KIIS is far better than Mix. ARN have done a very good job with the change of format and poaching K&JO.
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I can talk from a Sydney perspective ā¦ KIIS is a very powerful brand in Australiaās largest city. It does have real relevance here and suits the market perfectly ā¦ a bit racy ā¦ a bit different ā¦ a bit in your face. Thatās how we like it , clear definition and going for it. Hence the ongoing success of K & JO. Prior to KIIS, Mix 106. 5 was such a wishy washy, mamby pamby format. As a long time fan of the original heritage parent 2UW ā¦ it is great to have KIIS Sydney so successful. KIIS on baby ā¦
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The branding doesnāt look that great either, hardly a good way to promote a new trio by having separate pictures of them all - couldnāt get them all in for a photoshoot together?
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Clint Stanaway in Melbourne progressively moving out of the news booth and into the studio with Jase and Lauren. Had a turn at the $5k Word Play and won for a listener.
I think itās a good move by management as I donāt think Lauren has enough to fill the void that PJ left. However I do feel for Sacha, the previous newsreader as I feel she should have had the same chance. I know newsreading is newsreading, but like Patsy on Gold with Christian OāConnell, there can be a lot of value added to a show
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They havent changed the RDS in Brisbane for 97.3 Either. Even though on air its saying Kiis97.3. Still says 97.3FM
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Iāve been recording and clipping and noting down points on the 97.3 to KIIS 97.3 transition over the last couple of weeks but Iāve been a bit busy so Iāve only now been able to compile everything into a post here.
So back in January (23rd, the day before Robin, Terry & Kip did their first show), I wrote a post about my concerns with the rebrand to KIIS. The past month has been very facinating to watch and listen to whatās changed with 97.3 FM. The website, IHeartRadio and social media all rebranded on the 24th January, but nothing on air changed with regards to branding.
However, on the 14th February the on air re-branding exercise started. Itās clear now from listening that ARN want this rebranding to be extremely gradual and that (as of right now) thereās no immediate plans to fundamentally change the format of the station. Iām still concerned that over the long term this rebrand opens the door to trying to align more to KIIS Sydney/Melbourneās format, but as of right now, the rebranding is relatively subtle and theyāre actively communicating to listeners that theyāre not really changing much. I do reckon the person in marketing who decided that Valentineās Day was the day to start introducing the word KIIS (which obviously is pronounced as ākissā) was probably pretty pleased with themselves - some listeners probably thought it was just a Valentines Day thing that just then never really disappeared the following days afterwards.
So some general points before I mention the week by week changes Iāve noticed so far:
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The new branding is ALWAYS āKIIS 97.3ā, never just āKIISā. Itās really clear that they understand people call the station 97.3 and theyāre continuing to strongly play to this.
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Theyāre not actually making much of a point to acknowledge thereās been a change really. This is definitely not like the SCA rebrands where they built up a change coming, got to 8am and make a big song and dance of the new station branding and completely cut over to the new brand in one go.
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This rebranding still isnāt finished, thereās still plenty of sweepers and the like on air that still say 97.3.
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The station slogan āBrisbaneās Widest Variety of Music from the 80s to Nowā hasnāt changed and from what Iāve heard, the music hasnāt appeared to have changed (which is good) - theyāre playing some Tina Arena as I write this
Iāve also included some clips of things Iāve recorded over the last couple of weeks so those who donāt listen to 97.3 can compare before and after.
So during week 1 (Mon 14th Feb to Sun 20th Feb) the first things that changed were:
- The news sweeper was changed to KIIS 97.3 News. The sweepers for sport and weather were also updated, although these are now purely subtle audio only effects that no longer actually call out ā97.3 Sportā or āThe 97 Three Day Forcastā as before. Other changes include that thereās a piece of subtle audio that plays under the entire news segment now (similar to how thereās always been audio under the traffic reports), the temperature is no longer given out by the newsreader at the start of the bulletin and the newsreader no longer says āGood Morning itās [insert newsreader name here] with the 97.3 Updateā and instead says ā[insert newsreader name here] with what you need to know nowā.
ā Old 97.3 News
- The traffic sweeper has also been changed to KIIS 97.3 Traffic. However this is one of many examples of how the KIIS part of the branding is somewhat secondary to the 97.3 branding. The KIIS is whispered and the primary voice says ā97.3 Trafficā, like before, if you werenāt paying attention you might not even really notice the KIIS here. The audio under the traffic has been updated (for the first time in like 10+ years too, which is a pity because I did like the previous audio). The current weather is now appended to the back of the traffic report and the traffic reporter now says āFirst with Traffic and Weather togetherā - which (at least in my opinion) is a very American thing (reminds me of the whole ātraffic and weather on the fivesā thing they sometimes do).
