Dave McKay celebrates his 20th anniversary with WPST this year and that alone serves as a testament to his core values of loyalty, dedication, consistency and success. Located equidistantly between the highly competitive Philly and NYC markets, McKay has managed to sustain an integral role as a key constituent of the PST programming team that has led to the juggernaut roll this station has sustained over the years.
Dave McKay
When you find a good thing you stick with it, so has been the credo of Dave McKay and his relationship with WPST, a station that has endured as an essential part of central New Jersey’s Pop culture environment for 35+ years. McKay started his radio career at PST as Music Director in 1994 and has been rewarded over the years with a series of promotions that included PD, Op Manager, Associate Director of Programming, and as of 2010, PD/Morning Show host.
WPST’s legacy resonates with success and distinction as the station has won numerous awards over the years for significant recognition in the Top 40 arena, including an FMQB Career Achievement Award as the all-time best Pop Secondary Station in 2008. Throughout most of these years PST was owned by Nassau Broadcasting, but was sold last year to Connoisseur Media, where the new owners have given the station and its personnel new life and renewed inspiration.
You’ve been under new ownership for a year now, what resources have the new owners infused into the station have truly inspired you?
I’ve been so impressed with our new owners, Connoisseur Media. The company and its founder and CEO, Jeff Warshaw, really believes that you need to spend money to make money. The company has already invested thousands of dollars in marketing the station and giving us the tools we need to be successful, so it has been highly motivating for the staff. We’ve done significant billboard campaigns and the prize closet is filled with t-shirts and prizes. Plus, we have a ton of research tools to help us program and sell the station.
Given your geographic location between the Philly and New York markets and the overlapping radio signals, how much of a challenge do the outside radio stations present?
It’s difficult competing with some of the biggest and most successful stations in the country. A listener just wants to hear the music they love surrounded by compelling content and exciting promotions and we feel like those are the things we deliver to our listeners. In fact, we’ve been able to super-serve our listeners by making sure we’re part of their communities. We’ve also invited listeners to be part of “PST Nation.” It doesn’t matter whether you live in Philly or the Philly burbs, central New Jersey or in the NYC burbs, if you listen and love PST, you’re part of “PST Nation!”
What market are you influenced more by of the two, and which stations to you cross-cume with mostly?
Philadelphia, for sure. We have significant ratings in Philly. In fact, in last month’s Philly PPM’s, we were the #2 at-work station with our target audience. That’s huge! Most of our billboards are in Philly. We’ve done station concerts in Philly. And we were chosen over all other Philly stations to do a Happy Hour broadcast at the Hard Rock Cafe in Center City Philly. We share the most with WIOQ and WRDW. After that, it’s WISX and WBEB.
What has been the vital aspect in maintaining the PST brand over the years?
The biggest factor has to be the leadership and guidance of my mentor (and best friend), Michelle Stevens. Michelle and I have had the honor of working with so many talented people at PST and they have all been instrumental at building and maintaining the PST brand.
Your personal longevity at PST speaks volumes. How do you keep yourself challenged and on top of your game regarding maintaining a fresh approach to programming?
First of all, I love radio and the CHR format, so that, above all, makes it easy to stay challenged. Plus, over the years, I’ve also had a chance to work with lots of other stations and formats. And joining the morning show on PST a few years ago was a huge challenge!
What essential factors weigh heavily when evaluating new music for PST?
I love info! Airplay at other stations. Sales. YouTube views. Shazam. The more info, the better! Of course, my own opinion and the opinions of my assistants, Adam Grimanis and Corinne Kimball, are also very important. Plus, I also get feedback from our promo assistants and interns.
What are the significant indicators you use when assessing movement on records you’re currently playing?
Local sales are important. I also like looking at local Shazam rankings (although, I wish we could see actual numbers rather than just rankings). Requests are also still an important factor when judging songs.
How would you describe a core record/artist for the station, regarding sound, texture and tempo?
Katy Perry is probably the best example of a core artist for us right now. She just makes fun Pop songs that can play next to any other song on our playlist. The new Ed Sheeran and Ariana Grande songs are perfect for us too. Same goes for Paramore “Ain’t It Fun,” Demi Lovato “Neon Lights,” and JT “Not a Bad Thing.”
How do you optimize the use of social media platforms in further connecting with your audience?
We interact with our listeners all over social media! On Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine. If our listeners are on it, we are too! Corinne and our night jock, Rashaud Thomas, are awesome at posting things that go viral. In fact, some of our posts have trended worldwide!
Given all the entertainment choices your audience has for music among all the digital players, how do you differentiate PST among these choices to ensure the listener remains loyal to the station?
I wish I had a brilliant answer to the question, but I’m a big believer in the 3 M’s (music, mornings and marketing). Those are things that make a station stand out above all of its competitors. You have to play the right songs. You have to have a morning show that your audience loves, and you have to be committed to marketing your brand. That means not only spending money on traditional marketing, but also being out in the market every single day. In my opinion, we do all of those things at PST, which has made us a relevant part of our listeners’ lives.
Can you describe your model for the ideal radio/label relationship/partnership?
We have amazing relationships with a handful of labels and those are the ones that understand they we really do want to be partners with them and their artists. Not just their up-and-coming artists, but their superstar artists too. For example, I know thatColumbia will always make their artists available to us. Whether it’s Adele doing a lounge for us or doing special events with One Direction, I know we’ll be taken care of. It can also be something as simple as having artists do custom liners for us. Those are huge for us! When a label does those types of things for us, it goes a long way and really helps form a true partnership.
You’ve been doing mornings for four years now, how has the transition gone and what kind of unique perspective do you gain as the PD/Morning host?
There are definitely positives and negatives to doing mornings. I have a lot of fun doing the show and it definitely eliminates the need for a daily morning show meeting because it’s like we’re doing a morning show meeting in real time during the show. The toughest part about doing mornings is the time commitment. My alarm goes off at 4am, so by the time the afternoon rolls around, I’m exhausted.
[eQB Content By Fred Deane ]
