Hit Radio FFH Relaunch

Hit Radio FFH has relaunched its programme on the 1st of July.

A lot of things are new:

1) The whole performance (brand design, logo, sound design) is much fresher and more adult oriented.
The sound design was produced by Groove Addicts in L.A. which guarantees a certain pop rock approach.

2) A new morning show with more entertaining benchmarks that fit the lifestyle of the target group. More interactive elements. But a more adult, clearer and less commercial approach.

3) The music plays a bigger role. It is more mix-driven with more 'Kult Hits' and 'Rock Hits' from the 80s and 90s.

4) In the afternoon there is a new show concept with the former morning host Johannes Scherer: more fun, more music -> the definite opposite of boring.

Hit Radio FFH now gives the listeners even more opportunities to be recalled during the rating periode in autumn.

Listen now and have fun: http://www.ffh.de/webradio

Neue Kampagne. Mehr Musik. Capital FM dreht auf.

„Die grössten Klassiker, die aktuellsten Hits“. Die neue Werbekampagne von Capital FM unterstreicht bildhaft und irritierend kunstvoll das Programm-Konzept des Hauptstadtradios. Zur Profilstärkung des Berner Leaders in Sachen Hördauer tragen sowohl die grossen Klassiker der Kunstgeschichte als auch aktuelle Musikstars bei. Mit der Lancierung der Kampagne baut Capital FM das Musikprogramm weiter aus.

Das Hauptstadtradio Capital FM ergänzt sein Musikprogramm mit noch mehr Klassikern aus den 60ern, 70er und 80ern und setzt dieses bewährte Programm-Konzept in Form der neuen Werbekampagne bildhaft in Szene.

Realisiert wurden Plakate, Inserate, Internet-, Tram-, Bus- und Rikschawerbung, sowie TV- und Kino-Spots. Mit dem neuen Slogan „Die grössten Klassiker, die aktuellsten Hits“ unterstreicht Capital FM sein unverwechselbares Musikprofil, welches bereits zur längsten Hördauer unter den Berner Lokalradios geführt hat. Durchschnittlich 60.5 Minuten pro Tag geniessen erwachsene Bernerinnen und Berner ihr Hauptstadtradio und schätzen das vielseitige Programm mit seiner hohen Informationskompetenz.

In der neuen Werbekampagne sind aktuelle Musikstars in Klassikern der Kunstgeschichte zu erkennen. Eine überraschende und äusserst freche Umsetzung als Spiegel des Hauptstadtradios Capital FM.

Die TV-Spots wurden im Kunstmuseum Bern aufgenommen und sind bei YouTube hier und hier zu finden.

Head or gut – or how much market research does music on the radio need?

By Justus Fischer, On Air Digital

Music and mathematics are more closely connected than most people may think. As early as several hundred years B.C. Pythagoras experimented on a simple guitar and noticed that the basic musical intervals can be described by simple numerical ratios. In this way the first scale in history was created with the help of maths. And today brain research studies confirm that musicians have better spatial imagination and are more capable in the field of mathematics. Numbers and music have always belonged together, even if some people may find the connection between emotional music and dry numbers very strange.

Market researchers promise the nearly transparent listener and optimal market exploitation. But when it comes to radio stations that are confronted with research data for the first time, their reservations against this system often seem insurmountable. Music directors and editors worry that they will lose their creativity. They fear for their influence and dread letting music planning be influenced by a method they do not yet fully comprehend. They prefer relying on their experience and their gut feeling. Here, market researchers and consultants are sometimes challenged even psychologically in order to alleviate the program makers’ distrust. In addition to that, their best analytical abilities are required because the raw results which are presented in seemingly boring Excel tables have to be read and interpreted correctly.

Call-outs or results of an online test where listeners rate each track, Mapping studies which take a detailed look at a market, listening habits and musical preferences of listeners or continuous tracking with which the development in the market is monitored permanently – all of those methods cough up a vast quantity of numbers in the end.

