Christian Hall is the National Program Manager and Program Director for X92.9 in Calgary. He never stayed in one job for more than 3 years until he went to launch Harvard Broadcasting's X92.9 in 2006. The station celebrates its tenth birthday this year and we thought that was worthy of significant recognition.
I do a fair amount of travelling consulting radio station's, and carrying my boys' squash and badminton bags across the country. There are a few stations that feel special when you listen to them. It could be a crisp signal, compelling personalities or great music. Christian summarized it as "no bullshit". Georgia Beasley also touched on this when she spoke candidly about Millennial needs and wants. It is a great exercise to perform when you listen to any media outlet: "How much Bullshit is involved?"
Do you have to be the 10th caller to qualify to qualify to win a hat?
Are you being bombarded with sponsorship tags that last longer than the feature being sponsored?
Christian reiterated that Millennials are very guarded and know when they are being delivered an advertising message. So make it count.
We also spent a few moments talking about the brand lessons of Power 97 in Winnipeg. The station abandoned its moniker and music position in the market for 20 months, only to rightfully change back. But not before its staff flew in from across Canada to hoist a few and tell tall tales; a night that I blogged about here. Both Christian and I programmed the station during different periods between 2002 and 2014.