Mark Adams has long been a fixture programming Rhythmic CHR and winning! Now Adams has a new challenge, programming a new Mainstream Top 40 in Houston where CBS Radio’s KKHH (Hot 95.7) is already making an impact in one of radio’s most competitive markets.
Mark Adams
Mark Adams is one of the industry’s most passionate programmers when it comes to radio and serving its audience. He gets it! After spending most of his career at Rose City Radio as VP/Programming and KXJM in Portland he’s become one of the great forward thinking programming minds in radio today. From his days at Y95/Phoenix, KKXX/Bakersfield, Z90/San Diego, B95/Fresno and Z-95.7/San Francisco, to his time spent serving as a consultant for Michael Newman’s Radio Strategies, Adams has become a true radio pro who now finds himself in Houston, Texas as PD of CBS Radio’s new Top 40 KKHH (Hot 95-7). And he’s already making his mark!
e-QB presents excerpts from the February FMQB magazine CHR Up Close with KKHH/Houston
PD Mark Adams
On how did the opportunity come about to join CBS Radio in Houston…
I was very fortunate with the timing. I was approaching the end of my contract with Rose City Radio in Portland and was looking to explore new options. I had spoken to CBS VP/Programming Greg Strassell about possible opportunities with the company in early 2008 and he had intimated that one or two things might open up in the near future that could be worth speaking about. As it turned out, within two weeks CBS signed on HOT 95-7 in Houston and I immediately expressed interest in the station. Not long after I had the opportunity to meet with SVP/GM Laura Morris, OM Jeff Garrison(who is also the PD of KILT and CBS VP of Programming/Country), Greg and B96/Chicago PDTodd Cavanah in Houston. I felt an immediate click with everyone involved and was really excited about the opportunity. It’s not everyday CBS turns on a major market Top 40 station and I feel very fortunate to be a part of it.
On the challenge of moving into Mainstream Top 40…
I’ve always found the fundamentals of radio programming transcend format. As far as this situation goes, I’ve always liked Mainstream. I spent two years at Z-95-7 (KZQZ) in San Francisco with a Pop station and loved the music. What’s always appealed to me the most about Top 40 is the variety of music and the ability, necessity even, of crossing musical genres and building a true coalition of styles built for that market and its competitive environment. It’s a lot of fun playing Pop, Hip-Hop, R&B, Pop/Rock, and whatever else is hot at the moment all on one radio station. With the format being so healthy at the moment the timing has been fortuitous as well. It’s funny, what’s old is always new again. I last programmed a mainstream station when Britney Spears was debuting and now I’m in the format again while she’s in the middle of her comeback. It’s been very cool and I’m happy to be back in Top 40.
On what things needed to be addressed when you arrived…
The station had been on the air about a month when I arrived. Jeff and Laura in Houston, along with Greg in New York and Todd in Chicago, had orchestrated the station’s launch along with an outdoor marketing campaign. On a side note, there’s nothing more exciting than coming in for an interview and seeing the new station’s billboards all over town.
I know everyone involved was both cognizant of the high level of competition and the need to hit the ground running and did everything possible to set us up for success. Jeff Garrison had been handling the day to day prior to my arrival and was not simply caretaking the station until the new PD arrived. He was working on music, adding imaging almost daily, and had begun the process of looking for on-air staff. So when I arrived a lot of ground work had already been laid. I walked into a very good sounding station with a strong launch. From there it’s been a matter of hiring a full on-air staff including a new morning show, hiring a promotion director and building a promotion staff, developing promotion and marketing plans, building positioning and re-positioning imaging and brand identification, continuing to develop and refine our on-air sound and music position, and far too many other things to list. As a brand new radio station we really had the chance to build from scratch.
On the station making an immediate impact…
Our December was very gratifying. We broke 1.1 million cume 6+ which puts Hot Top 5 in the market. We continued to post solid gains P18-34 and P18-49, beating KRBE W18-34 and tying them W18-49. Obviously that’s a big deal and we were all very happy about it. All of that said, I’m very much aware this is a marathon and not a sprint. Houston is a very competitive market and we face multiple direct competitors and some good radio stations. We’ve laid some solid groundwork and need to continue to build on that in 2009.
On how it feels to be programming a format that seems to be very healthy in terms of having that great mix and balance of music and talent…
I’m happy to be in the format. I obviously have a lot of affection for Rhythmic but it’s been in a challenging position for several years now. Having been across the street from a Pop station on more than one occasion I’m perhaps more than familiar than most on how difficult a position that can be. I think it’s fair to say Rhythmic has for some time had a challenging time with the available product. Mainstream has done an effective job, aided by popular audience tastes and changing expectations, in taking ownership of a great deal of Rhythmic or Pop/Rhythmic product and has only strengthened it’s position as a true mass appeal format for many markets. Top 40 had a great 2008 and all signs point to that continuing.
On radio doing a better of staying in step and embracing technology…
I feel we are. That may have begun from necessity but as an industry we’ve made great gains in the past several years in that area. I don’t think anyone today would argue that a station’s on-line presence is anything less than critical, or that keeping pace with changing technologies so that we can be adaptive and find new ways to connect with listeners is of great importance. I can remember a time when every new gadget or technological innovation that came along was viewed more as a threat to radio and our way of doing things rather than as the opportunity that it actually represented. I think that’s less and less the case over the past several years and as a whole radio has done a great job of moving forward.
No other mass media has the ability to reach as many listeners on a daily basis and no other mass media has the ability to be as personal and localized. In many ways, embracing change and new technologies is only making us stronger and giving us more opportunities to make a personal connection with our listeners. I know CBS is on the forefront of that and it’s reflected in their commitments to arming their radio stations with the best tools possible. One example is our partnership with AOL radio has been very exciting and has allowed our stations streams to be heard by millions more listeners all over the country.
On coming from an Arbitron Book market into a PPM market…
It took some getting used to but all in all I like the change. Every system is going to have its initial challenges and detractors and PPM’s have been well documented. But after the issues we often experienced under the old system I feel the benefits of PPM far outweigh the negatives. We’re now able to monitor radio listening in real time and that’s having real impact on how we program our stations. It’s forcing stations to work harder, be more tactical in how we approach programming and promotion decisions, and the data helps us make more informed decisions. I’m still learning my way through all of it and am fortunate to have Jeff Garrison in the office next door. Houston was the PPM test market and he’s been involved with it from day one and has been a great resource as I’ve made the change from book to PPM.
On what’s it like working for a company who’s led by such a passionate executive with vision like Dan Mason…
As I mentioned earlier, I was at least as motivated to make a professional change by the sign on of Hot 95-7 Houston as I was by the opportunity to join CBS. The company has a great reputation in radio and large credit for that has to be given to Dan Mason. Many of the sharpest programming people I’ve met work for CBS or have gone to work for CBS over the past several years. They all spoke highly of the company and all credited Dan. After all, he is a programming guy. I feel fortunate working for a company where our leader is not only driven to help our stations succeed but is also a believer in the industry itself. He’s obviously passionate about radio and cares about radio programming. For a PD, that’s a pretty great place.
** QB Content by Bob Burke **
Also in the February Issue:
Q&A: Maxwell, MD/Night Host, WNCI/Columbus
”Music is always the star, but if you can provide compelling content that compliments the star, you’ve got a winning formula.”
Hot Shots
The Veronicas, Shontelle, Katy Perry, David Archuleta & Travis McCoy
