Jimmy Brooks is the Program Director of Country 100.7 The Tiger in Baton Rouge, LA. Home to LSU, summer takes on a special feel in the region, and Brooks creates a summer sound for this station.
“Summer has a feeling. There’s no other place like Louisiana. Our program is a soundtrack for the feeling. The playlist and all the clocks are curated differently to reflect the energy of summer down here in the south.”
“When people are heading out on the boat or they’re hanging out by their pool, or gearing up for a crab or crawfish boil. They want the music that fits that moment. I load up on other high-energy songs I don’t typically play throughout the year.”
“Like the feel-good Country hits. I throw in some more ’90s titles. I play ’90s every day anyway, but there are some titles that are just more of a fit for summer. That screams summer. When people hear them, they turn up the radio, and they don’t leave.
“I believe that the classic summer anthems, your Margaritaville and Jimmy Buffett type of anthems, just bring back good memories. They make people feel good. I’m always just looking ahead.”
Brooks and I agree on the early contender for the song of the summer.
“We do local call out. I know that song of the summer so far is “Bottle Rockets,” Scotty McCreery and Hootie and the Blowfish. The first time I heard it, I said it’s going into a medium right away. It’s not even tested yet, but it is doing so good for us. It just sounds so good on the radio. Yeah, it’s just such a cool song.
That summer stationality extends to imaging and jingles.
“It’s a total summer vibe. I’ve already started updating the imaging with summer stuff. I refresh all the promos. They’re more upbeat. I’ve got some jingles that only run in the summer. Just summer-centric language, if you will. Sound effects that really transport our listeners to a perfect summer day.”
“Whether they’re in the car, they’re on the patio, by the pool, it’s not just about sounding good. It’s about an experience, really. When they turn on the radio, I want to let our listeners know that we’re right there with them. We’re celebrating the best time of the year, and that’s summer down here in South Louisiana.”
That also means staying on top of the message the station is sending.
“You cannot let a radio station autopilot in the summer, especially in Baton Rouge. You just can’t do it. If it’s raining outside, and people are canceling a barbecue or a pool party or something, the last thing they want to hear is some red-hot summer booming imaging on the Tiger.”
Summer will get a nice bow put on it when The Tiger ties its Last Chance Summer Dance to the first LSU football game in August.
“We’re announcing next week. We have a big headliner with two supporters opening up for him. We’ll have the game on in the venue. We have food trucks that will be out there, and that’s just the way that we wrap up the summer. But I feel like with the energy, it’s always summer on the Tiger.
This year will be year two for the Last Chance Summer Dance, and Brooks knew last year that he had a hit event for The Tiger.
“Zach Top was the first headliner that we had. It sold out in a day when nobody knew who Zach Top was. Being in the Texas Club in that room with 1,500 other people, and they were singing every single song I knew, right away, it was a hit. When I was planning for this year, I knew I needed to get somebody in there who would eventually be at the same caliber as Zach is one year later, and that’s exactly what I did.”
Does Brooks have any tips for generating summer revenue with all that is happening in the area?
“We’ve been blessed because there’s a giant festival that is coming on October 31st, and right now we are putting packages together. It’s a two-day festival called Boots on the Bayou, Chris Stapleton headlines one night. Cody Johnson is headlining the other.”
“It’s two days in Gonzales, so we’ve been treating it like an NPR event. We’re selling booth space for clients. This is the biggest way this summer that we’re going to generate the most revenue that’s non-traditional.
In addition to everything else, Brooks recently learned how to build websites and created the new 1007thetiger.com and is proud of the results.
“I learned how to become a web developer and a WordPress engineer and a graphic designer all in the matter of like a week. Brittany Rose (afternoon host at 100.7 The Tiger) and I created this website. I’m so proud of it. The website’s energy reflects exactly what goes on. I’m trying to get this website sold.”
“Our digital efforts are something that is a priority around here, because we get a ton of traffic to our website.
Listen to 100.7 The Tiger here.
Contact Jimmy Brooks by email here.
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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.
