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October 7, 2019 12:58 pm  #1


Televised Radio Spot Touts Contest & Format – But Not The Station

I just saw a spot on CTV’s Noon News that I’ve never seen before. And it was odd in that it was for a specific format rather than a specific station.
 
“Pure Country” is the branding of a host of iHeartradio outlets across the country, including stations ranging from B.C. and Manitoba all the way to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia  – although most of them appear to be in Ontario. The closest to the GTA are Peterborough and Orillia, even though the 30 second campaign ran on a TV show predominantly featuring local Toronto news.
 
In the commercial, there’s a promo for a contest that rewards a vacation to the Cayman Islands, but nowhere does it mention exactly where you can tune to hear the station they’re touting. It appears the idea is to look it up online and then find the one nearest you, if that kind of music is what you’re in the mood for. And I suppose it saves money by being generic and can air unaltered in any market. 
 
It’s an interesting strategy although I’m not sure how effective it will be. The chances of winning that vacation, which seems to the central theme of the commercial, are pretty remote. I also suspect most people are too lazy to go online and try to find the "Pure Country" outlet near them - if there even is one. And when they don’t tell you where the station offering this prize is in your local market, it further weakens the overall point, IMHO.
 
Still, I don’t recall ever having viewed anything like this before. Is this the latest trend or just a one-off? And I’m wondering if this will really attract ears – or just leave average listeners more confused about what they’re being asked to tune in to. 

 

October 8, 2019 1:57 am  #2


Re: Televised Radio Spot Touts Contest & Format – But Not The Station

I have seen TV commercials with generic Virgin Radio branding too.

 

October 8, 2019 7:36 pm  #3


Re: Televised Radio Spot Touts Contest & Format – But Not The Station

Prod Guy wrote:

I have seen TV commercials with generic Virgin Radio branding too.

All the MY-FM stations carry the same contests. Resource sharing saves money which is the name of the game. I see this kind of branding across several stations growing even bigger.

 

October 8, 2019 8:15 pm  #4


Re: Televised Radio Spot Touts Contest & Format – But Not The Station

The Pure Country branding is a mess.

On a local level, it seems like half of their signs/tents use the generic branding and not the frequency. When they do use the frequency it's really small. And on top of that, in Ottawa, Kingston, and Orillia where the stations are all on .9 frequencies, it's rounded up! In 2019! 

They're advertising it in Toronto as they want it do be a National brand that listeners access online. I haven't seen the spot you're talking about, but I hope it was at least clear that it's on the iHeart app?
 

 

October 8, 2019 11:26 pm  #5


Re: Televised Radio Spot Touts Contest & Format – But Not The Station

RadioAaron wrote:

The Pure Country branding is a mess.
 

Can't be any worse than the late great (or not so great) "Where do YOU get YOUR Energy?" ads from several years ago.


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

October 9, 2019 7:38 am  #6


Re: Televised Radio Spot Touts Contest & Format – But Not The Station

I have seen the pure country ad, but since I don't care for that type of music, I didn't pay much attention to where it is available.

 

October 9, 2019 12:07 pm  #7


Re: Televised Radio Spot Touts Contest & Format – But Not The Station

You are seeing the whole point of having national brands though....   Listeners today, don't always care about the frequency, as streaming is becoming more the norm. 

The cost effective promotion of Virgin is the fact they can run the same add with LOCAL frequency, AND a national add with just VIRGIN RADIO.     Same goes for KISS, or Pure Country, or FRESH.      It's a smart move really.    National TV networks can run Virgin Radio or Pure Country spots and get the pay off the same as the local spot, that would never be possible with a isolated local brand or cost effective.   Pool the resources for contesting, promotions, etc as well.    This is where the bean counters are welcome in my view.    You can do local with a national brand., but not local with a national station.   Not to mention here, in markets like Toronto, that has no "PURE COUNTRY" you can run a national spot and get listeners in those markets you would never have any other way.    (and Pure Country is a Bell station, as is CTV, so cost is very low to run the spot)

 

 

October 9, 2019 6:08 pm  #8


Re: Televised Radio Spot Touts Contest & Format – But Not The Station

radiokid wrote:

You are seeing the whole point of having national brands though....   Listeners today, don't always care about the frequency, as streaming is becoming more the norm. 
The cost effective promotion of Virgin is the fact they can run the same add with LOCAL frequency, AND a national add with just VIRGIN RADIO.     Same goes for KISS, or Pure Country, or FRESH.    
 

They all need to promote their morning shows in each (major) market though, and, if possible, afternoon drive.
Especially during rating periods...but then again, what good will the PPM tones be if people are streaming anyway?
Are we forced to go back to the days of hand written diaries?


RadioWiz & RadioQuiz are NOT the same person. 
RadioWiz & THE Wiz are NOT the same person.

 
 

October 9, 2019 6:41 pm  #9


Re: Televised Radio Spot Touts Contest & Format – But Not The Station

radiokid wrote:

You are seeing the whole point of having national brands though....   Listeners today, don't always care about the frequency, as streaming is becoming more the norm. 

 

Streaming is not the norm for terrestrial stations. The vast majority of listening to them is on FM. The frequency is absolutely essential, especially for a new brand like this. In fact, even with the strongest brands, listeners more often than not refer to stations by their frequency. 
 

 

October 9, 2019 6:47 pm  #10


Re: Televised Radio Spot Touts Contest & Format – But Not The Station

radiokid wrote:

 Not to mention here, in markets like Toronto, that has no "PURE COUNTRY" you can run a national spot and get listeners in those markets you would never have any other way.    
 

Sure, which is the point in running an ad in Toronto in the first place. But that ad should be promoting its availability on the iHeart app front and centre. (And incidentally, if you search 'pure country' on that app, you just get all the local stations....not sure what a potential listener from Toronto would make of that)

The ad that runs on CTV Ottawa though, needs to state that the station is found at 93.9 FM and the app.

They're trying to run a brand that is simultaneously a national country music platform AND a local radio station (smart), but their branding and marketing isn't directing people to either.  

They should have called it iHeart Country.

Last edited by RadioAaron (October 9, 2019 6:53 pm)

 

October 9, 2019 6:51 pm  #11


Re: Televised Radio Spot Touts Contest & Format – But Not The Station

Radiowiz wrote:

..but then again, what good will the PPM tones be if people are streaming anyway?
Are we forced to go back to the days of hand written diaries?

Streaming carries the PPM tone.
 

 

October 13, 2019 2:52 pm  #12


Re: Televised Radio Spot Touts Contest & Format – But Not The Station

RadioAaron wrote:

They should have called it iHeart Country.

 
Yes they should have. It's already an established brand in the US. They could have simply dropped it here. The logos and branding guidelines were already done.

https://brand.iheart.com/iheartradio-country-1