PPM + Fall Promos and Programming

73° - sunny at 10:45am

Good Morning from Michigan.

Left: from WQBW/Milwaukee. A small but great example of tying promotional efforts to current events! Fun too.


PPM and Stopsets: Inside Radio reporting of a "strategic shift" at Clear Channel's Houston cluster FMs - going from three stopsets per hour to two. Based on PPM research.

A letter to advertisers from Clear Channel notes "research with PPM shows us that people are listening through the commercial breaks."

IR adds that "Less Is More" inventory minute limits remain firmly in place, but stopsets will grow from a maximum of four minutes to five. They're also reducing station promos to one minute per hour, adding the inventory back to programming.

Added: Mark Ramsey offers commentary on the Clear Channel move here.

Programming note: KHYT/Tucson moves Opie & Anthony to overnights 3-6am. Just guessing its a "contractual obligation." Where is this show working in morning drive outside (perhaps) NYC?

Promotions: Seeing lots of on-air listen-to-win with Springsteen, Van Halen, Ozzy and Mellencamp tickets.

All "ready made" for classic rock radio; promotions you can't go wrong with.

Speaking of Concerts: KSHE/St. Louis is giving three listeners a chance to become KSHE's "official station photographer". One winner each at three upcoming concerts receiving concert tix and a photo pass. Details here. Easy to set up ($0) and very cool for listeners.

WPYX/Albany is giving listeners a chance to win $1000 by designing a billboard promoting the station's morning show. Here.

KRXO/Oklahoma City will be kicking off their "At Work Workforce Payroll" with $100/hour - plus a chance for an additional $100 bonus if a payroll winner knows "the three things".

Special fall programming: The long-term payoff with strong programming features is far greater than contesting. Its all about strengthening the brand.

KRFX/Denver kicks off "The History of Classic Albums" - presenting the essential classic albums of the last four decades in chronological order. More here.

WBLM/Portland is putting together classic rock's "Top 500" albums of all time. The station has listeners, staff and local celebrities submitting top ten fav lists. See here.

And tonight: WDRV/Chicago is celebrating the life of Jimi Hendrix - on the 37th anniversary of his death - with a one-hour special.

Presented at the end of the day (11pm) for the diehard Hendrix fans; format/music credibility made all day long simply by promoting it.