I have to jump in and take exception to the premise that just because you change the name, that's not what the station becomes. At the risk of opening a huge can of worms, let's objectively look at WCBS-FM.
Everybody's screaming, " CBS-FM is back". CBS-FM as it once was is not back. It's not a bad sounding radio station, but WCBS-FM's name change back to WCBS-FM was a brilliant marketing move, not a programming move.
Before launching Jack, CBS-FM was dicking, if you will, with the venerable WCBS-FM, trying to lower the average demographics. Unsatisfied with the progress, they blew the station up and launched Jack. For several years in New York, The CBS Group had Jack, and Mix 102.7 on WNEW-FM. Under the moniker of WCBS-FM, and their campaign to " bring back CBS-FM", they combined the desired demos they had been targeting with the two previous stations. WCBS-FM is 70% Jack, 20% Mix 102.7, and ten percent of its former self.
CBS is on the streets selling the exact same demos they were with Jack and Mix...except they have successfully and brilliantly re-branded it all as " CBS-FM Is Back"
How does this relate to WIBG-FM.
It's reconnecting to a brand name that to many people in the region is still positive. Wibbage. The challenge now is for the station to match the product with the brand name, get the music and the presentation correct, distinguish itself from the current crop of " classic hits" stations who wouldn't think of using the "O" word, and be very smart about marketing the station and building cume.
Be the " Be My Baby" station, not the " Enough Is Enough Is Enough" station. It has the opportunity to get a lot of people who have all but written radio off, to be excited, reconnect with the emotional involvement they once had with radio. Even if you think they're crazy...their success would be good for all of us.
I've been right about a lot of things, and wrong about a lot of things. When I first heard that WKXW-FM was going to do a hybrid of Oldies and Talk on FM, I was more than skeptical. Maybe, just maybe, when you do something other than serve up the same crap everybody is serving, you can break through.
If Wibbage FM works...maybe another broadcaster will grow a pair and do something that focusus on "what can we put on our station that would attract listeners to it", instead of " what can we take off of our station that they won't miss".
As a lover of the medium, I hope they do it right and make it.
Everybody's screaming, " CBS-FM is back". CBS-FM as it once was is not back. It's not a bad sounding radio station, but WCBS-FM's name change back to WCBS-FM was a brilliant marketing move, not a programming move.
Before launching Jack, CBS-FM was dicking, if you will, with the venerable WCBS-FM, trying to lower the average demographics. Unsatisfied with the progress, they blew the station up and launched Jack. For several years in New York, The CBS Group had Jack, and Mix 102.7 on WNEW-FM. Under the moniker of WCBS-FM, and their campaign to " bring back CBS-FM", they combined the desired demos they had been targeting with the two previous stations. WCBS-FM is 70% Jack, 20% Mix 102.7, and ten percent of its former self.
CBS is on the streets selling the exact same demos they were with Jack and Mix...except they have successfully and brilliantly re-branded it all as " CBS-FM Is Back"
How does this relate to WIBG-FM.
It's reconnecting to a brand name that to many people in the region is still positive. Wibbage. The challenge now is for the station to match the product with the brand name, get the music and the presentation correct, distinguish itself from the current crop of " classic hits" stations who wouldn't think of using the "O" word, and be very smart about marketing the station and building cume.
Be the " Be My Baby" station, not the " Enough Is Enough Is Enough" station. It has the opportunity to get a lot of people who have all but written radio off, to be excited, reconnect with the emotional involvement they once had with radio. Even if you think they're crazy...their success would be good for all of us.
I've been right about a lot of things, and wrong about a lot of things. When I first heard that WKXW-FM was going to do a hybrid of Oldies and Talk on FM, I was more than skeptical. Maybe, just maybe, when you do something other than serve up the same crap everybody is serving, you can break through.
If Wibbage FM works...maybe another broadcaster will grow a pair and do something that focusus on "what can we put on our station that would attract listeners to it", instead of " what can we take off of our station that they won't miss".
As a lover of the medium, I hope they do it right and make it.
Maybe "Cabbage" would be a good moniker for a station! Go get 'em little WIBBAGE! I wish you the best......