the end days of Cool Pop, there were very frequent "Studio 106-7 weekends." Was positive response from those weekends a factor in the birth of this "oldie-soft AC-disco" leaning format?

4) In sum, they're doing a nice job. I'm very thrilled to hear songs like "Never Knew Love Like This Before" from Stephanie Mills from 1980 and the Eagles "I Can't Tell You Why." But had the first time I tuned in the first thing I heard was "the best Mix of music," I probably wouldn't have given the station the time of day. I want to hear better liners, better slogans, and better jingles. Crazy as it sounds, that's my major problem with the station right now.

Will this work in central PA? I don't see why not. But it's gotta have better and more unique promotions. In my opinion, there's a large population that thinks of WARM, WROZ, and WQIC as too mainstream, yet WSOX or WSJW may be going too far to the other end of the stick for them. They want something in between. This is the perfect in between. I only hope it catches on, or Citadel will get the "bright" idea to do what Cheap Channel is doing in Philly with WSNI and start mainstreaming the playlist, which would be a shame.

 

[pdq]

The name "Mix" is as good as anything. It has no definition to the average listener, which is not anyone who reads radio boards. Any station using the name can be whatever it wants to be. It has been used as a catch-all moniker for 25 years on stations ranging from AC to Hot AC to Urban to Hot Talk. "Lite" may have been a more accurate name, and it's too bad they couldn't think of something more original, but original thinking is not encouraged in today's corporate radio environment.

The sweepers could be more descriptive, otherwise why bother interrupting the music flow. Your suggestions were good ones. Whatever they say on the air, however, will mean nothing if they do no outside marketing. I find it commendable that they kept their existing air staff, however some of them sound too young for the format. They would be better served by hiring people who were at least living and somewhat cognizant of their surroundings when the music was new.

I actually worked in Top 40 and AC radio in the 70s and 80s, and played all the songs they are playing when they were new. And played them. And played them. I have no desire to hear them again. Personal preferences aside, I have listened to Mix with an open mind and they are playing a lot of songs that I have not heard in a long time. Some of it is good stuff that has simply fallen through the cracks, things that no longer fit. Mainstream AC's like WARM and the Rose dropped that stuff years ago, as an Adult CONTEMPORARY station must eventually do to avoid becoming Music of Your Life. Mix may be Adult but it certainly is not Contemporary.

That's not such a bad thing, as there is a niche of people who either don't want to hear anything they haven't heard 10,000 times before, or who use radio as background noise, audio wallpaper if you will. I wouldn't have wasted a 50kw stick on them however. Mix will appeal to what musical laggards are out there, if those people get their heads out of the sand long enough to notice. Time will tell how many there are. I would have thought Smooth Jazz would have picked them up already, but nobody's flocking to that station in great numbers, and 92.7 is one of the better stations I've heard in that format.

With more relatable personalities, good marketing and a little luck, Mix might achieve moderate success. It will not be a market leader but it's probably not designed to be. Serving a niche, I don't see it harming anyone. In York and Lancaster, the Rose, and to a lesser extent WARM, have changed with the times and become more forefront. As such they have forged a personal connection with their listeners that will be tough to break. There might be more success in Harrisburg, where there is no soft-leaning AC, and that's probably what they're counting on.

If not, we'll be having this discussion again a year from now when the "new" 106.7 debuts.

 

[radiochickpa]

> With more relatable personalities, good marketing and a
> little luck, Mix might achieve moderate success. It will
> not be a market leader but it's probably not designed to be.
> Serving a niche, I don't see it harming anyone. In York
> and Lancaster, the Rose, and to a lesser extent WARM, have
> changed with the times and become more forefront. As such
> they have forged a personal connection with their listeners
> that will be tough to break. There might be more success in
> Harrisburg, where there is no soft-leaning AC, and that's
> probably what they're counting on.
>
> If not, we'll be having this discussion again a year from
> now when the "new" 106.7 debuts.
>
I don't think Citadel has ever taken the time to really understand these Metros. I know when I worked for them there, their "research" told them to
get rid of the "Z-107" moniker. To this day, most people still refer to the old Cat Country as Z-107! Most of the advertisers called it that...and so
did the listeners. Research only works if you actually do it IN THE MARKET
you are in! That alone is the reason I don't think it will work. And I'm
not talking about the PD here, I'm talking about the suits.
Radio 101, right? Know your market!!

 

[kelster3301]

> > With more relatable personalities, good marketing and a
> > little luck, Mix might achieve moderate success. It will
> > not be a market leader but it's probably not designed to
> be.
> > Serving a niche, I don't see it harming anyone. In York
> > and Lancaster, the Rose, and to a lesser extent WARM, have
>
> > changed with the times and become more forefront. As such
>
> > they have forged a personal connection with their
> listeners
> > that will be tough to break. There might be more success
> in
> > Harrisburg, where there is no soft-leaning AC, and that's
> > probably what they're counting on.
> >
> > If not, we'll be having this discussion again a year from
> > now when the "new" 106.7 debuts.
> >
> I don't think Citadel has ever taken the time to really
> understand these Metros. I know when I worked for them
> there, their "research" told them to
> get rid of the "Z-107" moniker. To this day, most people
> still refer to the old Cat Country as Z-107! Most of the
> advertisers called it that...and so
> did the listeners. Research only works if you actually do
> it IN THE MARKET
> you are in! That alone is the reason I don't think it will
> work. And I'm
> not talking about the PD here, I'm talking about the suits.
> Radio 101, right? Know your market!!
>
Just because listeners don't have a clue and in many cases could care less, it doesn't mean that the "suits" didn't know the market or market the radio station properly.
WSBA-FM changed to WARM 103 17 years ago, and many York Countians STILL call it WSBA....and no one knows York County like Susquehanna....They are York County.

 

[Jeffrey_T_Mason]

> The name "Mix" is as good as anything. It has no definition
> to the average listener, which is not anyone who reads radio
> boards.


Unfortunately, the word "mix" means "confusion" to Central PA listeners. In 1987 or '88, the short-lived WHIT flipped from CHR to AC as WIMX "Mix 99.3." They went through a slew of different phases over the next 7 years. Hot AC, Mainstream AC, Oldies based AC, even CHR again for a time. (Trust me, Steady Eddie and I WANTED to change the name when we did the CHR thing in '94, but Brian Danzis - then owner - said it wasn't gonna happen. Wow, was there a time when ONE person owned a station?)

Cool Pop flipped to Mix EXACTLY 10 years to the day - and if it was at midnight, to the MINUTE (how weird is that?) - after WIMX changed to Kool 99.3. So, maybe the moniker has lost it's meaning. Although, if they're going for upper demos, odds are many of these people DO remember WIMX. Take it from a guy who worked there...the listeners had NO clue what the hell "Mix" meant. Hope Citadel can make better use of the term!!!

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