Krash Kelly is Program Director for Adult Hits 103.5 BOB-FM Austin. He had been with the Waterloo Media station for 20 years, spanning various ownership changes. Kelly has customized BOB-FM to be hyper-Austin and a departure from the Jack model, making it unique for the market.
103.5 BOB-FM is today’s featured brand.
“What we did was take the Jack FM concept and try to customize it for our particular market,” Kelly says. “I think sometimes the Jack FMs have a little bit of an attitude and a coolness about them. We decided to take the self-deprecating, goofy sort of attitude and some of the humor that Jack has and adapt it a little bit more for our needs.”
This means curating a playlist that includes pop and rock and infusing every element with a uniquely Austin flair.
“We’re a hit-driven, adult hits radio station. We have a smattering of contemporary music. Whether it’s Taylor Swift or Benson Boone, just enough to keep things fresh and give us a little more contemporary feel.”
The station keeps that Austin feel with content between the songs.
“We try to keep all the stuff in between the songs very local and Austin-centric. We didn’t want to be just a jukebox.”
The station has on-air hosts, but their roles differ slightly from other formats.
“We have hosts, but we don’t talk a whole lot. We started off with just one daypart, then added another to be a more informative, warm presence on the station. We’re not trying to out-entertain anyone. We’re just trying to inform and be a companion to the music.”
The station had to be cautious because it started with no hosts, and there was concern among the audience that it would morph into a talk-heavy morning show.
“We had to be careful. Once they realized we weren’t going to break our promise of being a music-centric station and still delivering 13 or 14 songs an hour, they were okay with it.”
The station had to pivot during the recent Texas floods while staying in BOB’s Lane.
“We didn’t turn the radio station’s personality off. But we asked, how can we be a resource? We posted donation links, promoted animal fostering for shelters that were inundated, and helped people figure out how they could contribute.”
“We weren’t going to become a wall-to-wall news station. We’re an escape for 75-80% of the audience who weren’t directly affected, but we still had to be aware of our surroundings.”
Seizing on pop culture moments adds to the fun imaging, and BOB leans into topical humor.
“We have fun with things like that on the air. We’re not artificial or intelligent, but we try to capture the moment. Sometimes we’ll run with it for a week or two and then move on.”
Creating that branding, which also carries to social media, is a team effort. Kelly and his APD/MD Evan Shipe hold weekly meetings to brainstorm.
“Some days we’ll get two pages of ideas, and some days we’ll get two things. We’ve found that too many cooks in the kitchen don’t work. It’s better to keep the creative team small and focused.”
The station’s cause marketing is something that the ownership drives.
“Veterans, animals, and musicians. Those are big hot buttons for us. We also do some work around food insecurity. Our parent company, Waterloo Media, has always been very cause-oriented, and we continue to grow that focus.”
The Bob Squad is the station’s affinity club, and contests are primarily conducted online.
“We run 99% of our contests via the website. It keeps the clutter off the air and gives us a way to track engagement. Our prize pickup percentage is the highest in the building.”
And sometimes he is surprised that it isn’t always the most significant prizes that attract the most engagement.
“You never know what’s going to hit. Sometimes, a $250 gift card gets more response than a major concert ticket. It depends on the audience and what they value.”
Kelly believes radio still has a bright future and encourages the industry to have fun.
“Radio needs to be fun. I hope we continue to keep having fun with this and don’t think too much about what you’re doing.”
“Just have some fun and don’t get caught up in overly researching this stuff. Radio still has lots of legs left. I am still impressed by how many people I see on the street who mention things they’ve heard. Liners that they hear on our air, commercials that we’ve aired, things that we’ve done.”
“People who would tell you in a heartbeat that they don’t listen to the radio anymore, but they’ve been caught by repeating liners to me.”
“I just think that the industry needs to continue to be excited about what we’ve got and realize we’ve got a great product and we’ve got a great industry. Things are changing, but adapt to the changes, see what you can do with them.”
Listen to 103.5 BOB-FM 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.
