WOGL ain't what it used to be (no I don't expect it to be but...)

[JH_Radio]

Yes I know, I know. time marches on, nobody advertising to this aging demmo, etc etc.
But seriously WOGL its not to me, oldies.
The music isn't what to me is Oldies (yes I know what they play now is considered old music.)
No local Dj's other than morning drive.
What did everybody die off or retire?
Other than WVLT, where do people find 50's-70's Oldies these days?
Don't get me wrong, I like the music they play now ok, kinda reminds me of adult hitss.
and sure I'll put on morning drive at times.
but... I can't find older music anywhere.
maybe what. WMGK-HD2? they're probably the closest I'd think.
but no dj's.
Now sure I have streaming services and you can get that stuff easily enough . but its missing that local radio feel.

 

[TheBigA]

No local Dj's other than morning drive.
What did everybody die off or retire?

How do you feel about 30 year old DJs playing 40 year old music? There is a limited number of DJs that this audience will accept.

Now sure I have streaming services and you can get that stuff easily enough . but its missing that local radio feel.

The local radio feel is available in other formats...namely the ones that play currents.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

It’s oldies. Classic hits is oldies. Call it by another name to make people feel better. Fine. Realistically it’s oldies.

 

[JH_Radio]

How do you feel about 30 year old DJs playing 40 year old music? There is a limited number of DJs that this audience will accept.



The local radio feel is available in other formats...namely the ones that play currents.

Yes the local radio feel is in current formats, but I like that older format too.
WVLT is local even though its not in our market
as for 30 year old dj's playing 40 year old music, isn't that at what Koop does?

 

[JH_Radio]

It’s oldies. Classic hits is oldies. Call it by another name to make people feel better. Fine. Realistically it’s oldies.

Ok, so if classic hits is oldies, then what would 50's-60's music be?
And see that's probably why classic hits is called that, as there are some stations playing older music than classic hits would play.,
and the ones that do are called Oldies.

 

[davideduardo]

It’s oldies. Classic hits is oldies. Call it by another name to make people feel better. Fine. Realistically it’s oldies.

Those names are mostly used for sales purposes. Agencies tend to reject the term "oldies" as it means a 55+ audience. "Classic Hits" is trade name created to identify gold-based formats that appeal somewhere in the 25-54 demographic, not 65 and over.

Stations seldom use the industry format names on the air. Nobody calls themselves "Contemporary Hits Radio" or "Adult Contemporary" or "Regional Mexican" on the air... they use names and terms that listeners accept. Sales uses a different terminology, one that is somewhat standardized; the fact that Nielsen only accepts a fairly limited number of format names is a further restraint.

 

[JH_Radio]

Those names are mostly used for sales purposes. Agencies tend to reject the term "oldies" as it means a 55+ audience. "Classic Hits" is trade name created to identify gold-based formats that appeal somewhere in the 25-54 demographic, not 65 and over.

Stations seldom use the industry format names on the air. Nobody calls themselves "Contemporary Hits Radio" or "Adult Contemporary" or "Regional Mexican" on the air... they use names and terms that listeners accept. Sales uses a different terminology, one that is somewhat standardized; the fact that Nielsen only accepts a fairly limited number of format names is a further restraint.

Yeah.. I can't picture any station call themselves CHR radio, no listener would know what that meant.

TO me the formats are pretty wide.
I mean ok take AC. AC can be anything from super soft, to mainstream.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

Classic hits comes closest to being a used name. Greatest hits (or flavors thereof) is pretty dang close.

 

[victorres43]

Yeah.. I can't picture any station call themselves CHR radio, no listener would know what that meant.

TO me the formats are pretty wide.
I mean ok take AC. AC can be anything from super soft, to mainstream.

CHR, known to casual listeners as the Top 40 or "hits" format, also has several variations. CHR/pop can mean the likes of WHTZ and KIIS. Adult CHR can mean the likes of KRBE and WWMX. Rhythmic CHR can mean the likes of WJMN and KUBE. And so on.

Adult contemporary radio used to be synonymous with easy listening, but not anymore. Although, when referring to adult contemporary as a music genre, it more often than not refers to pop ballads.

 

[Viper252]

Never quite understood it because that demo has the most money.

The excuse that they don't spend seems kinda lame

 

[TheBigA]

Never quite understood it because that demo has the most money.
The excuse that they don't spend seems kinda lame

Not sure anyone is saying "they don't spend," but rather they're harder to sell using advertising.

 

[davideduardo]

CHR, known to casual listeners as the Top 40 or "hits" format, also has several variations. CHR/pop can mean the likes of WHTZ and KIIS. Adult CHR can mean the likes of KRBE and WWMX. Rhythmic CHR can mean the likes of WJMN and KUBE. And so on.

Most format names are not used on the air. AOR, A/C, CHR, etc., are radio industry terms used to define formats.

