As we become more attuned to analyzing PPM numbers, it’s looking more and more that well-branded and well-positioned Classic Rock stations should do very well in a metered world. Of course, many operators of Classic Rock stations have experienced two decades of pretty consistent success, playing the best rock from the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s.
But there are some stations that do an especially good job of repackaging the music to create memorable special programming. I call this "shuffling the deck" because it involves playing many of the same songs but in a different format. The now-famous "Classic Rock A-to-Z" is a good example, as is the ubiquitous "Top 500 Countdown," typically scheduled over Memorial Day Weekends.
One station that always seems to come up with clever specials is Entercom’s Eagle in Sacramento. Curtiss Johnson, Brian Lopez, and their veteran staff have become experts at melding Classic Rock with a little old school theater of the mind. This week, they’re taking another "Classic Rock Road Trip," cruising across the country (forget those high gas prices) to feature music from many different cities and towns.
Maybe this all sounds simple, but the reality of putting together something like this (and doing it well) is that it takes several staff meetings and brainstorms, storyboards, show/prep scripts for each state and city on the tour, and a great bit of writing and production that makes "Classic Rock Road Trip" come alive. The feature generates a huge audience reaction, fueled by the fact that many Eagle listeners moved to Sacramento from somewhere else.
My favorite Eagle stunt, however, is "Woodsquawk," a virtual/fantasy music festival that is always entertaining, colorful, and enhanced by great personalities like Bob Keller, Tom Nakashima, Charlie Thomas, Kat Maudru, and even syndicated hosts, Mark & Brian.
Download an Mp3 Of The "Woodsquawk" Aircheck
If you ever wonder about the value of having knowledgeable, respected local jocks, look no further than Entercom Sacramento.
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Your point is well taken on the effort to put these together, but stations need to do this sort of “road trip” thing way more than the A to Z bit. I still contend that if the A to Z “entire song library” bit takes less than a month it’s not worth doing. I’ve heard a couple of stations act as if it taking a week to play “everything” is a huge deal. It does nothing to make me want to tune in again the next week if I’m going to hear the same songs again. Especially when they throw in some songs they don’t normally play. This calls attention to the limits of their playlists these days.
I think we have to remember that these “special weekends/features” are more than just music.
The mistake many programmers make is thinking it is all about music. Don’t get me wrong, music is very important, but formats like “Jack” had a LOT more going for it than just a huge playlist….a LOT more. But narrow-sighted radio broadcasters thought all they had to do is fire all the jocks, expand the playlist and viola. Didn’t work.
American Top 40 was the success it was, not just because of the nation’s top songs counted down, but because of the way it was presented by the unimatable Casey Kasem. In fact there were probably 5 other national countdowns in the 80’s that tried unsuccessfully to compete with AT40.
Repackaging the music is a great idea, but expand your efforts beyond Selector, surround those titles with a presentation that includes the right attitude, presentation, production and excitement that breathes new life into the familiar titles as well as propping up the unfamiliar/secondary songs.
Take a cue from Nick At Nite. They do a fantastic job of repackaging the same old sitcoms.