’Tis the season for holiday cheer, and radio stations across the country are ready. Some stations, including “94.5 Prime FM” in Salina, KS, and “Mix 94.5” WMXL in Lexington, KY transitioned to an all-Christmas format on Halloween. “97.9 The River” WMGA in Huntington, WV flipped the switch even earlier, in mid-October.
SMI monitors music format changes across all the stations our clients’ ads air on, and we notify clients of impending format changes so they can make marketing decisions accordingly.
“We have a comprehensive list of stations that flip each year, and we dust it off in early October as we plan for Holiday campaigns that lean heavily into the format,” said SMI’s Senior Media Buyer Pam Wolfgram. “The station list doesn’t vary much year-to-year, but the timing of the switch can change,” she said.
By Thanksgiving, 100% of stations that are going to change their format have done so, Wolfgram said. “We track change dates in Media Monitors so that we can accurately inform our Evergreen campaigns of any flips,” Wolfgram said.
The format change brings with it added listeners, roughly a 40% AQH (average quarter-hour audience) increase, according to Wolfgram. Added listenership brings with it the potential for increased customer response. As a result, SMI’s clients tend to be optimistic about the format change, Wolfgram said.
Do you want to reach growing audiences with radio this holiday season? Contact Strategic Media, Inc. to get started today.