Jay Mitchell Associates

Radio Case Studies

Here is a sampling of the work we have done for others, to display the range of what we can do for you. While no means exhaustive, the following studies show the variety of market sizes and formats in which we get involved.

Note that most of the work we do is confidential; these stations and groups have kindly given us permission - usually well after the fact - to document our efforts on their behalf.

Clear Channel, Dallas, TX

When a new general manager took the helm of this five-station cluster, we were brought on board. Our first objective was to restore Top 40 KHKS to the position we helped it to achieve originally (see below). Working with Kidd Kraddick and the rest of the talented team, we achieved that objective in less than a year.

We then moved into a talent-development role with many of the morning teams in the cluster. Through weekly phone calls and aircheck reviews, enhanced by quarterly market visits, we were able to see (or should we say hear) measurable growth.

KHKS, Dallas, TX

Originally, we were called in to recommend a course of action for a moribund New AC format known as "The Oasis." We found the Dallas radio market to be safe, over-researched - and dull. As our report stated, "There is no format hole here, but there is a gigantic attitude hole." Accordingly, we recommended an upbeat, fun, positive mass-appeal Top 40.

JMA headed the programming/marketing team that made the switch - a transition that was hailed by many observers and the trade press as "the best-sounding format debut ever." The station's ratings growth exceeded initial expectations, and it continued to grow through three ownership changes.

KIIS, Los Angeles, CA

We conducted periodic market analyses for this legendary West Coast CHR station, and also worked closely with the general manager and program director on special projects at various times. Fundamentally, our role was usually to help get the station back on format track after it had been distracted by a series of attackers; in each case, the refocusing efforts paid off in significant ratings gains.

Gannett Radio, Los Angeles, CA

JMA conducted periodic market analyses and other consulting projects on behalf of most of the Gannett stations, including KIIS in Los Angeles (Top 40), WGCI in Chicago (Urban), KOAI in Dallas (New AC), KHKS in Dallas (CHR), KKBQ in Houston (Top 40, then Country), WUSA in Tampa (AC) and KCMO AM & FM in Kansas City (News/Talk and Oldies).

KKBQ, Houston, TX

We worked with KKBQ on a number of occasions, in each case helping them to refocus their format approach and reclaim market position.

KTOQ & KIQK, Rapid City, SD

We were retained initially to make format recommendations for KTOQ's new FM sister, then to structure the format, recruit a program director and debut the station. We successfully did all of the above, and the first Arbitron for "Kick 104 FM" was Number Ones everywhere, in all key demos from 12+ to 35+. We worked with the station for many years, refining its music, personalities, presentation and marketing to ensure continued dominance.

We also worked with KTOQ, helping with the format transition to "Full Service Nostalgia," focusing on the most effective ways to market the new format to advertisers and listeners.

WMYU & WWST, Knoxville, TN

When Heritage Media bought these stations, we were brought in to conduct a market analysis and a format search for both stations. We suggested that Oldies was the best option for WMYU, and that WWST could succeed best by cleaning up and properly marketing its CHR format. We headed the transition team to flip the WMYU format, acting as de facto program director for the first month of the operation. In the first Arbitron following the switch, WMYU instantly become the Number One 25-54 station in the market.

WWST was another story. We supervised the recruiting and hiring of a new program director and worked with the research company to install a better-targeted music list. While the growth was not as dramatic as with WMYU, WWST quickly showed consistent uptrending and more advertiser attention.

KASI/KCCQ, Ames, IA

Originally the station retained us for twice-yearly market analyses. After a couple of years, the owner asked us to work more closely with her Full-Service AM and Top 40 FM stations on a week-to-week basis. Our role eventually expanded to include counsel in sales and management strategy, not only within the Ames stations but also to help the owner prepare to make and supervise new acquisitions.

KGRC, Hannibal-Quincy, IL

This client gives us an opportunity to point out what happens when you hire the wrong consultant! KGRC's manager considered using us but went with another service. She found, however, that he was not responsive to her needs: he was difficult to reach and he did not want to dirty his hands by involving himself with what he called "the line people." Disappointed, she terminated the relationship, and a year later she called us and put us to work.

By the manager's account, the difference was "night and day." Working closely with her staff, we refocused the station from a meandering Top 40 - competing with a heritage station in that format and losing - to a bright, upbeat, mainstream adult contemporary that immediately attracted the attention of listeners and advertisers alike.