ā Old 97.3 Traffic
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The whole placement of the traffic has changed too (at least during breakfast when I mostly listen). Traffic always used to be at the end of an ad break just before returning to the breakfast hosts (for the 15 and 45min past the hour updates) and straight after the news just before returning to the breakfast hosts (for the 0 and 30min past the hour updates). This has now been bought forward to before the ad breaks (for 15 and 45min past the hour updates) and after the ads but before the news (for the 0 and 30min past the hour updates).
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The sweepers during the workday during the Ad Free 50s were updated KIIS 97.3 Ad Free 50s. Many of these included sweepers that said āThe 97.3 you love, now with a KIISā - continuing to message ādonāt worry, weāre not turning the station upside downā to listners.
During this first week though, what didnāt change was nearly everything else. All of the sweepers during the shows and ads for the shows (breakfast, drive etc.) continued to just refer to 97.3 and didnāt mention KIIS. I donāt think I heard a single on air announcer (breakfast or during the day) during that time mention the words KIIS. A few of the ads for the station were updated to KIIS 97.3 but most werenāt. After about 8pm at night there was more or less no mention of KIIS 97.3 in any of the sweepers, all were for 97.3.
ā Robin, Terry & Kip Ad - Week 1
ā Will & Woody Sweeper - Week 1
So thatās pretty much how it went for the first week. Then during week to (Mon 21st Feb to today Sun 27th Feb) the following additional changes occured:
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On air hosts now started referring to the station as KIIS 97.3 - including both breakfast and during the day (the networked content doesnāt have on air hosts mention the station due to the broad number of station names they broadcast to).
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Ads and sweepers for the shows (breakfast, drive etc.) now started to include the KIIS 97.3 in them instead of just 97.3. Personally some of them I think sound a little bit odd - it sounds like theyāve just jammed the word KIIS into an existing sweeper but it doesnāt quite feel it belongs.
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On Friday 25th Feb a new competition called āKIIS Cashā was launched.
ā Robin, Terry & Kip Ad - Week 2
ā Will & Woody Sweeper - Week 2
So thatās where we are now. The job clearly isnāt finished though during the times I listened last week, after 8pm thereās very little mention of KIIS 97.3 at all. So weāre definitely still in this transition period where the station is mostly called KIIS 97.3 between 5:30am and 8pm, but reverts back to mostly 97.3 between 8pm and 5:30am. I can imagine it takes a while to update all of the sweepers they have, and ARN seems to want to roll this out subtlely so itās not surprising.
Will be interesting to see what week 3 brings. Iād say weāre up to about 70% of the station being referred to on air as KIIS 97.3 and 30% is still 97.3.
Finally, one other change thatās not rebrand related, but I noticed from day 1 of Robin, Terry & Kip is something I wanted to ask about - if this is a trend thatās happening generally (especially on the KIIS Sydney/Melbourne stations). During the Robin, Terry & Bob breakfast show, generally when a talk break was wrapping up and they were needing to throw to an ad, Bob would transition towards that ad gracefully with a mention of the time/weather and theyād maybe mention whatās coming up next. Itās what Iāve always been used to radio sounding like when itās live and local and felt smooth. This is an example.
Since Robin, Terry & Kip have started, the way talk breaks typically end now is they try to end of some type of āpeakā - like a joke or a laugh or something and then bam they play a Robin, Terry & Kip sweeper and then go straight into traffic or ads. This is an example.
Is that the norm for most radio shows these days? Is it meant to sound punchier or something or is it to reduce editing work for the podcast? Personally I find it a bit jarring and it makes it sound pre-recorded (even though I know the show is live and local) - it just doesnāt sound like how Iām used to radio sounding, but I wouldnāt be surprised if it was to make producing the podcast easier.
Anyway, hope this was an interesting update for everyone.
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Your post gets a like just for effort!
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Yes, itās called an āoutā and the anchor tries to find it where there is, like you say a big laugh or moment.
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If anyone listening to KJ this morning in Sydney, Itās the best bits today.
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I find the RDS thing to be disconcertingā¦ on my radio theres a big 97.3FM and on air its KIIS97.3. if they are trying to make it sound new. Cars with station lists will still says ā97.3FMā and people wont think there is something new thereā¦ this whole thing seems a little half arsedā¦ to me.
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Itās been a while since I paid attention, but my car tends to say āMix 101.1ā before switching to āKIIS 1011ā after half a second
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thats because the preset is saved as Mix101.1 before the change, and then its updating the PS. if you represet it, it will change to say KIIS1011 from the start
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I come for the tv and radio updates, I stay for the car tips.
Amazing, thank you.
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Yet Kiis 101.1 nowhere near as successful as TT.
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They were different times. If TT existed nowadays, it wouldnāt be anywhere near as successful as it was back in the 90ās.
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Snappy Tom will now do a 1 hour show before Kyle and Jackie O at 5am starting tomorrow.
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Kyle and Jackie O will broadcasting live from Oran Park for Set you up for life tomorrow from 6am until they found the right winner. This will be a long show.
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Hardly a long show - they wrapped early (9:30ish)
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