(Editor’s Note: Captain Dan’s nose is a little redder than usual at this time of year. No… he hasn’t been hitting the sauce with Rudolf. He and the folks at Froggy started spreading the Christmas Spirit a little early this year with all Christmas music all the time. Something a number of stations have done in other markets in recent years. The effect in most cities has been an unusual jump in spending by consumers over cities that didn’t do 24/7 Christmas music.
I asked the Captain to write his thoughts on the experience so far.)
Dear Jack,
Happy Holidaze to you, your family and the cadre of fans of your blog.
I love it and I do "know Jack".
Having done mornings in Erie for 19 years now, and 19 Christmas Seasons I was a bit nervous that it would be too much, too soon. A great fan of Christmas and the music associated with it, Thanksgiving morn at 6:00 AM the tunes began much to the delight of most listeners...they carried through "Black Friday" and the Thanksgiving weekend.
Okay so far....when we were still pumping out the sound of Christmas the week after Thanksgiving with temperatures in the mid 60's and obviously no snow on the ground, there was a flurry of "Bah Humbugs".
When we hit December 1st and snow hit the ground, it was like the Christmas Miracle....everybody, well almost everybody except listener Ebenezer, was in the spirit. Initially I heard a fair amount of grumbling....but the tide has swung and now it's just “Good tidings to men and Peace on Earth.”
I was swamped by folks at the Barber Ball expressing their thanks and telling us to keep it up and play even more...tough to do since there are only 24 hours in the programming day.
I came across a little something I think you and your readers will like....just click on the link and enjoy. www.elfyourself.com/.
(Editor’s Post Script: Thanks Captain Dan. EMGR wishes you and your family a great Christmas season. You got us started right. I wasn’t sure myself if it weren’t too much, but I found myself turning it on in the car more often. Now…do you have a surprise for us on December 26th?)
I asked the Captain to write his thoughts on the experience so far.)
Dear Jack,
Happy Holidaze to you, your family and the cadre of fans of your blog.
I love it and I do "know Jack".
Having done mornings in Erie for 19 years now, and 19 Christmas Seasons I was a bit nervous that it would be too much, too soon. A great fan of Christmas and the music associated with it, Thanksgiving morn at 6:00 AM the tunes began much to the delight of most listeners...they carried through "Black Friday" and the Thanksgiving weekend.
Okay so far....when we were still pumping out the sound of Christmas the week after Thanksgiving with temperatures in the mid 60's and obviously no snow on the ground, there was a flurry of "Bah Humbugs".
When we hit December 1st and snow hit the ground, it was like the Christmas Miracle....everybody, well almost everybody except listener Ebenezer, was in the spirit. Initially I heard a fair amount of grumbling....but the tide has swung and now it's just “Good tidings to men and Peace on Earth.”
I was swamped by folks at the Barber Ball expressing their thanks and telling us to keep it up and play even more...tough to do since there are only 24 hours in the programming day.
I came across a little something I think you and your readers will like....just click on the link and enjoy. www.elfyourself.com/.
(Editor’s Post Script: Thanks Captain Dan. EMGR wishes you and your family a great Christmas season. You got us started right. I wasn’t sure myself if it weren’t too much, but I found myself turning it on in the car more often. Now…do you have a surprise for us on December 26th?)
Congress passed a law on February 1, 2006, setting a final deadline for the DTV transition of February 17, 2009. Most television stations will continue broadcasting both analog and digital programming until February 17, 2009, when all analog broadcasting will stop.." FCChttp://www.dtv.gov/"
Burning down is only one way to destroy a city. This time the people of Erie need help that can't be delivered from the nozzle of a hose."--Pat Howad Erie Times-News 12/10/06--
10 comments:
So let me see if I get this right. A station plays Christmas music 24/7 and there's a spike in consumer spending? This works under the assumption that ALL consumers are listening to THAT one station. I have trouble believing that.
I also wonder of Froggy would have done this if they had a direct Erie oldies competitor on the FM dial. My bet is that they would not want to risk losing any of their audience and they would not have. They would do as before...mix the songs in with their regular music.
I didn't say it was "All" consumers. Just a slightly larger increase over markets without 24/7 xmas music.
Not even saying that there was a proven suggestion. Just an interesting bit of info.
Jack,
Your words were "unusual jump." I read that as something more than just a "slightly larger increase."
My point is that Froggy playing all Christmas music isn't going to have a whit of an effect on the spending of someone that does not listen to the station. And while I'm sure that many Froggy listeners are still listening to and enjoying the 24/7 Christmas music, I'm equally sure there are others that stopped...or greatly diminished...their listening. And if Froggy had a direct oldies competitor, I believe that they would not have changed their format for the Holiday season. They would not want to risk losing ANY listeners. But since they're the only oldies game in town, they are probably willing to write those people off in the hopes that they'll be back on 12/26.
Hopefully none of those listeners went out and got satellite radios in the interim.
Holiday cheers!
An "Oldies" station, by definition is oldies-based. A "Continuous Christmas" station, by playlist, is oldies-based. To me it works! Better for Froggy to go all-Christmas, than say Classy to do that.
BTW, don't forget that when they aren't playing preachers or football games, WCTL has been all-Christmas since Black Friday as well.
Eriedj...
Thanks brother for the update on WCTL.
Well since this stunt was done in the last few weeks of ratings, I doubt that it will have much impact.
As for a format change? I wouldn't say that, but I wouldn;t be surprised to hear a tweak or two...maybe more 70's and even (shudder!!!)80's??? Pointer Sisters...Kim Carnes...Men At Work? You read it here first.
Erie's Greatest Hits...as long as they aren't more than 30 years old...is that what you propose DJ Guy?
Betcha there are PLENTY of 20-30 somethings that enjoy their dose of 60's Motown/Beatles/Stones/Beach Boys and even (gasp) Build Me Up Bettercup.
A little off the beaten path, but the phrase "Erie's Greatest Hits" bellows up some great monikors from years past...
Erie's Biggest Hits
Something New in Erie Radio
Erie's Original Rock 'n' Roll Radio Station
Have You Listened Lately?
And, in my opinion, the all-time fave - "You Got It!"
Just thought I'd add my two cents worth.
All I can say is that I can "Siriusly" enjoy radio again for music variety. Having Sirius adds to the variety for me. (I initially bought Sirius because they will have NASCAR in 2007.) Their music channels are very deep, in fact yesterday their 60's channel played a rare version of "Walk Away Renee" by the Four Tops. There is so much music available now that it's a shame that older artists are being shoved off the air for the "flavor of the month" artists often played on Top 40 or Country radio now. Maybe HD Radio will add variety to the Erie airwaves, but that might be "In the Year 2525" around here.
Froggy has made me incredibly happy this month. It’s helped keep me sane amidst what seems to be an especially stressful Christmas season. I have the radio tuned in almost every minute I’m at home, and it really helps me get into the Christmas spirit. And while I love listening all day long, my favorite part is Captain Dan and Alan’s show. Those two crack me up! My motto this month has been “throw your arms around the world at Christmastime”; I especially want to throw my arms around the fine folks at Froggy!
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