New Year-Where things stand in Seattle Radio

[bobdavcav]

Perhaps not. But in the streaming world we're in today, you'd think someone at KGRG could be a bit more inventive and not have to borrow slogans from one of secular noncommercial radio's bigger brands.

Also, The Current has a large streaming audience and is often mentioned in the same context as the likes of KEXP. And they're on HD2 on KPCC, which is a West Coast station too. Not sure why MPR wouldn't want to protect its brand against confusion.

Either way, it's lazy branding.

Andy, you bring up a good point that a friend and I have been making for years now. In the age of smart speakers, a unique branding should be more important than ever. Just a few examples,
1. If someone says to their device of choice "Play 99.5 The Wolf," are they going to get Dallas when they want Portland?
2. Same applies to Z100. If they say "Play Z100," they're likely to get New York, when the wanted station may be Portland or even Missoula, though the Missoula station is a Townsquare station, meaning that you actually have to enable the skill.
3. The same friend I mentioned above, who lives in upstate New York, has both Family Life skills on her Echo. One is the local network heard across New York and Pennsylvania, the other is the similarly named and similarly formatted network based in Arizona. I can't remember which is which, but one is Family Life Ministries and the other is Family Life Communications. Wouldn't it be a benefit to both brands if they either merged or one rebranded to something a bit more unique?
4. I was going to leave it at the Family Life example, but then I remembered there are actually documented cases of listener confusion. The most notable example in commercial radio is the confusion of listeners between WBEB in Philadelphia and WBWB in Providence, both at the time using the name B101. Another good example is a public station in CA rebranding as KVPR last year because their former name, Valley Public Radio, had the same initials as Vermont Public Radio, causing listeners to send their donations intended for the local station to Vermont instead.
I could go on and on about this, but I'll leave it there.

 

[Kelly A]

Andy, you bring up a good point that a friend and I have been making for years now. In the age of smart speakers, a unique branding should be more important than ever. Just a few examples,
1. If someone says to their device of choice "Play 99.5 The Wolf," are they going to get Dallas when they want Portland?
2. Same applies to Z100. If they say "Play Z100," they're likely to get New York, when the wanted station may be Portland or even Missoula, though the Missoula station is a Townsquare station, meaning that you actually have to enable the skill.
3. The same friend I mentioned above, who lives in upstate New York, has both Family Life skills on her Echo. One is the local network heard across New York and Pennsylvania, the other is the similarly named and similarly formatted network based in Arizona. I can't remember which is which, but one is Family Life Ministries and the other is Family Life Communications. Wouldn't it be a benefit to both brands if they either merged or one rebranded to something a bit more unique?
4. I was going to leave it at the Family Life example, but then I remembered there are actually documented cases of listener confusion. The most notable example in commercial radio is the confusion of listeners between WBEB in Philadelphia and WBWB in Providence, both at the time using the name B101. Another good example is a public station in CA rebranding as KVPR last year because their former name, Valley Public Radio, had the same initials as Vermont Public Radio, causing listeners to send their donations intended for the local station to Vermont instead.
I could go on and on about this, but I'll leave it there.

We're talking about friggin KGRG Bob. Not exactly an international sensation.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

I doubt the slogan is copyrighted. I also doubt they would care about another non-comm way out West using it. That would be way outside their immediate market.

There's a lot of attitude in this thread.

I found this in less than two minutes, starting with a Google search.

Wordmark - THE CURRENT
Status - LIVE, REGISTERED
Goods & services - G & S: IC 038: Broadcasting services in the field of music, music news, culture and the arts rendered through the media of radio and satellite systems, and via the Internet and portable and wireless communication devices; streaming of audio, audio broadcasting, transmission and delivery of audio content in the field of music, music news, culture and the arts via radio and satellite systems, and via the Internet and portable and wireless communication devices; streaming audio and delivery of audio and audio visual programs in the field of music, music news, culture and the arts accessible via the Internet and portable and wireless communications devices.
Owners - Minnesota Public Radio (NON-PROFIT CORPORATION; MINNESOTA, USA)

Trademark Status & Document Retrieval

tsdr.uspto.gov

 

[Kelly A]

There's a lot of attitude in this thread.

I found this in less than two minutes, starting with a Google search.

