KIIS Network

Journo · July 17, 2023, 12:30pm

It’s a trademark - ‘KIIS’ - in that form is owned by IHeartMedia.
It’s irrelevant what individuals think about it. It’s the ‘Brand’ name.

Brianc68 · July 17, 2023, 9:17pm

A “brand” ultimately needs to appeal to its customers - that’s why they exist. I’m sure most listeners probably don’t care, but some in Melbourne and Brisbane are turned off.
Branding is an important part of marketing and just because it’s trademarked doesn’t mean it has to be used. How many brands do you think iHeart have trademarked to choose from?
I doubt any marketing manager has ever said “I don’t care what the customers think, it’s trademarked so we’re using it anyway”.
Anecdotally, I’m yet to hear anyone call it KIIS in Brisbane - still calling it 97-three.

TelevisionAU · July 18, 2023, 12:14am

I reckon it would be a familiar theme. You reckon all those regional listeners are wanting HIT and Triple M brands taking over their local heritage brands? Those other markets that had Sea FM shoehorned in? In Hobart they tried to justify changing Triple T FM to Sea FM because “it’s what the listeners wanted”? Really? They just happened to want their local station changed to a generic brand name that had little relevance to the local market and that the company already had trademarked? What a coincidence.

Brianc68 · July 18, 2023, 1:07am

Fair points on the HIT and Triple M branding that’s for sure. Regional listeners hated it. That one was probably more about convenience for networking a large number of stations. Also made worse that those brands often replaced station names that had been around for many decades.

JohnsonTV · July 19, 2023, 11:00pm

Jase and Lauren hosted KIIS 101.1 breakfast live from Holy Trinity Primary School in Eltham North in Melbourne north-east this morning.

TelevisionAU · July 20, 2023, 2:02am

Did they say why?

utaussiefan · July 20, 2023, 2:59am

They had Amy Shark performing at the school.

JohnsonTV · July 20, 2023, 12:18pm

Short video of this morning’s outside broadcast - Amy Shark performed an acoustic version of Can I Shower at Yours.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cu6V8JIAlKM/

According to podcast, Jase and Lauren were in the studio for the 1st hour before travelling to the school where they broadcast from 7.30am.

foxyrover · July 20, 2023, 10:54pm

Great for a school

andrewtechhelp · July 23, 2023, 3:09am

and I think the station knows this too. In the last 2 months they’ve been running the line “KIIS IS 97.3” a lot. It’s in some of the sweepers between songs and the announcers have been saying it too when staying the station name (especially at breakfast).

I just keep calling it 97.3 myself, but that’s deliberate because I don’t like the KIISification that’s been happening.

andrewtechhelp · July 23, 2023, 3:17am

So I’ve noticed today that 97.3 has dropped the “100% Hits from KIIStory to Now” station slogan that they’ve been using since a couple of days after Christmas last year and have reverted back to their previous station slogan “Brisbane’s Widest Variety of Music from the 80s to Now” that they used for around a decade before adopting the KIIStory line. The website’s been updated and the announcer today has been using it.

I wonder if they’re slowly starting to realise they need to roll back some elements of the KIISification that has been going on for the last 18 months but especially in the last 6 months (e.g. things like playing some remixed version of Savage Garden songs instead of the original)?

Brianc68 · July 23, 2023, 4:09am

That’s good news! Let’s hope so.

I have to wonder whether their joint venture partner Nova is all that thrilled that 97.3 is gradually starting to encroach on their territory. While there is still quite difference in the music between 97.3 and Nova, they do compete for some listeners, and the “KIIS-ification” of 97.3 is likely to mean more Nova listeners might stray there. I’m sure ARN gets to program 97.3 how they like but it might still cause some tension with NE.

thesub1 · July 23, 2023, 5:32am

And 4BH is running a similar comp where listeners have to say, “4BH is my station.”

… sounds similar to “4KQ is my station”.

JohnsonTV · July 23, 2023, 10:50pm

KIIS 101.1 breakfast co-host Lauren Phillips announced on air this morning she is engaged for the second time. Her partner of 3.5 years Paul O’Brien proposed to her during their recent holiday in Mykonos in Greece.

EDIT: