New slogans for Hot AC's?

[rugbyskier]

KBIG Los Angeles 104.3 MY fm is using the slogan "90s Till Now...104.3 MY fm" The only problem is that they are almost completely current and you'll only occassionally catch a 90s song on the station. IMO, "2000s and today" would be a much more appropriate slogan.

I still wish stations would refer to the '00s decade as "the zeroes". That'd be cool. I personally don't like "two thousands" because it implies the entire century (or millennium for that matter). LOL

I disagree- I think calling that decade 'the zeroes' makes it sound like a loser. Well, it was a crappy decade, but maybe we can try to remember it more fondly than it actually happened.

Personally, I like 2k to designate the decade.

Another term we could use is "the aughts" or "the aughties".

In Australia and New Zealand stations with a Hot AC format tend to refer to the last decade as the 'Noughties', so a common slogan is 'Nineties, Noughties and Now', or as the More FM stations in NZ say in the Kiwi accent "the bist mux of the Nineties, Noughties end Now'.

 

[cooper]

"The Station That Defines Variety"

 

[wpxt]

I just noticed tonight while streaming 107.1 WERZ online that they are no longer using the slogan that a lot of Hot AC's used to use until 2010 arrived, "Hits of the 80s, 90s and Today." They are now using one that I think sounds quiet nice, "the 90s till now." Anyone know if other Clear Channel Hot AC's are using this?

 

[danikayser84]

I just noticed tonight while streaming 107.1 WERZ online that they are no longer using the slogan that a lot of Hot AC's used to use until 2010 arrived, "Hits of the 80s, 90s and Today." They are now using one that I think sounds quiet nice, "the 90s till now." Anyone know if other Clear Channel Hot AC's are using this?

Albany's WRVE has been using a similar slogan recently, although still with "the 80s till now"

 

[justpassingthough]

I just noticed tonight while streaming 107.1 WERZ online that they are no longer using the slogan that a lot of Hot AC's used to use until 2010 arrived, "Hits of the 80s, 90s and Today." They are now using one that I think sounds quiet nice, "the 90s till now." Anyone know if other Clear Channel Hot AC's are using this?

KBIG/104-3 My FM in Los Angeles is using the same tagline.

 

[alexhanson]

My market's HOT AC: Star 93.5-FM KQCS/Bettendorf, IA owned by Cumulus uses "Todays Best Variety"...one of my favorite stations here, http://star935fm.com/ - We have an AC from Clear Channel "Mix 96"- 96.1-FM KMXG/Clinton, IA - they use a "MIX Means Variety" slogan..they seem to play some older hits, not as many 2000 and todays hits like Star. Mix also runs American Top 40: The 70s, Into the 70s with John Landecker and The 70s with Steve Goddard, Sundays are dedicated to 70's music...but it's not even a Hot AC like Star.

 

[Marv-L.A.]

Some of the positioning statements used by Hot AC stations when the format exploded in the early nineties as the expense of top 40 included simply 'Today's Best Music' at format pioneer KYSR/LA, aka Star 98.7, and 'Today's best music without the rap & hard rock', which was a very well-used one at tons of stations nationwide, including other Hot AC powerhouses such as Star 100.7 (KFMB-FM/San Diego), and 'Mix 96' (KHMX/Houston).

Many top-notch personalities including Larry Morgan and Ryan Seacrest have been successful at both top 40 (KIIS) and Hot AC powerhouses (both worked at KYSR, and Morgan did mornings at KHMX after leaving KIIS); Morgan has been doing mornings here in LA @ Adult Alternative 100.3 The Sound (KSWD) since August, 2008.

I don't think that Hot AC stations need 'new' positioning statements, but I do listen to lots of them, and will certainly pass them along as I hear them, since many of them carry Casey Kasem's 'AT 40 The 70s and 80s)
Great topic---thanks.

The positioning statement 'from the 90s 'til now' is indeed used at KBIG-FM, a terrific Hot AC station which nevertheless still plays plenty of music from the 80s, when top 40 was untouchable, as well as lots of artists who are still favorites of today's Hot AC audience.

 

[new_friends_gr]

Another term we could use is "the aughts" or "the aughties".

In Australia and New Zealand stations with a Hot AC format tend to refer to the last decade as the 'Noughties', so a common slogan is 'Nineties, Noughties and Now', or as the More FM stations in NZ say in the Kiwi accent "the bist mux of the Nineties, Noughties end Now'.

Haha... I still wish we would embrace the term "aughties" or "noughties" in the U.S. to refer to the '00s.

 

[new_friends_gr]

I don't think that Hot AC stations need 'new' positioning statements, but I do listen to lots of them, and will certainly pass them along as I hear them, since many of them carry Casey Kasem's 'AT 40 The 70s and 80s)

This doesn't sound right ... Casey Kasem's AT40 '70s and '80s on Hot AC stations? That seems implausible to me. I know that a lot of Mainstream AC or Classic Hits air these old shows. (In Grand Rapids, one of our Mainstream AC stations airs the '80s edition every Saturday evening). But Hot AC? That's doubtful - especially given the fact that Hot AC's generally focus on music from the '90s through present.

 

[JustinSaysRadio]

Here are some ideas for Hot AC Slogans:
1. Retro To Right Now.
2. Hits From Your Childhood To Now.
3. Then And Now.
4. Today's Hits And The Best Throwbacks.
5. Throwbacks And Flash Forwards.
6. Favorites From Today And Yesterday.
7. (Town/Region Name's) Best Variety.
8. Old And New Music.
9. From Back Then To Right Now.
10. Nothing But The Best Hits.

Let me know which ones you would use.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Here are some ideas for Hot AC Slogans:
1. Retro To Right Now.
2. Hits From Your Childhood To Now.
3. Then And Now.
4. Today's Hits And The Best Throwbacks.
5. Throwbacks And Flash Forwards.
6. Favorites From Today And Yesterday.
7. (Town/Region Name's) Best Variety.
8. Old And New Music.
9. From Back Then To Right Now.
10. Nothing But The Best Hits.

Let me know which ones you would use.

Doesn't Hot AC, by definition, focus on new music? 7 and 10 make sense but the rest seem more suited to mainstream AC. I like 9 the best.

 

[davideduardo]

Doesn't Hot AC, by definition, focus on new music?

No. It plays more newer music, including currents and recurrents and plays them in faster rotations. It also goes back fewer years than traditional mainstream AC.

I looked at a couple of successful Hot AC stations, and they are approximately 25% current, 25% recurrent and 50% gold.

In the same markets, traditional AC stations are 5% to 10% current, 5% to 10% recurrent and the bulk being gold. And the gold tends to go further back in time.

Part of the difference is that, while a Hot AC will go on a song sooner than a traditional AC, it still waits longer than the CHR. So, in effect, "currents" on a Hot AC are mostly recurrents on a CHR and few get played on a mainstream AC.

Obviously, the blends vary by market because ACs in markets with no Hot AC may be a tiny bit fresher than ones where they have to create a solidly differentiable core.

 

[davideduardo]

Here are some ideas for Hot AC Slogans:
1. Retro To Right Now.
2. Hits From Your Childhood To Now.
3. Then And Now.
4. Today's Hits And The Best Throwbacks.
5. Throwbacks And Flash Forwards.
6. Favorites From Today And Yesterday.
7. (Town/Region Name's) Best Variety.
8. Old And New Music.
9. From Back Then To Right Now.
10. Nothing But The Best Hits.

Let me know which ones you would use.

Never use a term that has negative connotations: "childhood" is too personal and is negative to many.
"Throwback" is a CHR and rhythmic associated term. Not fitting for a Hot AC that differentiates by not playing most Urban CHR crossovers. Same with "retro". Don't use buzzwords in an adult-oriented format as they get stale quickly.
"Yesterday" in a current based format is negative. It translates as "old".
"Then and Now" was burnt to a crisp by Top 40 in past decades.
"Variety" on a limited playlist Hot AC is not a selling point. Saying in the right way "all your favorites, none of the crap" is the main support column of this format. The key word is "favorites", not "variety" and the word "you" has to be part of it.
"Back Then" emphasizes the age of the gold. Not what a Hot AC's selling point is.

The selling point today with all the new competition is "all your favorites all the time". No age makers, just a stress on "you" in the phrases. Your phrases are self-aggrandizement for the station, not benefits for the listener. What is needed is a stressing of the listener, not t he station.

 

[vchimpanzee]

Would some of these be good for a gold-based mainstream AC?

 

[davideduardo]

Would some of these be good for a gold-based mainstream AC?

Not really... they are all "about the radio station" and not "all about the listener". Positioners must show a reason why YOU would like listening. Many station positioners are really reflections of the internal strategy from a business perspective, not about what a listener enjoys.

A common error is when a station thinks that "variety" means "more different songs" when, to a listener, it means "only songs I like". "Lack of variety" to a listener means the station plays too many stiffs.

 

[tall_guy1]

I agree with vchimp. It seems like at least in kc our hot ac (kzpt) almost always plays a current song. Our mainstream ac though (kckc) has the slogan today's best variety and goes back to play songs from the 70s like "ring my bell" "do the hustle" and I've even heard them play "suspicious minds" by elvis presley and"louie louie" by the kingsmen.