Wordmark - THE CURRENT
Status - LIVE, REGISTERED
Goods & services - G & S: IC 038: Broadcasting services in the field of music, music news, culture and the arts rendered through the media of radio and satellite systems, and via the Internet and portable and wireless communication devices; streaming of audio, audio broadcasting, transmission and delivery of audio content in the field of music, music news, culture and the arts via radio and satellite systems, and via the Internet and portable and wireless communication devices; streaming audio and delivery of audio and audio visual programs in the field of music, music news, culture and the arts accessible via the Internet and portable and wireless communications devices.
Owners - Minnesota Public Radio (NON-PROFIT CORPORATION; MINNESOTA, USA)

Trademark Status & Document Retrieval

tsdr.uspto.gov

So?

 

[boombox4]

Perhaps not. But in the streaming world we're in today, you'd think someone at KGRG could be a bit more inventive and not have to borrow slogans from one of secular noncommercial radio's bigger brands.

Also, The Current has a large streaming audience and is often mentioned in the same context as the likes of KEXP. And they're on HD2 on KPCC, which is a West Coast station too. Not sure why MPR wouldn't want to protect its brand against confusion.

Either way, it's lazy branding.

Like another here said, The Green River Current is the name of the student newspaper. So, it's not lazy branding at all.

And what confusion, really? I doubt the Minnesota station wants to spend money in court (thousands of dollars) to fight a community college in the State of Washington when probably zero listeners in KGRG's coverage area listen to the Minnesota station.

 

[boombox4]

There's a lot of attitude in this thread.

I found this in less than two minutes, starting with a Google search.

Wordmark - THE CURRENT
Status - LIVE, REGISTERED
Goods & services - G & S: IC 038: Broadcasting services in the field of music, music news, culture and the arts rendered through the media of radio and satellite systems, and via the Internet and portable and wireless communication devices; streaming of audio, audio broadcasting, transmission and delivery of audio content in the field of music, music news, culture and the arts via radio and satellite systems, and via the Internet and portable and wireless communication devices; streaming audio and delivery of audio and audio visual programs in the field of music, music news, culture and the arts accessible via the Internet and portable and wireless communications devices.
Owners - Minnesota Public Radio (NON-PROFIT CORPORATION; MINNESOTA, USA)

Trademark Status & Document Retrieval

tsdr.uspto.gov

Great. Now how many thousands of dollars do they want to pay to sue a WA state Community College over this?

And if a business is only doing business in-State, different trademark rules apply. If KGRG geo-fences (not sure if they do or not), this probably wouldn't hold up in court.

 

[Delete My Account]

Given the prominence of The Current's brand (in fact, a lot of the KEXP fanbase also is aware of or shares listening time with The Current) I wouldn't be so quick to say "probably zero." Not a safe assumption in the age of streaming.

 

[boombox4]

I maintain that the number of Minnesota "Current" listeners in South King County, where KGRG's coverage area is, is probably next to zero.

And have either of you guys even checked out their website or stream? "The Current', or "Current", isn't even on there.

KGRG 89.9 FM

Today's Rock in HD!

www.kgrg.com

That takes it out of the interstate commerce aspect of trademarks.

It's highly possible that, even if sued, KGRG could have a case to keep their on-air slogan, especially as no listener in Minnesota can hear KGRG-FM.

MPR could possibly sue, yes. Anyone can sue anyone. The question is, with trademark laws possibly favoring KGRG outright, are MPR going to want to spend the thousands of dollars suing a small station at a community college in WA over it? I doubt MPR has the thousands of extra dollars to spend on suing KGRG. If it were a station in Minnesota, probably a different matter entirely.

 

[Kelly A]

Given the prominence of The Current's brand (in fact, a lot of the KEXP fanbase also is aware of or shares listening time with The Current) I wouldn't be so quick to say "probably zero." Not a safe assumption in the age of streaming.

Honestly, how many people do you think stream KGRG in a month? 10, 50?

 

[bobdavcav]

We're talking about friggin KGRG Bob. Not exactly an international sensation.

So? My point was that Andy has a point when it comes to common brandings. I personally don't think KCMP has anything to worry about, but the issue of a common brand is something that seems like it should be considered more on a new station launch.

