Younger and more confident
Local Radio: One year after its launch, Energy Zürich has grown significantly. However, youth radio poses a threat.
Local radio One year after its launch, Energy Zürich has made strong gains. But there is a threat from youth radio. Energy Zürich has already achieved one important goal: the much-lamented radio monotony in the Limmat city is a thing of the past. "You can now address a young radio audience in the greater Zurich area, with clearly less wasted coverage," says Philipp Brunner, radio specialist at Optimedia. It was very different in the era before August 15, 2003, when Hitradio Z and Radio 24 were barely distinguishable from each other with interchangeable content and a virtually identical musical tapestry. "From a planning perspective, it didn't matter much back then whether you booked 24 or Z; it was more a decision of which image better suited the product," Brunner says. After slumps in the listener market in December 2003 and January 2004, the audience has now taken Energy Zürich to its heart. This is confirmed by the clear upward trend in listener numbers. In the first half of 2004 alone, the repositioned station was able to expand its audience by almost nine percent. Although the upswing is noticeable in all age groups, the station was able to generate above-average growth in the very young target groups, as desired. The biggest increase, 16.3 percent, was among 15- to 24-year-olds. But the 11.2 percent increase in the 15-34 age group also confirms the rejuvenation of the audience. Goodbye feeling of inferiority The clients can be doubly pleased about the gain, because the pricing is still based on the old listener figures. "By the end of the year, Energy Zürich will have ten percent more power for the same price," says a delighted Michi Frank, CEO of marketer IP Multimedia.
But what gives him the most satisfaction is the "internal motivation boost" that has become reality with the repositioning. "With Hitradio Z, we were just a supplement to Radio 24 and thus not an important player. But with the independent Energy Zürich, we now carry a flag of which we are proud," says Frank.
This is also reflected in the employees' increased self-esteem. "In the past, working at Hitradio Z was not an honor. That has changed radically. Identification with the station and belief in the program are stronger than ever. This is also the basis of success," says Jürg Bachmann, Managing Director of Energy Zürich.
A high level of motivation is also urgently needed, however, because the "hard work is now ahead of us to build on the success we have achieved so far.
to continue". "We want to position ourselves even more clearly in the 15- to 49-year-old segment," explains Bachmann. No more big leaps are to be made in terms of content; now it's a matter of fine-tuning the details. Particularly important: "In news, we have to get even better at finding topics that appeal to the majority." Format radio has weaknesses
But not all listeners enjoy Energy. Features that a format radio like Energy Zurich inevitably brings with it can be particularly annoying. "Due to the many repetitions of individual hits, listeners tend to change the station," criticizes Philipp Brunner of Optimedia. Bachmann does not disagree, but objects that even stations that refrain from playing the same pieces of music repeatedly are not immune to such effects. "Because then less popular tracks are also played, which also act as bouncers."
Since Radio 24 ceased to be the reference station to be outdone at all costs, making radio has become more satisfying, according to Bachmann, but not necessarily easier. The mainstream station DRS 3 in particular, which has trampled into the local radio stations' little garden, is being watched very closely, he says. "The SRG station can make life difficult for us, because they have completely different resources than we do," says Bachmann. And Michi Frank adds, "We demand a more restrictive handling of sponsorship on DRS 3."
However, the young target groups of Energy Zürich are also threatened by the Zurich youth radio station, which will be launched at the beginning of next year. "We consider it a clear task of the Federal Office of Communications to ensure that the new station does not take listeners away from either Radio 24 or Energy Zürich," Frank emphasizes.
NRJ is looking for a connectionIn the past few years, NRJ has succeeded in what the French radio giant had been waiting for for 17 years: It has acquired stakes in Energy Zürich (49 percent) and Basel One (24 percent). There is currently potential for entry into Sunshine and BE1, which are looking for new partners and are currently in the middle of the evaluation process. NRJ has also applied to both.
Above all, a stake in Bern's local radio station would make sense, because NRJ would then be represented in all three cities of the Golden Triangle. If the entry into the Bernese station does not succeed, the Europe-wide group wants to withdraw from Switzerland, rumors have been swirling in the rumor mill in recent weeks. Francis Rivollet, the CEO of NRJ Switzerland, calls this "pure nonsense." "It was never an issue to leave Switzerland, especially since we just made a major investment in Zurich." He adds, "We still have a clear interest in having a presence in large Swiss cities. But in any case, we respect the decisions of the Federal Office of Communications." (dse)
Stars like Christina Aguilera are also eye-catchers as cardboard figures.
Daniel Schifferle
But what gives him the most satisfaction is the "internal motivation boost" that has become reality with the repositioning. "With Hitradio Z, we were just a supplement to Radio 24 and thus not an important player. But with the independent Energy Zürich, we now carry a flag of which we are proud," says Frank.
This is also reflected in the employees' increased self-esteem. "In the past, working at Hitradio Z was not an honor. That has changed radically. Identification with the station and belief in the program are stronger than ever. This is also the basis of success," says Jürg Bachmann, Managing Director of Energy Zürich.
A high level of motivation is also urgently needed, however, because the "hard work is now ahead of us to build on the success we have achieved so far.
to continue". "We want to position ourselves even more clearly in the 15- to 49-year-old segment," explains Bachmann. No more big leaps are to be made in terms of content; now it's a matter of fine-tuning the details. Particularly important: "In news, we have to get even better at finding topics that appeal to the majority." Format radio has weaknesses
But not all listeners enjoy Energy. Features that a format radio like Energy Zurich inevitably brings with it can be particularly annoying. "Due to the many repetitions of individual hits, listeners tend to change the station," criticizes Philipp Brunner of Optimedia. Bachmann does not disagree, but objects that even stations that refrain from playing the same pieces of music repeatedly are not immune to such effects. "Because then less popular tracks are also played, which also act as bouncers."
Since Radio 24 ceased to be the reference station to be outdone at all costs, making radio has become more satisfying, according to Bachmann, but not necessarily easier. The mainstream station DRS 3 in particular, which has trampled into the local radio stations' little garden, is being watched very closely, he says. "The SRG station can make life difficult for us, because they have completely different resources than we do," says Bachmann. And Michi Frank adds, "We demand a more restrictive handling of sponsorship on DRS 3."
However, the young target groups of Energy Zürich are also threatened by the Zurich youth radio station, which will be launched at the beginning of next year. "We consider it a clear task of the Federal Office of Communications to ensure that the new station does not take listeners away from either Radio 24 or Energy Zürich," Frank emphasizes.
NRJ is looking for a connectionIn the past few years, NRJ has succeeded in what the French radio giant had been waiting for for 17 years: It has acquired stakes in Energy Zürich (49 percent) and Basel One (24 percent). There is currently potential for entry into Sunshine and BE1, which are looking for new partners and are currently in the middle of the evaluation process. NRJ has also applied to both.
Above all, a stake in Bern's local radio station would make sense, because NRJ would then be represented in all three cities of the Golden Triangle. If the entry into the Bernese station does not succeed, the Europe-wide group wants to withdraw from Switzerland, rumors have been swirling in the rumor mill in recent weeks. Francis Rivollet, the CEO of NRJ Switzerland, calls this "pure nonsense." "It was never an issue to leave Switzerland, especially since we just made a major investment in Zurich." He adds, "We still have a clear interest in having a presence in large Swiss cities. But in any case, we respect the decisions of the Federal Office of Communications." (dse)
Stars like Christina Aguilera are also eye-catchers as cardboard figures.
Daniel Schifferle
