The future of Q102

[stevenmcintosh2012]

I noticed their ratings are down to 2.9 in the last period. They are the second lowest ranking major Cincinnati station even getting kicked by Star 96.5 which is basically sort of a rimshot.How much longer do you think they will last? They've been at this for over 25 years. Their evolution to Hot AC was easily since it didn't involve as much of an update to their playlist.....they kept alot of their old stuff and didn't have to add as many new tracks as a Top 40 station would. They were quasi-Hot AC in the 80's anyway since there were a lot of songs, some in the Top 10, that they refused to play.What do you guys think would be a good format for Q?

 

[microbobcincy]

If CBS Cincinnati were smart, They would flip Q102 to Jack and then take WGRR Classic Hits which they already are almost. They are squeezed in what they can do here because CC has an AC MIX94.1 and Cumulus with a soft AC WARM98. Unless CBS wanted to take Q102, and make them a full CHR and go after KISS which at one time I thought they would and didn't.

 

[Apollo7979]

It'd be great to see Q102 go back to it's roots. The only problem is whether the new generation of CHR listeners will embrass Q102 as the place to hear all the cutting-edge, hip new music. After some 15 years as being either boarderline or full-fledged hot AC, that might be hard sell, especially if they try to segue back to CHR with little other change.

 

[NoWayNoCC]

I'd change Q-102 to a "Jack-plus", modeled after the station's CHR days. Except this time it would play all the songs that it should have played in the '80s but didn't.

 

[stevenmcintosh2012]

I think the switch to JACK is also their best option. I like MAX and listen when I go home, but they are using three different frequencies to try to cover Cincinnati and still not successfully doing it as you can see in their Arbitron ratings. Q102 has something to go after there. Why try to continue as Hot AC or CHR when they obviously can't do a good job at it? Even when their ratings were good in the 80's (I'm guessing from what I've heard since I will admit I never saw the Arbitron rating back then), it was only because they were the only game in town and no one had a choice (except for those, like me, that were novel enough to know about the existence or WCLU or whip out a better antenna to pull in Z-93 (least better of these choices), Power 94 1/2, or 99.7 DJX)

 

[WyllyWylly]

The Q102 of the eighties was a fun station - jock antics (I remember Mark Sebastian playing "Everybody Wants You" about thirty times in a row), party music, contests, etc. KISS is taking the younger segment pretty well, those with large disposable incomes - but they are also very fickle listeners. If Q could pull a "classic hits" station targeted towards women who are established with larger incomes and get a few decent primary sponsors, I think they could be on to something.Just the other day I was talking to a jock from our station about it and we agreed that they have a roughly once-a-month identity crisis (probably a bit over the top but you get the idea). Looking at CBS stations overall in this market, they seem rather rudderless and without real direction. I like a "Jack plus Jocks" format, focusing on what they did right back then - and playing current hits as well. I previously had a good deal of success with a similar concept and format on an Internet-only radio station. I think if they could identify with the 35-50 segment of women, they'd have a fighting chance.

 

[Arbitorn]

With so many ways to get the music you want without the BS, how would you measure the appetite for a female-appeal news-wheel in the morning, featuring the skirt-driven stuff the TV morning shows carry like health news, fashion trend, nutrition and kid-info stuff? Avoid the sports unless it's something the average female would care about, like how far the Red's are out of or into first place and who's in the playoffs. Play whatever the top testing female hits are, whether it's country or pop. If a new "Sleepless in Seattle" type movie comes out, play the soundtrack tunes. No giggly pair of he&she either - just one person to tie it all together.I'm not saying what I'd do the rest of the day, I just wonder what you think that kind of format would do in the morning. Females for the most part have surrendered talk radio to men on AM. Would a female-oriented talk format with a little music get started on FM?

 

[WyllyWylly]

I think your idea for a morning format has some legs - although I would still favor a male/female pairing, kind of a bad cop/good cop situation so that the female demo could gang up on the male co-host. For a morning pair to work, though, it would have to be dynamic and generate buzz. Cincinnati already has a family-friendly station in Warm 98. Trying to beat them at their own game would be suicide.Add to that mix the things that working women are missing the night before: who's out on Survivor, hey-can-you-believe-that-narrow-minded-guy-on-Wife-Swap, etc. Give the women something to talk about amongst each other, and give them a reason to listen. For any of it to work, the station needs to stay on message and be consistent. Right now, I don't think there is a lot of focus on exactly who that listener is; they're trying too hard to reach out to anyone without a Y chromosome. Knowing who you're talking to goes a long way towards building your audience.

 

[onegreatplace]

I noticed their ratings are down to 2.9 in the last period. They are the second lowest ranking major Cincinnati station even getting kicked by Star 96.5 which is basically sort of a rimshot.How much longer do you think they will last? They've been at this for over 25 years. Their evolution to Hot AC was easily since it didn't involve as much of an update to their playlist.....they kept alot of their old stuff and didn't have to add as many new tracks as a Top 40 station would. They were quasi-Hot AC in the 80's anyway since there were a lot of songs, some in the Top 10, that they refused to play.What do you guys think would be a good format for Q?

