I’ve always had a very strong belief that music-based stations should stay away from politics. I found out last week that there is an exception to that rule. There is a music-based radio station in Atlanta, V-103 that turned the election into a defining moment for its morning show. A moment that I believe will change the Nielsen ratings in that market.
Big Tigger was off the WVEE morning show for a couple of months due to a personal matter. New co-host Francesca Amiker did an admirable job filling in with a rotating slate of people in Tigger’s absence. This, however, caused competitors to gain audience over the 12 weeks. After all, Steve Harvey is a formidable competitor. When Tigger returned, there was a huge outpouring of love for him, but WVEE did not return to its leadership position.
Inviting Politics Into the Morning Show
When Brand Manager Reggie Rouse invited the candidates for Georgia governor to spend an hour with the morning show, my first thought was: PPM disaster. However, as I listened, it turned out to be a very good hour. Keisha Lance Bottoms joined the show, and despite the invitation, the Republican challenger did not attend. The hour featured questions from Tigger and Francesca as well as listeners — some hard questions and others more playful. Keisha went along with everything, knowing that if the Black population of Atlanta turned out to vote, she could win. She needed the audience of WVEE. She even said she was DJ Keisha in college, so if she were to lose, she might call upon the station for a job. Reggie scheduled music along with the usual commercial load. It was an hour that was local in every way. And WVEE does use “The People’s Station” as its positioning statement, so all was in alignment.
The win for the station came on Election Day. Keisha Lance Bottoms scored 90% of the Black vote in Georgia. In the Atlanta metro, she took nearly 85% of the overall vote in DeKalb County and 75% in Fulton County. Clearly, forging an alliance with this candidate was stronger than any team in the city. This former mayor was the People’s Choice, and the People’s Station owned it.
An On-Air Celebration
The day after Election Day was a pivotal show for Tigger and Francesca. It was an on-air celebration. They threw out all the benchmarks and talked with their audience. So many listener stories. One that stuck with me was from a woman who took her daughter to vote and drove past the Governor’s Mansion on the way to the polls. She was overcome with emotion, telling her daughter there was no goal too high for her now, with the election of America’s first Black female governor in Atlanta.
WVEE covered every base that morning. Former morning man Frank Ski, now part-time and fill-in talent, called in to talk about being the DJ at the victory rally the night before. The station’s other talent were all out on Election Night, even helping drive listeners to the polls. They even had the foresight to have Keisha Lance Bottoms cut a liner endorsing the station and the morning show during her previous visit. And yes, they played it a lot, as they should have.
The pride flowed out of the speakers that morning, and you could hear the smile in Tigger’s voice when he said, “My Governor’s name is Keisha!”
Can One Big Moment Change Listening Habits?
When a station or show does something HUGE, it really can change listener habits. It’s not as easy as it was 25 years ago, but when you do something memorable, the audience will react. I believe that this event changed the listening patterns of the audience in WVEE’s favor. While I always hate to bet on Nielsen’s results, the November week 4 PPM for Atlanta should show the power of a radio station taking a gamble on politics and turning it into a win. I heard it happen.
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