Sorenson Broadcasting Corporation

For nearly ten years I consulted Dean Sorenson's group of stations in various capacities, including everything from programming and community involvement to ownership-level acquisition strategy. Until the sale of the group, I served on the SBC Board of Directors.

WAGE, Leesburg, VA

Our first project was to help orchestrate the upgrade of this stand-alone AM. We also helped the owner recruit a new general manager and helped that GM turn around the station's organizational structure, personnel, programming and sales. WAGE became a good-sounding, Crystal Award-winning, money-making force in the community.

WBLI, Long Island, NY

Jay Mitchell put this station on the air for Beck-Ross Communications back in 1971, and maintained close personal and professional ties until its sale. In its first Arbitron, and for fifteen years thereafter, WBLI's mass-appeal Hot AC was consistently the Number One radio station in the market.

Following a lull in the mid-Eighties, Jay Mitchell Associates was once again brought in; together we began a slow rebuild in this very crowded market, producing good results by refocusing the station as a mass-appeal CHR.

WLAD/WDAQ, Danbury, CT

We were associated with this organization for many years, through two managers and several evolutionary format stages on both stations. When the present longtime manager came on board, we helped him move his Soft AC FM station to a hotter, more mainstream contemporary position. In the first Arbitron thereafter, "98Q" became Number One 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54 and Number Two 35-64 - battling strong local competition as well as all of New York City - and has stayed on top ever since.

On the AM side, we helped to modify and fine-tune the programming and marketing constantly, with the result that WLAD is one of the few AMs in large competitive markets to generate consistently high (sometimes double-digit) shares.

KIRX & KRXL, Kirksville, MO

JMA was brought on board to maximize the potential of the big-signal FM, which was floundering with an eclectic Album Rock format. We helped recruit a new program director, and helped the PD upgrade all aspects of the format, moving it to a targeted, focused Classic Rock sound. This resulted in a strong Arbitron Number One showing in all key demos, and a corresponding burst of sales activity.

We also worked with the Full Service Country AM station to update the format, refine the information segments, target the music and inspire the air talent.

WLXR, La Crosse, WI

At first it was "Hit 105," a CHR that was well-programmed but indistinguishable from (and losing to) a direct format competitor. Following an initial analysis, we recommended a flip to New AC and worked with the talented staff to debut "Magic 105." In the first Arbitron following the change, three months later, Magic 105 became the dominant Number One 25-54 station in the market.

WMDM & WPTX, Lexington Park, MD

We were called in to assist in the turn-around of a struggling Full-Service AM/Album-Rock FM combo. In our initial evaluation we discovered that "the monkeys were running the zoo" due to a string of ineffectual managers and an inadequate supervisory structure. After a long search we found a great GM who took control and implemented changes in all areas of station operation.

We also worked with the absentee owner to set up a more effective supervisory structure to prevent the station from going off track again.

WDBQ & KLYV, Dubuque, IA

On the AM side, we helped to engineer a format modification from Full-Service AC to Full-Service Oldies, resulting in dramatic increases in the key 25-54 and 35-64 demos. (We also helped rejuvenate the career of the station's program director, a valuable long-time station employee who was having severe communication problems with station management.)

We helped CHR KLYV implement a new music policy, a new program director and a new attitude; as a result, the station achieved parity with its primary competitor in the 18-34 demographic and showed strong gains 25-54 as well.

WBWN, Bloomington-Normal, IL

When we were first retained by this station, it was the third AC station in the market, with lackluster performance. We recommended a switch to either Oldies or Country, both of which were wide open, but management resisted. We did tighten up the existing format and both ratings and billing went up.

After a competitor changed to Oldies and experienced a 10-point share increase, our client decided to become "Hot Country B104." The new WBWN zoomed 20 points in the first Arbitron, unseating the perennially-dominant heritage Top 40 station "for the first time since Marconi" (to quote the owner).

Customized. Personalized. Results-Oriented.

We offer customized, personalized working arrangements depending on your needs and objectives - from an individual Strategic Market Analysis to a closer, longer consulting relationship. We don't believe in dispensing vague advice and dodging responsibility; our agreement will include specific accountabilities to ensure that together we accomplish what we set out to do.