iHeartRadio opened a large can of worms recently when they removed the all-important words “Classic Rock” from the branding on several of their stations. This includes the biggest market, where WAXQ (Q104.3) has become “New York’s Rock Station.” Other stations that made the change include KRFX/Denver and KGB/San Diego. But this isn’t a company-wide edict, as WBIG/Washington DC and others continue to use Classic Rock branding.
Both Sean Ross and Fred Jacobs have already authored articles about this topic. It was his Ross on Radio column where Sean surfaced these changes. He went back through the history of stations that have dropped Classic Rock from their positioning — several of which quietly came back to it later. That led to a post on the Jacoblog where Fred Jacobs, the father of the format, shared his thoughts.
In the post, he retells part of the story of how the format initially launched with the positioner “Good Time Rock n’ Roll,” but that never resonated. In focus groups, listeners loved the music and the station but could not recall the positioning. They did, however, consistently refer to the music as “classic,” and the rest is history. Until now, I guess.
While both Sean and Fred did a great job dissecting the pros and cons of using the Classic Rock positioner, I’d like to add someone I never thought would appear in one of my columns — William Shakespeare. Consider this quote from Romeo and Juliet: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
In the play, this line poses the question: if Romeo didn’t have the wrong last name, would he still be the same person Juliet fell in love with? Put another way, if your station doesn’t say Classic Rock ten times an hour, will listeners still love the music as much as they did the day before? I don’t know the answer to whether Juliet would still fall in love, but I do know what would happen with the listeners.
Focus Groups Built Classic Rock Radio — Here’s What They’re Saying
As a veteran moderator of many radio-related focus groups, I can unequivocally tell you that listeners almost never parrot back a station’s positioner. They know the station’s frequency, and sometimes they know a station’s moniker like Z100 or The Fox. Rarely will they say a station is today’s hit music station or that it’s #1 for the ’80s and Classic Hits. That doesn’t mean they don’t love the station — they just don’t use that name.
Going further, most positioners don’t directly impact ratings. In PPM markets, stations are judged on actual listening, not whether the audience knows the positioner. In diary markets, where listeners must remember who they listen to and write them down, most entries are a station frequency with a few station names thrown in. Not a huge impact there either.
But here’s the rub with Shakespeare and positioners — he was a storyteller, not a marketer. As programmers, it’s our job to find a way to own a spot in the listener’s mind. When they turn on the radio and are in the mood for the type of music you play, they should tune to your station.
That means the more pertinent question isn’t whether stations should use the words Classic Rock as their positioner. It’s what stations can do with whatever positioner they use to own that position with the audience. That’s where the real effort comes in.
Saying “Classic Rock” Isn’t Enough
I have been in many conversations with stations where I argued that you can’t just say the words Classic Rock — or Rock, or Alternative — and win the positioning and ratings battle. You must illustrate how the station is committed to your genre. Good positioning proves that you understand what the audience wants and that you are the place that delivers.
So maybe we should spend less time debating whether Classic Rock fits stations that play Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Instead, focus on making sure your positioner is more than just words. Use it to make Juliet fall in love with you, regardless of your name.
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Mike Stern is a Classic Rock columnist and Features writer for Barrett Media. He has been with Jacobs Media consulting stations in the Classic Rock, Rock, Alternative and AAA world for more than a decade. Prior to that he programmed stations in Chicago, Detroit, Denver Las Vegas and other markets. He also worked as News/Talk Editor for Radio and Records, wrote about Top 40 Radio for Billboard Magazine and had his own radio talent coaching business called Talent Mechanic.
