Hamish and Andy might be the big guns the industry is talking about, but Southern Cross Austereo (SCA) is putting its eggs in the breakfast basket, with a big investment in its new morning team.
As part of a reshuffle announced earlier this year, SCA is moving its existing drive team, Dan and Maz into the morning slot, taking on established teams from Kiis’s Kyle and Jackie O and WSFM’s Jonesy and Amanda. In addition, TV stars Hamish and Andy will be moving to a national drive show in July.
But while Hamish and Andy might be the big name stars, SCA head of content Craig Bruce said Dan and Maz are the focus coming into the new year, with the station receiving a youthful facelift to better suit the pair.
“The focus from Sydney is all around Dan and Maz but over the last couple of weeks we've made some reasonably significant tweaks to our music positions,” Bruce said.
“We have some music on air that I think will reflect where Dan and Maz sit as a show and as a brand. It’s younger, it's fresher and it has a sound that is a little bit more definitive.”
SCA will also be boosting its advertising around Dan and Maz with a significant campaign across outdoor, TV and a heavy focus on digital and online because “that's where the audience is”.
It's not the first time SCA have come in guns blazing with a new breakfast team. The network spent much of 2014 defending its ailing breakfast team of Jules Lund, Merrick Watts and Sophie Monk.
But Bruce said the experience Dan and Maz have as a radio duo will set them apart.
“The difference between Dan and Maz launching in January next year and the 2DayFM Breakfast show from this year, is that Dan and Maz will have all the chinks and issues around execution well and truly sorted and the show will sound good from day one,” Bruce said.
“They’re in their late 20s - early 30s. They're in the sweet spot where the next three to four years will see them develop into a show that will certainly bring a lot of ratings success.”
While Bruce said he thinks Hamish and Andy are the best team on the airwaves, he’s under no illusions that 2015 is going to be a walk in the park, especially in the competitive drive slot.
“Hamish and Andy are going to help - obviously they’re going to help - but it's not just turning on a tap,” Bruce said. “The market is different from five years ago. It's incredibly competitive.”
He also added that the injection of Hamish and Andy is likely to give SCA a boost in demographics other than its target youth market.
“There are kids 10 years old and grandmas over 70 that love Hamish and Andy,” Bruce said.
“So this idea that a young and youthful approach means you’re turning off audiences over 40 is absolutely not the case.”
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