WWRZ branding

[CentralFL]

There was recently a post about a station in the UK not even mentioning their FM frequency on bus advertisements presumably relying more on DAB and streaming.

Lakeland's WWRZ has almost gone in the opposite direction. "Max 98.3" slightly tweaked their brand to "Max @ 98.3". Just an observation....the station has not altered their format in any way, they just seem to emphasize the frequency slightly more.

 

[Radio Bob]

Many years ago I friend of mine did a dissertation while going to Kent state university. He did extensive research and found that people in general remember the frequency over the call sign with the exception of call signs that spell exact things like WARM, WINK or parts of the alphabet like WXYZ. I have also found that to be the case when I ask for a call sign many times I'm given something similar but not correct whereas the frequency is more likely to be parroted back correctly when I ask

 

[SomeRadioGuy]

When i worked in NW PA, people often referred to us just by our frequency, 97.5 ...... just as much they called us by our name, The Hound.

Not a ton knew our calls, because we NEVER used them on air except TOH, even though they're in the logo. And very few knew what they stood for... despite our owner being the most well known (and wealthiest) man in the county and the calls were his intials.

 

[CentralFL]

Certainly a lot of people identify stations by their frequency. I think it is unusual to go from "Max 98.3 to Max AT 98.3". It's not a format change nor going to matter, but it is an interesting way to identify the frequency.

 

[terabitz]

WWRZ's RDS info still shows it as "MAX 98.3" even with the rebranding.