3WZ and the value of consistency

[Ned Gimp]

3WZ seems to get most advertisers in the area almost by default, kind of like the CDT, it's a safe play for the confused locals. What does this teach about business? and the smart business of radio?

 

[TiggerSwoosh]

Well when 3WZ is number one book after book, what advertiser wouldn't go with them. They would almost be stupid not to.

 

[ameyer]

#1 every book? Maybe in certain demos but look at the overall 12+ numbers they haven't been number once since before the Spring of '05 book

Spring 05: 4th place
Fall 05: 2nd Place
Spring 06: 3rd Place
Fall 06: 2nd place

Holding in the Top 5 is maybe a better way of putting it they have not been the number 1 station in the market though for 2 years...I know I know I have a lot of room to talk right? Well look at our demos and you will see we faired quite well in certain areas as well, Arbitron is a joke if you ask me...Didn't anybody else find it odd then when Forever bought up everybody that they had 4 of the Top 5 stations in the market, stations that have not done so well since? If you listen to 3WZ they have no problem getting advertisers cause hell a lot of it is repeat business, unlike certain other companies in the market that we in the biz here so many good things about they don't screw there clients over...

 

[Spackler1]

#1 every book? Maybe in certain demos but look at the overall 12+ numbers they haven't been number once since before the Spring of '05 book

Spring 05: 4th place
Fall 05: 2nd Place
Spring 06: 3rd Place
Fall 06: 2nd place

Holding in the Top 5 is maybe a better way of putting it they have not been the number 1 station in the market though for 2 years...I know I know I have a lot of room to talk right? Well look at our demos and you will see we faired quite well in certain areas as well, Arbitron is a joke if you ask me...Didn't anybody else find it odd then when Forever bought up everybody that they had 4 of the Top 5 stations in the market, stations that have not done so well since? If you listen to 3WZ they have no problem getting advertisers cause hell a lot of it is repeat business, unlike certain other companies in the market that we in the biz here so many good things about they don't screw there clients over...

Are the lifestyles, listening habits, buying habits, household income, home value, etc. etc., of an 18 year-old similar to that of a 30 year old? A 40 year old? A 54 year old? That 12+ demo is fairly meaningless in real-world terms.

 

[ratingsgeek]

Arbitron is a joke if you ask me...

To slightly paraphrase Dan Patrick--who was talking about ratings yesterday on his ESPN1450 show--Arbitron may be a joke, but the joke is on all of us--not just on you. Froggy, the Bus & 3WZ contend with the same inconsistencies, the same sampling problems, the same shortcomings as everyone else. They've just figured out how to get up near the top and stay there most of the time. The others haven't. Like they say, it ain't rocket surgery. But, apparently, it ain't that easy either. Otherwise, everybody would be doing it.

 

[ameyer]

The original post said that 3WZ gets most of the advertisers by default...I am just pointing out the fact that they can do that because they take care of what they have...It has nothing to do with ratings, ect. If you keep your clients happy they come back again and again

 

[Becker]

The original post said that 3WZ gets most of the advertisers by default...I am just pointing out the fact that they can do that because they take care of what they have...It has nothing to do with ratings, ect. If you keep your clients happy they come back again and again

Since most business owners don't like surprises like dial switching and such, it's not a surprise that they would have a lot of repeat business. Having channel 4 doesn't hurt either.

The people that live here don't like surprises or change. 3WZ is the same, boring and stale station it was years and years and YEARS ago. Cite all of the ratings and acronyms for formats that you like. 3WZ is perfect for the people and the businesses around here.

 

[ameyer]

Becker are you saying that having a lasting relationship between client and station has nothing do with it, or would you agree that in some way that helps as well as being stale and boring

 

[Becker]

Becker are you saying that having a lasting relationship between client and station has nothing do with it, or would you agree that in some way that helps as well as being stale and boring

I would say both play a part. Building lasting relationships with stale and boring clients who like stale and boring music is a perfect marriage for 3WZ.

 

[jackandcoke]

Becker are you saying that having a lasting relationship between client and station has nothing do with it, or would you agree that in some way that helps as well as being stale and boring

I would say both play a part. Building lasting relationships with stale and boring clients who like stale and boring music is a perfect marriage for 3WZ.

Yeah. How many Barry Manilow songs can one stand in one day? And when will they ditch Delilah? "Sleepless in Seattle" was a long time ago!

 

[ameyer]

Yeah. How many Barry Manilow songs can one stand in one day? And when will they ditch Delilah? "Sleepless in Seattle" was a long time ago!

Color me stupid for asking, but you are joking right?

 

[Becker]

Yeah. How many Barry Manilow songs can one stand in one day? And when will they ditch Delilah? "Sleepless in Seattle" was a long time ago!

Color me stupid for asking, but you are joking right?

The fact that he posted the same answer in four or five topics in a row should clue you in to the answer to your question. He's not the brightest bulb in the lamp post.

 

[jackandcoke]

Yeah. How many Barry Manilow songs can one stand in one day? And when will they ditch Delilah? "Sleepless in Seattle" was a long time ago!

Color me stupid for asking, but you are joking right?

The fact that he posted the same answer in four or five topics in a row should clue you in to the answer to your question. He's not the brightest bulb in the lamp post.

Just backing up your own comment: "3WZ is the same, boring and stale station it was years and years and YEARS ago." Same as it ever was.

