THE “WOW FACTOR” IS CHASING OLDER RADIO LISTENERS • WMKV IN CINCINNATI TARGETS “THE OLDEST GENERATION”

Recently a new commercial radio station – KOAI in Phoenix – debuted a new radio format The Wow Factor. Longtime radio programmer John Sebastian (not the guy from The Lovin’ Spoonful) designed the format to reach Boomers, who are thought to be an under-served audience.

From 30,000-feet, The Wow Factor [link] looks like it could be a big hit. After all, there are 75.4 million people of Boomer age in the U.S. But media and marketers are now increasingly ignoring this group. Is this a good strategy?

According to Sebastian, the failure to make Boomers a target audience is based on myths and stereotypes. 

Boomers are often perceived as monolithic group with similar tastes, interests and brand loyalty.

Consultant, researcher and blogger Fred Jacobs opined on his blog in 2018 [link] that Sebastian’s format “is proudly trumpeted as a new 55+ targeted format, guaranteed…to rocket to the top of the 6+ ratings rankers.” 

Ever the realist, Jacobs added that Sebastian’s format may succeed in attracting an audience but it is unlikely to generate enough revenue to pay the bills.

We see another format-factor that may limit the life of The Wow Factor: “Wow” oldies burnout quickly.

Let’s say you are a fan of The Doors. You hear their hit song Hello, I Love You
 on KOAI and you think “Wow, what a great blast from the past.”

Then you hear Hello, I Love You
 two days later and you think, “Great song but do they play any other songs by The Doors?

Then, three days later you hear Hello, I Love You” again and you think “Been there, done that. Goodbye.”

WMKY TARGETS THE "OLDEST DEMOGRAPHIC"

Some people might say that public radio already has an older demo format: Classical music. 

Plus, the average age of a NPR News listener is now 50+ and is rising every day.

George Zahn

One station that is targeting the oldest demos is WMKY in Cincinnati. The station is operated and programmed by former WVXU PD George Zahn. The result has been so successful that Zahn wants to take it national.

Zahn describes WMKV this way on the station Facebook page [link]:

“WMKV 89.3 FM is member-supported public radio serving Greater Cincinnati. WMKV is hip, cool, and classic!”

“Founded in 1995, WMKV has been a national leader in big bands, the Great American Songbook, standards, classic radio comedies and dramas, and oldies, plus important information and weather.”

WMKY is owned by  Maple Knoll Village [link], a Cincinnati-based non-profit organization that had $46 million in revenue in 2017.  Maple Knoll is involved with housing, real estate and health services.

Zahn is one of four full-time employees at WMKY. The total station budget is said to be around $300,000.

So, how is WMKY doing?

According to Nielsen Audio’s PPM ratings for September 2019, WMKY had a 0.1 AQH share and 1,700 estimated weekly listeners.