Jacobs Media - Why X96 is the top-rated Alternative station in America (Printer Friendly)

With congratulations to owner Simmons Media and their entire staff – and with fingers crossed that writing a column like this won’t somehow "jinx" their success – we thought it appropriate to try to answer a question we’ve been asked a lot during 2006:

Why is X96 (KXRK) in Salt Lake City the top-rated Alternative station in America?

If you haven’t been watching ratings in SLC (and some of you have other markets to worry about), there’s been something happening here at X96 for some time now. As of this writing, they’re #1 18-34 with a 10.5 share and tied for 3^rd 12+ with a 6.1.

Anyone familiar with Salt Lake – and its tendency to accept "move-in signals" licensed to towns on the other side of the mountains – knows that X96’s success isn’t due to a lack of Rock and Alternative flavored competition. In fact, SLC is one of those markets where observers will tell you that there are simply too many Rock-formatted stations.

And of course, the other notable aspect of the market is the conventional wisdom that it’s difficult to be successful with an Active or Alternative station because of the demography. Rolling Stone featured X96 back in July as part of a feature article called "Rock Radio’s Last Stand." The word has gotten out that there’s something special going on in SLC, but how to explain why X96 has become the next great Alternative station in America?

In addition to sheer dedication and hard work, some other factors have favored X96:

WIDE, NOT DEEP –
Program Director Todd Nuke ‘Em loves music, but he’s no snob. Todd won’t leave hits on the table from either the Active side of New Rock, the young MTV Punks, or any other source. To Todd, a hit is a hit – and he’ll play it. Listeners have come to expect and appreciate the wide variety, too. So – if they don’t like a song – they tend to forgive X96, figuring that the next song will probably be better. Not ruling out any popular music style also allows Todd to have many more hits from which to choose.

WHO’S LISTENING NOW? –
Some stations don’t believe in dayparting, but X96 does. They play a lot more Gold during the day, and are extremely Current-driven at night. CHR’s have done this for years, hoping to garner more adult at-work listening during the daytime and targeting younger listeners at night.

OUCH, THAT’S TIGHT –
The cume is large, because many hours are spent playing a well-tested core list of popular songs. (Sometimes it’s that simple.)

"A SURPRISE INSIDE" EVERY DAYPART –
X96’s P1 listeners appreciate that the station also calls attention to benchmarked features that venture outside that core list. Whether it’s "Todd’s iPod," "Artie Fufkin’s 5 o’clock X set," or one of night jock Corey O’Brien’s many features, there’s a song coming up soon that listeners may not expect. This is one of the ways that X96 effectively competes with iPods and listener on-demand choice.

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION –
X96 hasn’t conceded the "local" part of doing radio. And they reinforce it constantly. The morning show has resisted the temptation to syndicate, so they can talk about local issues with a uniquely Salt Lake attitude. Imaging production carries local references throughout, and the station is always out and about. There’s simply no way a voicetracked radio station could sound this local. And they use the unique flavor of SLC to their advantage.

DIFFERENT VALUES –
X96 decided around three years ago on a main positioning line to which they’ve remained true:

"Local. Independent. Alternative."

You hear it every hour on the hour, but the jocks aren’t asked to defy their own independence by selling it themselves. When listeners are asked what separates X96 from other stations, they’ll often comment, "You're not Clear Channel... and you’re not ‘The Church.’" In their minds, other radio is either conservative & Mormon - or corporate. X96 is neither. That’s not to say that X96 doesn’t employ Mormons on the air and off – or that X96 doesn’t make Mormon listeners feel welcome. Still, in a city where religion is ubiquitous, X96 provides an occasional escape.

RADIO FROM HELL –
That’s the tongue-in-cheek name for the station’s clearly non-secular morning show, hosted by Kerry, Bill & Gina, now #1 18-34 with a 13+ share, and often a top contender 25-54. All of them were born and raised in Salt Lake City and are now heritage morning players. (So, don’t even try to steal them!) They are shamelessly, rebelliously political, and left-leaning (at least for Salt Lake) and, most importantly, they’re very funny. Much as Lazlo did on his original KRBZ/Kansas City afternoon show, "Radio From Hell" positions the whole station as being the one "blue state" oasis in a very conservative, so-called red state environment. They poke fun at the local Republican establishment, but don't offend, and they are friendly toward everyone. Former Jacobs Summit speaker Matt Ragas would be proud that they’re a textbook case study in "Cult Branding," referring to regular listeners as "Friends of the Program," and creating a safe place for those who dare to entertain thoughts that are outside the mainstream. For many listeners in SLC, they are a guilty pleasure, but they don’t get mean or angry in their rebelliousness.

GOOD CASTING –
Daypart jocks are chosen for both functionality and personality – and to sound different from each other. Corey O’Brien, at night, has a strategic role as the station’s explorer of new music, and his personality is to flirt with the girls and be one of the guys. Talent coaching at X96 is more about character development than radio mechanics.

LISTENER INTERACTION –
If a change is made in the station – any change – listener input is always cited as the reason. The program director blogs daily (without fail), has a Listener Feedback Line as his on-air suggestion box, and Jacobs Media hosts Listener Advisory Boards on every market visit. Station management has learned not to overreact to any one listener comment or group, but – cumulatively, over time – they are able to trend P1 attitudes, the new features that are starting to cut through, morning topics that are really causing buzz, and whether any other stations in Salt Lake are starting to get some attention. This is truly a station that has bought into giving listeners a seat at the table.

TRUST –
You would expect us, in this type of advisory, to stroke management and corporate. But we’re doing so for reasons that might surprise you. Craig Hanson, Steve Johnson, Alan Hague and the wise people who run Simmons Media Group realize that they’re personally outside the target demographic and psychographic. In short, they know what they don’t know. While they certainly mind the store and set strict guidelines, they don’t even try to gap the cultural chasm between themselves and X96 listeners. They’ve empowered their staff to handle that part. The president of a record label doesn’t do A&R, and the senior leadership of X96 doesn’t try to spot trends in pop culture. Instead, they focus on selling the value of the audience, while leaving the "craft" part of the equation to the programming and marketing types. It’s working.

No two markets are alike. Would the X96 formula work elsewhere? In parts, yes. But other aspects of the station are truly unique to SLC and market particulars.

Still, we believe Alternative radio can learn a lot from X96’s boldness. Rather than chase the masses, X96 serves a niche – a very large niche. They are truly living the "Alternative" definition well by giving their market a station that sounds different from everyone else. That’s a large part of why X96 has become America’s next great Alternative station.

Click Here For A Larger Version Of The Rolling Stone Story