But what amount and which kind of music research does a radio station need? On the one hand, this certainly depends on the necessary cash, but also on the market and the target group on the other hand. In a young and fast-paced segment it is advisable to look at numbers in the form of call-outs on a weekly basis. The results tell you exactly which tracks are particularly popular with the listeners at the moment and which current songs are already past their zenith and are no longer justifiable in heavy rotation. After all, such formats appeal to a dynamic audience that is constantly looking for new musical inspiration.

In an Oldies format, however, the popularity of individual songs normally will only change marginally over the years. Therefore a singular test of the back catalogue is sufficient to begin with. But a detailed Mapping study should be conducted to find out which music styles are relevant at all for the listenership targeted.

In a highly competitive radio market where many stations want a piece of the cake that’s as big as possible, figures gained from tracking are particularly valuable. They reflect the current market situation and provide precise information on the popularity of the music mix, the presenters, the news, the comedy or the current competition.


The only form of market research where numbers hardly play a role are focus groups in which a psychologist explores the emotional ties of the listeners to the station.

As a general rule you can say that the more intense the competitive environment is, the more advisable it is to conduct reliable research. Results from market research provide the coordinates for the right calculation of the route towards the target. All wrong tracks can be ruled out from the outset.

But as with the bible there is more than one way of interpreting research data. In an air check session or a strategic meeting adult people can argue for hours about one single number because even a decision based on plain figures likes to be made emotionally. Here it can be seen that music research is perfectly complemented by the often quoted ‘gut feeling’.

Music research is indispensible in the daily work of a music department. Nobody can afford to do without such figures. They provide the basis for decisions that make sense. But the interpretation of the results requires sensitivity and intuition. What’s more, market research does not provide information on one crucial aspect. Which impulse might be pivotal for the future of the station is still to be decided by the management on a gut level. A mathematical formula for success unfortunately does not exist yet.

New Radio Expres TV Spot - Enjoy!

Enjoy the very latest Radio Expres TV campaign spot. And for those who haven’t recently practised their Slovak: The slogan “Bavi nas - bavit vas” can be translated as “We enjoy entertaining you” or “We love to entertain you”.

New Ratings in Switzerland - Congratulations FM1!!!

10 months after relaunch FM1 is the winner of the Swiss ratings that have just been released today by Publica Data.

In the audience measurement figures for the second semester of 2008 the development for the German-speaking part of Switzerland looks like this: The stations of public broadcaster DRS reign supreme because of their national coverage. Despite slight losses they continue to score the highest market shares.

In the group of commercial stations Radio 24 can defend its peak position and keep its net reach of 250,000. Clearly behind it in second place is Energy Zürich (200,000) which is able to gain market share thanks to a higher average TSL. Zürisee and Pilatus remain at the same level as in the first semester of 2008, while Argovia and Radio Top lose net reach.

For those stations that were launched in 2008 the situation is different: Radio FM1 can clearly gain both reach (164,000) and market share while Roger Schawinski’s Radio 1 loses more than 30% of its net reach compared to the first semester of 2008 (from 107,000 to 74,700).

Congratulations to FM1 for their excellent performance!

Test our MusicMind 2.0 update

Faster, better design, more comfortable are the magic words for the changes from MusicMind 1.0 to MusicMind 2.0.

Test the new version of www.musicmind2.eu
The login will be sent to you by sending an email to: sonja.schuhknecht@brandsupport.de

At the end of January MusicMind webinars will be available for you to learn how to use it best.

Happy New Year 2009

Dear Friends, Partners, Clients,

an exciting and challenging new year 2009 is waiting for us.

Although the financial crisis effects budgets for good quality programming and station marketing in a negative way, a crisis is always a chance to change things into a positive direction.

Two effects are already visible:

1) Strategic thinking and great ideas found through qualitative research will get more important this year.

2) Furthermore the management will be able to chance irrelevant rules and structures faster than under normal conditions to save costs and gain space for more creativity at the same time.

Brand Support wishes all of you a successful new year.