Adult contemporary radio used to be synonymous with easy listening, but not anymore. Although, when referring to adult contemporary as a music genre, it more often than not refers to pop ballads.

The first AC stations that actually took that name were first called "chicken rock" and played less intense songs in the rather early 70's. Most were gold based, such as WGAR in Cleveland and others were light Top 40 like WERC in Birmingham in '72 (I name that one because I programmed it).

AC was never all pop ballads... there were lots of tempo songs, but just not the heavy rock, deep soul and R&B and some of the teenybopper bubblegum stuff.

Easy listening developed as far back as the early 60's on some AMs and many FMs and gradually progressed from Mancini and friends to Mauriat and Caravelli and Pourcel in the late 60's to the proprietary recordings of the 70's... when it was now called Beautiful Music.

 

[davideduardo]

It’s oldies. Classic hits is oldies. Call it by another name to make people feel better. Fine. Realistically it’s oldies.

Not really. In the industry we have terms for eras in gold music. Oldies is 60's based. Classic Hits is 80's based. Throwbacks is 00's based. All are oldies, each appeals to a different generation.

"Oldies" became a big negative term among ad buyers, and that is why the industry came up with "classic hits" to define a format that did not appeal to folks over 60...

Even the term "oldies" is dated. It's used by people in the Boomer generation and a lot less in other groups.

 

[davideduardo]

Never quite understood it because that demo has the most money.

Some do, some are on fixed Social Security or government pensions. Not all moved to Sun City or The Villages.

The excuse that they don't spend seems kinda lame

They spend, but they have a lifetime of habits and brand loyalty or brand preference. So it takes a lot more ad impressions to make a sale, and in most cases it's not worth it.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

Moses Znaimer built a whole media company dedicated to serving the 55+ audience in Canada with radio, TV, magazines and a senior-targeted website. I believe he created his own agency to handle the ad buys which if true, probably solves the biggest obstacle normally discussed here, namely agencies not being interested in that audience.

David, do you have any insight into the profitability of Zoomer Media? The Canadian media advertising model isn't really that different than ours, after all.

 

[davideduardo]

Moses Znaimer built a whole media company dedicated to serving the 55+ audience in Canada with radio, TV, magazines and a senior-targeted website. I believe he created his own agency to handle the ad buys which if true, probably solves the biggest obstacle normally discussed here, namely agencies not being interested in that audience.

David, do you have any insight into the profitability of Zoomer Media? The Canadian media advertising model isn't really that different than ours, after all.

I have no insight into the finances, but the fact that they have a complete portfolio of video, publications, websites and radio is different. Most senior ad campaigns in the US seek visual media, as many of the senior products require imagery either to distract from the fact that a med "prolongs life as much as a year" or to show how much fun a cruise or a new recliner might be.

A lot of senior ads are "I fell and can't get up" and goods and services that one does not need when younger. Those thrive when accompanied by video of an older couple walking on a beach or visiting the park thanks to those products.

 

[Theater of My Mind]

I have no insight into the finances, but the fact that they have a complete portfolio of video, publications, websites and radio is different. Most senior ad campaigns in the US seek visual media, as many of the senior products require imagery either to distract from the fact that a med "prolongs life as much as a year" or to show how much fun a cruise or a new recliner might be.

A lot of senior ads are "I fell and can't get up" and goods and services that one does not need when younger. Those thrive when accompanied by video of an older couple walking on a beach or visiting the park thanks to those products.

The portfolio is indeed smart business, and one shouldn't expect anything less from such a successful media legend as Znaimer. I guess the obvious question is why hasn't someone done the same in the U.S.? That's why I asked if there was any insight into the finances.

 

[AbrahamJSimpson]

Not really. In the industry we have terms for eras in gold music. Oldies is 60's based. Classic Hits is 80's based. Throwbacks is 00's based. All are oldies, each appeals to a different generation.

"Oldies" became a big negative term among ad buyers, and that is why the industry came up with "classic hits" to define a format that did not appeal to folks over 60...

Even the term "oldies" is dated. It's used by people in the Boomer generation and a lot less in other groups.

🙄😂🙄😂 In the real world people also have words.

 

[davideduardo]

The portfolio is indeed smart business, and one shouldn't expect anything less from such a successful media legend as Znaimer. I guess the obvious question is why hasn't someone done the same in the U.S.? That's why I asked if there was any insight into the finances.

The company is relatively small, and only fully covers Toronto with all the different media. It has no radio outside that area, and only a couple of TV operations. It's not a fully integrated national multimedia company.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZoomerMedia

 

[TheBigA]

I guess the obvious question is why hasn't someone done the same in the U.S.?

There are some local people who are trying to find the right combination. Certainly Weigel is the most obvious one. Buffalo has Buddy Shula and WECK. Over in Phoenix you have Riviera and John Sebastian. I think the the model you describe is a good one because it involves multiple platforms. That's what one needs right now to be competitive. But the more studies we see, the more it looks like radio needs to find a way to make money from older audiences.