Christmas Flips on WERZ and WYNZ.

[adbuyer1]

Chuck:

You can't be even remotely serious.  It is actually stunning to hear someone with your years of experience say that.  Neither you, or any station, has interaction with but a tiny, miniscule fraction of your P1 audience on the phones, email, facebook or twitter on a daily, weekly or even annual basis.
The point - No you don't have interaction with enough of this audience on a daily basis to even begin to make such determinations. 
Case in point - did you check WYNZ's Fall 2008 ratings on a monthly basis.  Pick any demo.  You were WIPED OUT in the last phase.  Christmas music KILLED your P1's last year.  Isn't that really the point of our little discussion?

[True Grit]

<And honestly, humbuggers can tough it out for a few short weeks. Sorry, True Grit. In fact, we should protect the humbuggers. There should be an FCC law that reserves the all-Christmas format for AC stations only. Other stations would be allowed to sprinkle in the occasional Christmas song, and be authorized to totally flip on Christmas Eve and Day, and not before.>

Works for me, Nelz   

[Nelz]

I'm glad you agree, True Grit. BTW, I sure do miss ya round this nuthouse. I know you're missing those moments when I flex the "golden pipes" with a personal rendition of Joe Diffie's "Leroy the Redneck Reindeer."

True Grit, you may remember all those years go when 93.5 "The River" out of Fairfield, Maine, made the flip to all Christmas music. Many of us, including me, said what fools! What damn fools they are! Don't they know anything about radio? They must WANT to go dark! When the next Arbitron came out, many a station was eating humble pie, of which I partook. I believe it was the beginning of the Christmas flip wars in the years to come, with Kiss 94.5 leading the first to flip pack, followed by my beloved 92.9 WEZQ. 
           

[Chuckigo]

Chuck:

You can't be even remotely serious.  It is actually stunning to hear someone with your years of experience say that.  Neither you, or any station, has interaction with but a tiny, miniscule fraction of your P1 audience on the phones, email, facebook or twitter on a daily, weekly or even annual basis.
The point - No you don't have interaction with enough of this audience on a daily basis to even begin to make such determinations. 
Case in point - did you check WYNZ's Fall 2008 ratings on a monthly basis.  Pick any demo.  You were WIPED OUT in the last phase.  Christmas music KILLED your P1's last year.  Isn't that really the point of our little discussion?

if your statement is accurate, we have interaction with just about ALL of our P1's, since there are so few of them.

just wonderin' - on your world, is there only right ?  every now and then, you might be surprised to find that on our planet, you are, on occasion, quite mistaken.

again - read the post.  you find an argument for anything ANYONE says in response to you if it is in the least contrary.  lighten up, Adbuyer1.  easy to take shots from an anonymous point of view.

[Chuckigo]

and just one more, if i may, to aplify the discussion:

Ratings are devised from extrapolated proportion of completed diaries to that of the overall population.

with that in mind - the same active regulars January through November still partake and participate in our radio station, based on the ability to recognize voices and names and email addresses and such.  granted - the interactive portion of the audience is but a fraction of the passive audience - but extrapolated hypothesis indicates to me that the same core of folks are still, for the most part, with us.

i will tell you we get a few "oh God NO!" emails and calls - with the caveat that they will "see (us) after Christmas."  however - those calls and notes have dwindled drastically.

don't pretend to tell me what i do or don't know about my profession.  book-smart or otherwise, i know nothing of your credentials or experience.  tout as you will your "knowledge," but put up or shut-up.  30 years in this market tells me that any formulaic, cookie-cutter audience measurement is not a true bellwether of what is real. 

agreed - the ARB numbers are those which we have to live with.  but that does not make them exact or even remotely right. 

[Blue Palms Media]

Yes Virginia,
There really is a Chuck Igo!.....I should know.....he leaves smart remarks on my Facebook page all the time!

[splicer38]

Nelz:
      I appreciate you enthusiasum for the holiday.  I appreciate it from a programming standpoint.  However, I agree with those that beleive too much of a good thing is bad.  Ever have too much Egg Nog?  My instincts about you tell me yes!  HA!  AC and Country sations can get away with it more than rock and CHR becasue of the volume of material and familiarity of it.  I do think that going all Christmas has a burn out factor especially for 5 weeks.  I also beleive that any segment of an audience thas is asked to "Tough it out for a few weeks" will not.  They will go elsewhere.  Never give any of your listeners a reason to sample the competition.
Moderation is the key with a growing number of hourly selections before you flip on Christmas eve (IMHO) is the way to go.
Merry Christmas you Jolly old radio dude!

[Nelz]

Nelz:
      I appreciate you enthusiasum for the holiday.  I appreciate it from a programming standpoint.  However, I agree with those that beleive too much of a good thing is bad.  Ever have too much Egg Nog?  My instincts about you tell me yes!  HA!  AC and Country sations can get away with it more than rock and CHR becasue of the volume of material and familiarity of it.  I do think that going all Christmas has a burn out factor especially for 5 weeks.  I also beleive that any segment of an audience thas is asked to "Tough it out for a few weeks" will not.  They will go elsewhere.  Never give any of your listeners a reason to sample the competition.
Moderation is the key with a growing number of hourly selections before you flip on Christmas eve (IMHO) is the way to go.
Merry Christmas you Jolly old radio dude!

What can I tell ya Splicer38, I've always had a soft heart for the season and the kids it brings so much joy to. The big kids seem to come out of the woodwork for the holiday season as well, living vicariously through the little curtain climbers. I only speak from experience.

We are successful. I can't and won't tell you all we do to maintain a consistent level of success with seasonal boosts of audience growth, so I guess you'd have to listen with an open mind and take notes. Sometimes we can't see the forest for the trees because of our own likes and dislikes. I'm reminded of my days in advertising sales when I'd run into the occasional business owner who wouldn't buy a station because he/she didn't like the music or programming, even though their target audience/potential consumer was listening/viewing in massive quantities.

I always go back to an infomercial I saw a long time whose logo was tagged with these three words: "Decide. Commit. Succeed."
I know it sounds simplistic, like some hokey sales seminar, but many "Decide" to do something like flip to Christmas music or take up the guitar for example, but don't "Commit" to their decision by pouring emotion and creativity into it. But once you "Commit" and honestly believe in what it is you are doing and saying, "Success" will follow. In our case, audience growth.

I've said too much. Sorry for the ramblings.

May the holiday season bring some measure of joy in these turbulent times.

         

[splicer38]

If it works... Don't fix it.  Keep it up.
Merry Christmas.  Happy, safe and Prosperous new year!