Here in the Cayman Islands, there used to be a warm breeze, swaying palms and 2 radio stations to listen to. Annoyingly so, you had to listen to whatever Z99 decided back in the day and run with it.
Not anymore. There is a plethora of radio stations now, perhaps too much for a 45,000 population. With over saturation the listener is confused with what to listen to, but at least the choice is there. From Rock to Reggae – Soul to Soca. Pretty much the genre’s are covered. As an expat here in the Cayman Islands I have recently realised that there are a lot more stations out there for the times of day. For example, I dont want to rock my socks off at 8am in the morning traffic. I want a nice mix to mould my mood for the day. I like to listen to morning chat between co presenters and listen to their spin of news, views and entertainment whether I agree with them or not! That is what radio is all about.
The morning talk show on the Rooster is a fine example. With the lead up to the election, I found myself fuming to the empty promises that many of the politicians spoke of on the news talk segment it hosts every morning. Recently, the Cayman Islands Music Association was present on the station. That guy (who gave himself such a good nickname I cant remember it) was trying to intice me to call in. I am sure of it. I was fuming at his lack of foresight and his dominance of one track mindedness.
I digress. But this is what radio is all about. The problem here with radio is that they seem to think that they are doing you the favor. Radio stations should run on exposure. They should try to be involved in as much as possible and therefore can sell their advertising space and let the snowball continue. The promise to listeners and clients are the facts that we have a better listenership than the others. Simple.
CayRock came to the island and there was a buzz. This was a great station. The morning show was fun, they allowed call-ins, they wanted to push the bar a little and people would tune in for hours at a time. Knock on effect is the selling of advertising space! I know – weird. Now though, they seem to be selling the spaces to random advertisers, newer companies who arent in the know and a lot of the adverts seem to be stale and the same. For me, the listener, I cannot believe that there is ONE HOUR, YES ONE HOUR of live radio on CayRock every day. The other Disc Jockeys are all pre recorded from the day before! The morning show with the larger than life Ben Maxwell is all pre recorded as well! When was the last time you heard a call in to that show in the morning. Ah ha! You see… this is the only logical explanation why.
The competition I guess is Z99 and I find myself moving back over to the morning show over there. Relevant, LIVE, tongue in cheek – everything that I want in the morning. Judging by the call-ins, there is a mixed genre listening from the local school kids in the morning to the ex pat on the way to work. Whoever Jason Howard is and his new morning Co Host – Kudos to you and your bosses for allowing the leesh to be long enough.
Times are tough out there and I am sure DMS broadcasting with it’s 4 stations are stretched. But, when do you make the decision to pull the plug (sorry – bad pun) and run with 3. Soon I hope.
Responding to your main points (deep breath):
<strong."The problem here with radio is that they seem to think that they are doing you the favor."
It’s an interesting way to think about radio, or any other monopoly within Cayman. Those with scarce resources don’t have to pander to those in demand. The reality is that there are too many options to local radio itself – whether Satellite, your own music etc. – if you feel that a station gives you no value for your listenership, turn it off. The fact that you listen at all says it provides you some value. The best way to kill any business in Cayman is to have nothing said about you.
“The promise to listeners and clients are the facts that we have a better listenership than the others. Simple.”
I doubt that’s the case. They might say they cater to a demographic but not have a “better” listenership. Because there’s no Arbitron equivalent, I have yet to hear anyone actually make this claim or back it with any factual evidence. Everyone has a sense of demographics and corresponding stations that they want to target depending on the business or event, determining who they want to advertise with. Does radio advertising work in Cayman? Absolutely. The issue is to gauge “how well it works” or the value of how much one pays versus how much exposure one is given compared to alternative media methods. The only honest method is subjective experience – how much has this station benefited similar businesses/events in the past, what kind of presence have they brought with them to events, what kind of support has the station given in terms of client service, etc. Is basing media value by subjective experience ideal? Absolutely not. Unfortunately it’s the only tool businesses in Cayman have. Even more unfortunately, it’s to Cayman Radio’s advantage to have this ambiguity. It’s easy to sell someone all the successes and not mention any failures. After all, no one remembers the failures anyway.
“Now though, they seem to be selling the spaces to random advertisers, newer companies who arent in the know and a lot of the adverts seem to be stale and the same.”
Selling spaces to random advertisers? Is that a criticism? That’s how they make money. You might want to elaborate on this.
The production is stale? Ok, that might be the station’s fault if they’re producing the commercials. Maybe the station can step up with greater creative production for its advertising.
Cayrock certainly has the best station IDs.
“For me, the listener, I cannot believe that there is ONE HOUR, YES ONE HOUR of live radio on CayRock every day. The other Disc Jockeys are all pre recorded from the day before!
The unfortunate truth is that commercial radio has been leaning this way towards prerecorded content for a very long time, beyond Cayman. The issue of personality presence versus content is one of personal preference. I’d rather be listening to music.
(To Ben – if you take this to heart – I can get you the CVs of some great rock radio DJs in the states that would be willing to freshen up your content.)
Mike
Plan B
Thanks for the feedback Mike.
You are definitely more marketing minded than I am. I am simply looking at this from a regular ol’ listener every day as I flick through the channels available to me.
It is not just a CayRock / Z99 thing. It is all stations. ‘X’ I believe has a huge following because of it’s genre and is a shining example of tapping into a market. I am not a marketing guru, I am not a radio genius. I go to my office everyday and push pens and paper.
However, I find this island so very interesting in all of it’s functions and I use this platform to open debate about it. I guess I thank you for showing me the light in some of this.
