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The unofficial start to our new year is actually the Monday after Labour Day. Kids head back to school, and families go back to their over-scheduled routines. That's great news for radio stations who market and target to those key demographics who are stuck in the car trying to get from volleyball to hockey tryouts in the middle of rush hour traffic. Routines are important to families and on air radio talent; right down the quarter-hour.
It's also the beginning of a brand new radio fiscal year.
If you stick around radio long enough, you will see the patterns that revolve around budgets and budgeting. If it looks like there are a wave of cuts every May - you're right. That's when budgets get set for the next fiscal year and companies part with the talent they won't be investing in any longer. Then there is August. That's when final budget adjustments are made and companies make the rest of their changes. Think I am making it up? As I type this, Country 94 in Ottawa is making a bunch of changes, leaving Airchecker scrambling for the body count. I will leave others to speculate if a tenth Virgin will (re)emerge in our nation's capital.
As for my quip that summer is over, you can already feel the night time air dropping down to sleep friendly temperatures. I think I hear geese. All sure signs that you have two weeks to get your fall promotional campaign wrapped up, t's crossed, i's dotted, and try to steal one last three or four day weekend at the lake before the fall ratings period starts. Right about the time you fix that cocktail or pour that cold beer, another station in the market will flip to a format similar to yours and it'll be game on!
Happy New Year!