In this brand-heavy enviroment that we live in, a name can matter. It sends a message. It sends a signal, especially if it's new, to what audience they're seeking.
Clear Channel Atlanta last week named its newest alternative rock station Radio 105.7. That's descriptive in one sense because yes, it's a radio station. But does it mean anything? It's almost like calling a restaurant Restaurant. Or naming your dog Dog.
Not that there's anything wrong with that.
Sean Ross, Edison Research vice president of music and programming who has a national perspective on such things, said Clear Channel didn't pick this name willy nilly. And it's already used by at least two other radio stations:
The "Radio…" name has worked well for Clear Channel in Philadelphia, as well as for Greater Media at WBOS Boston. I think it's not a throwaway but a very deliberate choice that goes with the whole no hype/no frills nature of the presentation. It does acknowledge the number of people who, these days, think of a station primarily in terms of dial position, unless the name is especially catchy or memorable (e.g., Bob- or Jack-FM).
Personally, I appreciate a clever station name, especially in the home of "QXI in Dixie." I like the symmetry of the new "Power" throwing back to the old "Power," down to the similar calls. For those stations that still market, it's good to have a hook. But it still comes down to whether there's a need for the station in the market. Being "94Q" or "Star" turned out to matter less for that station than whether CHR was hot at the time. A station called "Dave" probably had good awareness and recall proportionate to its ratings, but it still never found a place.
I asked a few former radio folks in Atlanta what they thought of the name:
"Sometimes, the simplest things are the most obvious. I think that's what they're trying to do," said Steve Mitchell, a former jock at Eagle 106.7. "Make it easy to remember. It's radio at 105.7. Why get cheesy with the name? I think we've exhausted with names of animals for radio stations. Sometimes, listeners appreciate being direct."
"I don't have a problem with it," said Jimmy Baron, former 99X and Dave FM morning host. "I don't know if the name really matters that much. It will make it easy if they have to change formats. It doesn't pigeonhole them to one format. I don't think the name of the station is going to make or break them. It's not like naming it after a fictional person, not naming any names."
"It doesn't exactly give you a positioning statement. It's clean and simple. I don't think it matters what you call it as much as what comes out of the speakers," said Kelly McCoy, former B98.5 jock.
"They clearly went to creative focus groups and spent hours and hours on it," cracked Spiff Carner, formerly of Cool 105.7, Fox 97.1, Lite 94.9 and Atlanta's Greatest Hits 106.7. "Someone must have scribbled it down. 'It's radio and it's 105.7! Okay, we got it!' "
Clear Channel got rid of Peach a decade ago in favor of Lite because it felt Peach had too old of an image. But how would Lite make them sound any hipper?
When it dropped 96rock, it chose Project, which always had a temporary sound to it. On the brighter side, it sounds experimental and cool, which it managed to "project" for six years.
When Lite was turned off, it became the Bull, which isn't a bad name for a male-oriented country station, or something that sounds more macho. The station actually played John Cougar Mellencamp and Lynyrd Skynyrd type cuts early on but then went to a more traditional mainstream country sound. It now has a more current feel than Kicks.
When Project died and Power 96.1 took over, that name actually works well. It's brawny and bold and the station came on like a Mack Truck into the crowded Top 40 arena. So far, it has been competitive with Star, Q100 and B98.5. And it evoked a name of a station in this market that existed long before many of Power's listeners were even alive. (Yes, 99X was Power 99 in the late 1980s/early 1990s).
