The king has reclaimed the throne. After being knocked off its perch by WSFM last time around, 2Day FM is back at the top.
"It was never in doubt, we have always been number one" said Guy Dobson, Southern Cross Austereo chief content officer. "Full marks to the others for getting there for one survey."
So how did it happen? Why did ARN's station get ahead in the first place? Dobson is not entirely sure. "Perhaps is down to the methodology" ... Maybe it was just "one of those things." Possibly, he told AdNews, it was due to shifting Triple M's core target market ten years younger and the legacy core "went elsewhere to fatten up others."
Steve Ahearn, a radio analyst from AMT, agreed that the "biggest surprise" was WS dropping "so quickly and by so much" following the last survey.
He was also at a loss to fully explain it but pointed out that there could have been a shift in summer listening habits back to work habits, with surveys one and two wrapped in together.
"The hit to WS was across its core target and in terms of shifts, it was bad all round," said Ahearn. "If it was one or two shifts, it could be down to an individual show or demographic." But given the fall across all segments, it suggests a "technical not a tactical" underlying reason.
Ahearn agreed that Dobson and SCA should be "happy" with further good all round performances from Triple M.
Another "pretty happy" bunch would be those behind SmoothFM, said Ahearn. The DMG-owned station celebrates its first birthday today. DMG group program director Paul Jackson said the station would have silenced the doubters who dished out "quite a bit of flack before we launched."
"I do think people are missing a trick. I'm surprised [more stations] are not really serving that demographic", said Jackson, of the female 25+ niche Smooth is aiming at, and the "absolute core" of 35-54 females.
Jackson said the station continued to talk to media agencies and advertisers "about a variety of opportunities" with the possibility for further in-programme integration. "People are listening all day, everyday," he claimed. "Advertisers know they will get cut-through regardless of whether that is via an ad, integration or sponsorship. [Over the year] advertisers can see we have delivered consistently."
Ahearn said it would be "interesting for advertisers to see the male-female audience split" from Smooth. "It would likely be much stronger female split but it would be useful for advertisers to see if they could see whether they are buying what they think they are getting."
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