To support the launch of the new Barrett Media, we’ve created a special series titled “20 Brands In 20 Days.” Highlighting successful stations across the country in various formats by conducting conversations with their brand leaders. Up next is Lotus Communications Jeff Connell. Jeff is Regional PD and PD of Country KTHI (Hank 107.1)/Boise, ID. The station we are highlighting today.
Jeff Lynn: Tell me how 107.1 Hank was born.
Jeff Connell: We had it in Classic Hits for many years as K-Hits. Over the last couple of years, we’ve been really making a concerted effort to breathe some life back into K-Hits.
We’ve kind of had the roller coaster ratings and we just couldn’t seem to pop into the top 10. And that market was really well served by our competitor. So, we knew that it was going to be a battle, but we were trying.
We just did not have the luck of seeing that come together. Ultimately, we did some research and found that those who loved it loved it. The music was on point; it was exactly where it should be.
So, it led us to really explore; perhaps the appetite just isn’t there. And what might we do instead? We had launched Hank FM Seattle, and we’re seeing some early results with that.
As we looked at the market and what we perceived to be some holes, it kind of made sense to go. Should there be a Hank in Boise? And from there, it moved quickly to yes, and let’s go.
JL: Describe the brand, starting with the musicality.
JC: The difference, certainly, and the big differentiator that we were most excited about was that it’s centered on what we consider real Country. The research that we saw showed a clearly defined split between modern, pop, bro, whatever categorization you want to use for Country, and what was perceived as real Country-centered in the nineties and early 2000s.
The entire idea is that the whole first station is crafted around that and identifies the appetite for that real Country. We felt like that was an identity that Idaho was missing. So, it’s positioned as Idaho’s Real Country, and it’s a different listen from the moment you give us the first segway.
JL: The first time I turned it on, I heard “Holdin’ Heaven” by Tracy Byrd. Will a lot of that 90s product come through all the time?
JC: Yes. That’s delivered in the core.
JL: What about 80s?
JC: Those are present and there as well. We go back to the sixties to some of the true Merle classics. We’ll reach up to about 2010, but it’s musically centered in the 90s and early 2000s.
JL: Let’s talk a little bit about stationarity as it pertains to imaging. You’ve got a great name. How do you support that name with your between-the-records stuff?
JC: It’s deliberately a little bit arresting and different. So, it’s not unheard of or unknown to even the market because there’s Jack, there’s Bob. But the Hank personality really, I think, is goofy, but with a little bit of sensibility of when life was a little easier, when we could make jokes that you could smile at and know that everybody was kidding, and it was equal ground. It has an Idaho sensibility in the way that we’re writing that one.
And the Hank FM people are giving us a great starting point and a strong group identity license to use.
JL: I know you’re on the air, but tell me about your morning show.
JC: Mary Kennedy is our morning show, and she has been on K hits, but this is the music she grew up with. She was just outside of St. George, Utah, in a city called Beaver, Utah. And so, she’s got a real strong tie and identity to growing up on these songs.
As do I, for that matter, because I was in Seattle, but I worked at KMPS, and Young Country, all in the cluster I was in. So, it all makes sense to us. And these are kind of the songs that were our center as well.
She’s having a lot of fun just playing songs. We try not to be intrusive; Mary and I see ourselves as Hank’s helpers. We’re not trying to supersede the brand in any way.
We just want to compliment it.
JL: I love Classic Country music because it puts me in the backseat of the car with my parents going to Grandma’s house on a Sunday. It’s that warm feeling you talked about when times were simpler.
JC: I think that’s crucial. The formats that we’re seeing have the best opportunity to change the radio landscape are the ones that can offer nostalgia, a little more of a true component of this is who I am and a little more identity and belief to it.
There’s something about Christian radio, Country radio, and Classic Hits that, as people use the medium in this new world, I’m glad we’ve aligned with a format that speaks to that world.
JL: I’ve seen pictures of everything from your trucks to your banners to your shirts, and it all carries that same branding message, color, and everything else. It’s very true to Hank.
JC: That’s very intentional on our part to try and set it up the right way. I’m glad it’s coming through that way. That’s the red, white, and blue, which I think is just a real obvious thing. Having a guitar and the logo made a lot of sense.
I think we’re in an era where expecting people to sample you if they don’t have a good idea of what you might be is not a guarantee, and we can’t take that for granted. So, our attempt is to have the product clearly who it is every time you see it or hear it.
JL: It looks like you’re already out hitting the streets and being with the people.
JC: We’ve had good luck. My GMs on both sides were very supportive of getting vehicles wrapped and kind of playing the old-school game. I think it’s important in this era. With these formats, it’s important to get out and be where your listeners are. I think that pays dividends for the credibility of the brand. We’ve been very intentional and very supportive in doing that.
This is an encouraging sign to me. We’re doing Hank hats. People not only seem very excited to wear that item when we give it away free, but we’re also offering the chance to text in and get it. I’ve never seen more enthusiasm for a brand. That’s non-scientific, but it’s a good sign to me that people want to wear the brand, so we’re enjoying that.
JL: Give me a little taste of your social media presence and how you’re doing that.
JC: We did a full reset on that one. We’re really rebuilding, and it’s very small right now, but our intention there is to celebrate Idaho’s brand of being Idaho’s real Country by showing off Idaho’s real beauty.
We’re doing a lot of posts that just kind of celebrate: This is where we live, and this is what it looks like. We’re posting only the biggest, most essential news stories, but not political stuff. We want to give people a break from that and just be a respite.
We’re trying to have some fun with artists, but we’re trying to have a bigger focus: Idaho. This is where we live, and this is why we love it.
JL: I saw some of those really cool pictures. I think one of them you credited to a friend of yours—that just really, really made me want to visit there.
JC: It’s honestly been really good, even internally too, because all I did there was I asked our staff, I sent an all email, and I just said, if you’ve got any beautiful pictures that I can use and put them up. I’d love to celebrate not only your photography but this great place we call home. And we had about 50 pictures coming from our office. So, I was stocked and ready to go.
I really appreciate that everybody took amazing shots. You see these different places that you don’t even know yet. I hope our audiences, when they discover our social media, are seeing those, too.
JL: I know you got your first book; it looked amazing.
JC: Yeah. Boise is a two-book market. I think we had five full weeks in format. So, to be honest, we really didn’t expect anything too substantial to happen this time. We were braced for it to just get its feet and start to move. Maybe we’d see a little uptick, but we were blown away. I mean, it was far better than we expected. My OM had a quote in his email, and I think this sums it up the best. It seems everybody checked it out when we flipped, and a ton of them stayed and liked it.
JL: Anything I haven’t covered you want to add?
JC: I appreciate that you’re paying attention to it. Look, we’re not declaring victory by any means. We’re the new kid, and we’re just kind of finding our way, but we’re really excited by the results so far and the early enthusiasm, and we look forward to building it out further.
Listen to Hank here. Find Hank on Facebook. Connect with Jeff here.
Jeff Lynn serves as Editor of Barrett Media’s Music Radio coverage. Prior to joining Barrett Media, Jeff spent time programming in Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland, Des Moines, and Madison for multiple radio groups, including iHeartMedia, Townsquare Media, NRG Media, and Entercom (now Audacy). He also worked as a Country Format Editor for All Access until the outlet shut down in August 2023.
To get in touch with Jeff by email, reach him at Jeff@BarrettMedia.com.