 

[crash92]

JUST MY PERSONAL OPINION....I WISH WE HAD A DEDICATED 80'S STATION. IF I DRIVE THROUGH COLUMBUS AND CLEVELAND THAT'S ALL I LISTEN TO. IT WAS SUCH A FUN ERA WITH A HUGE VARIETY OF MUSIC. A TIME WHEN EVERYBODY SOUNDED DIFFERENT. CINCINNATI IS CONSERVATIVE AND TENDS TO LIVE IN THE PAST. DOES ANYBODY THINK THIS WOULD GO OVER WELL? I LISTEN TO Q102 WHEN THEY HAVE THEIR 80'S WEEKENDS.I WORK FOR A SCHOOL THAT HAS AN 80'S INTERNET STATION WITH A LARGE DEMOGRAPHIC FROM 17-54MALE AND FEMALE. IT'S PRETTY POPULAR. OF COURSE WE NETCAST WORLDWIDE.I HATE TOO MUCH TALK IN THE MORNING. I NEED MUSIC TO GET ME GOING. SOMETHING UPBEAT.BUT I AGREE EVERY MORNING SHOW NEEDS THE MALE FIGURE TO BASH ON (HA HA).

 

[CincyRed]

I am sure with the book they just had, they will not switch anything at Q102, seems to me they finally got it right.

 

[WyllyWylly]

I am sure with the book they just had, they will not switch anything at Q102, seems to me they finally got it right.

Did I miss something here? Didn't they drop .5 overall in the last book? Granted, small swings like that are as likely to be a burp in the Arbitron ratings as anything else, but they've stayed consistently down in the overall market for the last year.

 

[CincyRed]

Look at the core demographic W25-54#2 7.9 Overall#2 9.4 AM#2 8.4 Mid Day#2 8.8 Afternoon#7 4.5 NightsYou must have missed something because the core listener loves the station, 7-12 is the only shift in which there was a down swing. Every other day part and overall was up.

 

[TheGrudge]

Is Women 25-54 really their core audience? I honestly can't tell when I listen to them. Their music sometimes goes that way but then it'll swing hard towards the 18-34 demo. I honestly believe that the format and demo that they go for is influenced by 2 things, mainly: Promotions and Music. They really could care less about the jocks, it doesn't affect their listening habits all that much, in my opinion. They do a great job with some stuff, like their pick your purse and that baby movies thing, but then they do things like advertise for Metropolis where they hold wet T-shirt contests and makeout contests. And music ranges from stuff KISS plays to things MIX and WARM have. They have to be confusing the hell out of their listener.I think they might be trying to keep one foot on either side of the fence and that's going to hurt in the long run. I remember listening to Q back in the day and used to like them. Now I just cringe whenever I turn them on. Like when I hear the midday guys 6 requests thing. Horrid!

 

[WyllyWylly]

You must have missed something because the core listener loves the station

OK, I stand corrected/misinformed. I was simply glancing at the overall numbers from AllAccess, which show:WKRQ Hot AC Infinity 4.4/3.9/4.2/3.7From Spring 05 thru Winter 06, respectively. It's an age old problem with numbers: they can show so many different things, depending on presentation and interpretation. I should have dug a little deeper before I shot off at the keyboard.Regardless, the ratings don't tell the story in the same way as listening does; they seem have a very confused message right now. As TheGrudge noted, Pick Your Purse was a great promotion, but it was like cotton candy: one bite and you realize that there's very little substance, just a lot of fluff. It's back to the identity crisis thing: by trying to be a little of everything, they're missing out in the long run, and it's going to hurt more than it helps.

 

[onegreatplace]

I'm sorry but I think you may be way off on this one. They have been in the top 4 with W25-54 for seven of the last nine rating books and have not been out of the top 4 with W25-54 for the last 5 books. I think, despite the common thinking on this thread, that Q102 seems to have "found the groove". At least they found the Arbitron groove.

 

[CincyRed]

Pick your purse is a gold mine, along with the girlfriend getaways, so much so the boys across the street at Kiss came up with the exact same promotion....way to be original! Goes to show you that when you have a PD who cares about the music and has a marketing background, you can make things happen!

 

[TheGrudge]

Pick your Purse is a great promotion, probably why KISS imitated it. But didn't Q do the Purse thing like 2 months ago? In my book that's not very original thinking. Kinda like What's in Hollie's Purse. Every night for 2 years? Are you serious?But seriously, they are doing a great job...

 

[Nick Scott]

I have been on the air at Q for a year now. I can tell you this, we are turning things around and bringing Q102 to a whole new level. There are more great things on the horizon for Q102. Just wait.....Nick Scott

 

[TheGrudge]

Unless you guys are changing out the air staff, focusing your playlist, and doing promotions involving something other than purses...I really don't see much happening over there.