Publishers Note
Commentary by Scot Giambalvo
KISS FM... 20 In A Row! But Which 20?
Alright, I’ve had just about enough of the “new” KISS FM promotional
strategy that consists primarily of low-class pot shots at WINK 104.
I’m not sure about most of you, but one of the main reasons I left a major
metropolis (New York) was because of the back-stabbing, emotionally
demoralizing social atmosphere that congeals around your sensibility every
minute you’re exposed to it. It’s a constant, choking sensation as the
highly-competitive advertising and marketing messages are rammed down your
throat.
Once reserved for much larger regions, the less-than-honorable tactic of
picking an apparent weak point in your competition and gnawing at it works
well in situation where there are several radio stations with the same
format in one market. But in little old Harrisburg, bashing the shit out
of the only other pop station is just pathetic.
But hey, the average consumer doesn’t realize that KISS FM has weak points
as well, they just blindly believe that they’re better than WINK because
everyone knows the media never lies. Forget that WINK is consistently a
top contender in the Arbitron Ratings. Forget that WINK is 50,000 watts.
(FYI: KISS is 6,000 watts.) Forget that WINK has one of the only truly
successful drive-time radio talk shows that is on an FM station, the Bruce
Bond Late Afternoon Show. (Which again is the brunt of many KISS pot
shots.) Has the corporate formula finally squelched common sense in its
entirety?
My first question is: Why would a communications giant like Clear Channel
Broadcasting kill a highly-respected oldies station like KOOL, with a
solid, profitable ten-year record, and replace it with a TOP-40 CHR
(Contemporary Hit Radio) station that competes not only with Harrisburg’s
WINK but with Lancaster’s WLAN, also CHR, and also owned by Clear Channel?
I’d also like to know why Clear Channel didn’t launch an urban-format FM
station in a city that’s 46% African American, and screaming for one. Let
me take a stab at it... because black people aren’t profitable like young,
white *Nsync wannabes, that’s why.
So, now we’ve got KISS FM, playing “20 In A Row”. Yup, it’s 20 in a row
alright, usually the same 20, but that’s okay. As a matter of fact, If
you’d like to get a pretty accurate outline of KISS FM’s “20 In A Row” so
you can put it in your CD player and not have to listen to any commercials
at all, visit this website:
www.PromoOnly.com/POusa/Listings/CD/MainRadio/2001.html. I guarantee
you’ll recognize every single song.
What’s next for KISS FM? Let’s see... I would surmise that they’re putting
together a pretty well-trained sales team, scouring the market, selling
good advertising for a fair rate. Pushing, pushing, pushing, to build the
commercial base so they can cut back on all those unprofitable “20 In A
Row” sets and replace them with eight minute commercial blocks during the
holidays.
Zip ahead a year or two from now: If they’re worth their salt, KISS FM
will have as heavy a commercial load as WINK if not more. So, they’ll
probably be playing about the same amount of music as WINK, at 6,000
watts, remember. And, they’ll be playing all your favorites, over, and
over and over. Say, if you start to get tired of the new Backstreet Boys
cut, you can always switch to WINK and listen to live radio personalities
broadcasting from right here in Harrisburg. At least Bruce lives in the
community he talks about, and doesn’t stream halfway across the country
via satellite to be heard.
C’mon KISS, it’s okay for you to grow up now. Believe it or not, we’re fed
up already.
Hope you enjoy this issue.
Scot Giambalvo
|
147x50.gif)