If radio is becoming pre recorded like this though, could I just put a CD in? I feel for the companies that want the live exposure, listener orientated angles and don’t receive them. I find it a bit of a con. Again, I dont advertise on these stations for anything, so maybe someone who does should load in with a point of view.
Station ID’s – yep – I agree, very funny on CayRock… I’d love my DJ in the morning to be that way and put a smile on my face as well though! Too much to ask? Perhaps on this island.
[...] Radio Stations [...]
Cayreviewer:
Thanks for your comments and feedback. A few people turned me on to your blog as it takes an interesting tack on getting your voice heard, and definitely calls me and dms Broadcasting out specifically.
All of us at dms Broadcasting are committed to providing a quality radio product to the people of the Cayman Islands and always welcome feedback, comments, and concerns. We by no means think we’re “doing you the favor,” quite the opposite, we realize that you are the ultimate consumer and want to create a radio station that people enjoy, otherwise it’s a waste. How do you quantify that, by the way?
As for “the larger than life Ben Maxwell,” nothing could be further from the truth. If you know me, you know that I’m the same person on the air and off. Ironically, I get the feeling that we know each other, even though you’re anonymous on this blog. And in spite of your new posting, that fact does say something about why you’re blogging in the first place.
In regard to the live vs prerecorded content, it goes to the objectives of the radio station given a specific radio philosophy, one which I’m sorry to say internal policy aka a “trade secret.”
Bottom line: even though I am no longer the Program Director for 96.5 CayRock, I may be able to affect change on the issues you raise. I’ll pass your concerns on to 96.5 CayRock PD Brad Bregani and our General Manager, Bryan Hollenbaugh.
If you’d like to continue this dialogue, feel free to email me directly. With your name, please.
Thanks,
Ben Maxwell
OM/dms Broadcasting
Ben – thanks for the commentary.
Firstly, I don’t think I know you. I think I have seen you from a far at a Boogie Nights – but that is about it.
More importantly I would to ensure you don’t think I was out to ‘get’ cayrock or anything similiar in this blog. Radio is a very interesting medium here in the Cayman’s. So different than what I am used to from the mainland. Like I have expressed, the main point here is to discuss it. Discussion and the ‘blogosphere’ intrigues me. I may shoot from the hip at times and my intonation is taken negatively rather than constructively. However, judging by your remarks it seems you are open to this and will take it onboard. I do remember when you had the best morning show on the island with a Canadian/American girl I think. You couldnt turn it off. This is where I coined ‘the larger life’ line as it was ballsy back then! Maybe express that to the gentlemen you refer in your response.
Thanks…
By all means, then, introduce yourself! I really do mean it that in my case specifically and more generally, radio stations (and all Media) do want feedback. I’m especially proud to say that I’ve never turned away criticism. I may not agree with it, but I am fond of receiving it, and will always be a straight shooter in response.
The Canadian girl you’re referring to either Lana or Teri, I’m not sure which. When we started CayRock in July of 2006, it was Lana and I doing the show. In November or so, she left with Phil (from Rackam’s) to go back to Canada. Next was Teri and we had an amazing time together on the air. Some of the best radio I’ve ever done. (I’ve even taken some of the promos we did and put them on my demo. I must say that our Campaign to Save Sir Turtle was one of my favorite bits.) Alas, she and her bf Dave moved to Orlando to pursue their acting careers. I appreciate the “ballsy” clarification, and the kudos. The internet is rife with misunderstandings and I’m glad we cleared that up.
-Ben
It seems now that CayRock has issues with not moving it’s antenna and all of that. There was supposed to be downtown and there is none.
I have heard the reception become ‘fuzzy’ from time to time – but it still goes.
I hope it all works out. The other ones moved – why not CayRock?
I have to take issue with your facts. I just found this blog, although it was written in 2009.
“Here in the Cayman Islands, there used to be a warm breeze, swaying palms and 2 radio stations to listen to. Annoyingly so, you had to listen to whatever Z99 decided back in the day and run with it.”
You mention two stations, when in fact there were 3 and if there are three stations (and I am not counting the religous or college stations) then you obviously dont have to take what ever Z99 had to offer. Although I still think Brian and Biff were some of the best AM dj’s the island ever had.
You also said “There is a plethora of radio stations now, perhaps too much for a 45,000 population” Actually in 2009 we had closer to 55 thousand people. Not a huge difference, but big enough.
If you dont want to listen to pre-recorded people, there are plenty of options out there, it just might not be the genre of music you like. If you dont like it, plug you Ipod in and relax.
You have some valid points sir. Hence the reason behind a blog. I do have the ability to suggest an opinion on my blog and I will continue to do so. Hopefully more often as I do procrastinate about this all the time.
I guess I was taking a stand against the lazy stations that do not have live personalities and still want revenues stream from advertising and other forms of sources. You and I should start our own station then and fight over what music we can que up.
I digress.
Since writing that blog a lot has changed in the radio World in the Cayman Islands. Perhaps a “Radio Stations 3″ blog is in order. Now, some of the companies have reacted and have reinvented their stations with more personalities and content. Couple this with a different marketing landscape of social media, I bet revenues are flat or down in some of stations as companies go to ‘free’ social media to boost an event or a product.
The internet is the way forward. Be under no illusions. Look at local websites such as ecaytrade.com. It is platform that continues to consume the island and we all go to. Why? it has a purpose. Stations used to not have such a thing.
It’s a healthy thing. Look out for RS3. Thanks again.