Sunday Morning Odds & Sods

70° - sunny at 11:25am

Been listening to Bob Stroud's Rock & Roll Roots on Chicago's WDRV since 8am eastern this morning. Highlighting this week in music back in 1971. A great year in music. And discovering new music.

Among titles heard this morning:

• "Inner City Blues"/Marvin Gaye;
  
• "Signs"/Five Man Electrical Band;
  
• "One Fine Morning"/Lighthouse;
  
• "Smackwater Jack"/Carole King;
• "Too Many People"/Paul McCartney;
  
• "Charity Ball"/Fanny;
  
• "Wedding Song"/Paul Stookey;
  
• "Rain Dance"/Guess Who;
  
• "Marianne"/Stephen Stills.
  

Lots more. The Joan Baez cover of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down". Pardon my enthusiam - but these are surprises you can't get from an iPOD.

Falling under the category of too much information (buts its my blog):

One 1971 music memory is discovering Marc Bolan and T-Rex. Hearing the single "Hot Love" on (then) top 40 station WLOI-FM 96.7, LaPorte, Indiana during a family camping trip.

As I recall - it was before "Bang-A-Gong" broke. When traveling back in that era one could hear and discover songs & artists on the radio that hadn't made it to my hometown Chicago stations. And why that memory still occupies a cell or two in my head is beyond me. I didn't even hear any T-Rex this morning!

Post-Stroud. Continued to listening to WDRV - the station doing a "Triple Play Weekend"; three-fers accompanied by some very cool artist imaging voiced by Nick Michaels.

Returning to the present: Still high on Mark Ramsey's NAB presentation. In one of his "7 Habits", he writes/speaks of "Events vs. Anti-Events". Using WMMR/Philadelphia, cites a couple of PPM "case studies" on the impact of on-air ticket giveaways.

First study was a promoted ticket giveaway for The Smashing Pumpkins. The day of the giveaway - a pair an hour 10a-7p, average persons 25-54 increased 2.3%, but cume dropped 16.5%.

Second study - a promoted ticket giveaway for The Police. The day of the giveaway - a pair an hour 10a-10p, average persons 25-54 increased 16.5% - and cume increased 7.2%.

The Police reunion tour no doubt a "real event". At least for the listeners of WMMR. Smashing Pumpkins maybe not.

So whats your criteria for putting a promotion on the air (or not) - and if - at what promotional level? What does your research - including your gut tell you?

Added: WRIF/Detroit sweeps the 2007 R&R Active Rock Station honors. See a very cool message to "The Riff" from Lee Arnold here. Beautiful Lee!

All for today - finishing a perceptual project for the day job and then its off to my 8-year old's first flag football game. Have a great Sunday!