 

[ameyer]

Just backing up your own comment: "3WZ is the same, boring and stale station it was years and years and YEARS ago." Same as it ever was.

Yeah well maybe you need to take a listen to 3WZ now...No more Delaih, there is not a Barry Manilow song on the station. It is the Hits of the 90's 2k and Today....

 

[Spackler1]

The people that live here don't like surprises or change. 3WZ is the same, boring and stale station it was years and years and YEARS ago. Cite all of the ratings and acronyms for formats that you like. 3WZ is perfect for the people and the businesses around here.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but I believe Mr. andcoke is pointing out that in fact 3WZ is not the same station it was "years and years and YEARS ago", as Mrs. Nels...uh, Becker, has said. No Delilah, no Manilow. That station has changed.

 

[amfmxm]

So it's changed from what to what? Soft AC to straight AC to Hot AC to what? CHR? How many CHRs does that make in State College?

But what's this do to the notion that 3WZ gets their sales by default, just because they're the same old, same old?

 

[shilton]

So it's changed from what to what? Soft AC to straight AC to Hot AC to what? CHR? How many CHRs does that make in State College?

But what's this do to the notion that 3WZ gets their sales by default, just because they're the same old, same old?

At the present, I'd call 3-WZ a kind of hybrid Hot A/C CHR . They are more or less Hot A/C and they turn it up just a tad at night. They do not play the "rappy" stuff that you normally hear on a traditional CHR however and their weekend and specialty programming definately leans toward the Hot A/C crowd.

As far as CHR's go, State College still more or less has 2. B94.5 (where I am working) is a full steam ahead mainstream CHR. We play the hits and really don't do much in the lines of dayparting. If a song is charting well, its deserving of airplay. G101 is also CHR but they get into a lot more dayparting as in songs that are deemed "rhythmic" or "too urban sounding" are not played during the 9-5 more or less and they lean a tad more "oldies oriented" to encourage office listening...then they go full blown CHR at night with their Syndicated stuff and the live club show on Friday Nights.

So to answer your question...still sounds to me like 3-WZ is all alone doing their thing and the "B" and the "G" are more or less left to duke it out over the true CHR core. I can tell you that I have not heard a "teeny bopper" yet tell me that 3-WZ is his/her favorite station, so at least we know those people are listening to one of us (or both). But sadly, I do feel that a market like State College is too small to support 2 CHR's forever. I'd like to think if that's indeed the case and one day one of us falls, I'd like to hope I am standing in the winning corner, but I guess only time will tell if that's the case. (and to my friends at G101.....sorry...this is not a slam. Its just my speculation. Most major markets don't have 2 CHR's, so I'd hardly think a place like State College with its 40,000 townies and another 40,000 students can support 2 of us for the long haul)

 

[ameyer]

Hey Steve,

I hate the fact that you speak for us...cause you have no damn clue what we did or what we are doing, because you were to stubborn to listen to anything that was being said. It's obvious from the ratings that we were not doing what the "40,000 townies" wanted! Don't tell me that your station did much better cause a whole .8 share more is really not that much of a difference. Take a listen to the overall quality of GMR and ZWW (music, jocks, programming) and then compare what we are doing to your station's quality. I could sit here all day and point out things that are wrong with your station but I won't cause I don't care, and I am not petty like that.

 

[shilton]

Hey Steve,

I hate the fact that you speak for us...cause you have no damn clue what we did or what we are doing, because you were to stubborn to listen to anything that was being said. It's obvious from the ratings that we were not doing what the "40,000 townies" wanted! Don't tell me that your station did much better cause a whole .8 share more is really not that much of a difference. Take a listen to the overall quality of GMR and ZWW (music, jocks, programming) and then compare what we are doing to your station's quality. I could sit here all day and point out things that are wrong with your station but I won't cause I don't care, and I am not petty like that.

I don't believe I slammed anyone and I don't beleive I picked apart your station's programming aside to say that you lean more oldies oriented during the day than we do which we both know is true. What I said was that I doubt there is room for 2 CHR's in State College for the long haul. I also said that if that prediction were correct, I didn't know who would survive. I know we aren't planning on going anyplace, but likewise the last I talked to you guys, you had no plans to go anyplace either. Ultimately the audience will decide what they like best. If we are all lucky, we will both be left standing 3, 4 years from now doing the same format but realistically that's probably not very likely. If you see that as an insult, I apoloigize as its not meant to be. Its just speaking of reality.

On a side note, this weekend was the first time I noticed 3-WZ doing dual calls for WZWW and WQYX. I assume they are now simulcasting like Merf-FM and WLAK did a few years back? When did this start? I actually thought that satellite programming that QYX was running wasn't half bad, but it would certainly make sense economically to simulcast as that will cost less to operate and will help 3-WZ get into some areas that their signal currently may have been a tad weak or nonexistant in.

 

[ameyer]

Well I guess we will see reality on 8/1 then! G101 is and will be a CHR, and I think with the fall of Hot 107.9 and Hot 103 it is obvious this market does not want urban or rhythmic during the day.

Do I want to hear Chamillionare rappin about riding dirty at 8am?...No actually I don't, and I am pretty sure that the other "40,000 townies" don't either or at least 75% of them don't.

We leaned more adult oriented during the day for the people at work who don't want the above scenario playing out in there office.

I have to go now I have this gut feeling that Bump Bump Bump form B2k might become a hit finally after all these years ;D