 

[Kelly A]

So? My point was that Andy has a point when it comes to common brandings. I personally don't think KCMP has anything to worry about, but the issue of a common brand is something that seems like it should be considered more on a new station launch.

But like anything, it comes down to a matter of scale. Especially true when it comes to non-comm stations. Some obscure Community College radio station like KGRG has the same slogan as their campus newspaper isn't going to harm a larger station across the country using the same slogan/branding. Especially if the slogan hasn't been copywritten, one doesn't pose a threat purely based on scale. This amounts to trying to build a mountain from an anthill.

 

[CarAgencyGuy]

so where things stand in Seattle radio is a semi-heated discussion of the 'branding' of a small non-comm station.

 

[Kelly A]

so where things stand in Seattle radio is a semi-heated discussion of the 'branding' of a small non-comm station.

New to Radiodiscussions.com? If so, welcome!
You can count on this topic will likely further erode into an inane rabbit hole of insignificance.

 

[fordranger797]

It's entirely possible that Green River isn't sure what to do with KGRG. Based on the fact that nothing has changed with the website, I could potentially see the current format as being some sort of placeholder until they ultimately decide what they intend to do.

With that being said, even if they wanted to call themselves "The River," I don't really see that being a problem. I'm sure there's a radio station out there sharing the name, and I doubt Bruce Springsteen cares.

 

[Kelly A]

It's entirely possible that Green River isn't sure what to do with KGRG. Based on the fact that nothing has changed with the website, I could potentially see the current format as being some sort of placeholder until they ultimately decide what they intend to do.

But honestly, with everything going on media-wise in Seattle and the nation, is the format of a flea power student run community college station all that important or impactful? Changes at a community college station should be a footnote, not a headline.
Just look at the subject line of this topic.

With that being said, even if they wanted to call themselves "The River," I don't really see that being a problem. I'm sure there's a radio station out there sharing the name, and I doubt Bruce Springsteen cares.

Agreed. Just like this whole topic, consider the scale.

 

[fordranger797]

But honestly, with everything going on media-wise in Seattle and the nation, is the format of a flea power student run community college station all that important or impactful? Changes at a community college station should be a footnote, not a headline.
Just look at the subject line of this topic.

Agreed. Just like this whole topic, consider the scale.

I’d see it being far more impactful to discuss the reason behind the switch from rock to CHR. I guess it shows the declining interest in modern rock music. The station itself is insignificant.

 

[placebo1969]

New to Radiodiscussions.com? If so, welcome!
You can count on this topic will likely further erode into an inane rabbit hole of insignificance.

Just don’t mention the K-word here.

 

[CarAgencyGuy]

Aruba, Jamaica, Bermuda, Bahama, Key Largo, Montego

 

[DMK]

Aruba, Jamaica, Bermuda, Bahama, Key Largo, Montego

All those places sound a whole lot better right about now.

 

[Rock 100.7]

Andy, you bring up a good point that a friend and I have been making for years now. In the age of smart speakers, a unique branding should be more important than ever. Just a few examples,
1. If someone says to their device of choice "Play 99.5 The Wolf," are they going to get Dallas when they want Portland?
2. Same applies to Z100. If they say "Play Z100," they're likely to get New York, when the wanted station may be Portland or even Missoula, though the Missoula station is a Townsquare station, meaning that you actually have to enable the skill.
3. The same friend I mentioned above, who lives in upstate New York, has both Family Life skills on her Echo. One is the local network heard across New York and Pennsylvania, the other is the similarly named and similarly formatted network based in Arizona. I can't remember which is which, but one is Family Life Ministries and the other is Family Life Communications. Wouldn't it be a benefit to both brands if they either merged or one rebranded to something a bit more unique?
4. I was going to leave it at the Family Life example, but then I remembered there are actually documented cases of listener confusion. The most notable example in commercial radio is the confusion of listeners between WBEB in Philadelphia and WBWB in Providence, both at the time using the name B101. Another good example is a public station in CA rebranding as KVPR last year because their former name, Valley Public Radio, had the same initials as Vermont Public Radio, causing listeners to send their donations intended for the local station to Vermont instead.
I could go on and on about this, but I'll leave it there.

Geofencing doesn't play into this? Surely it has to.