Speaking at Radio Days Europe, Kyle & Jackie and Group PD Duncan Campbell talked about the big switch from 2Day to KIIS and discussed the important points in programming a great show.
“It was a risk we were willing to take,” said Jackie, to which Kyle added, “I knew it would work, there were a lot of analysts saying people would stay with 2Day, but we proved them wrong.”
The pair told the story of how they shifted from 2Day to KIIS, and Duncan Campbell filled in the programming and marketing strategies that sat behind the move.
After the deal was done “it was a tense wait” to see whether the risk had paid off according to Duncan Campbell, who said ad revenue did not start to come in until after the first ratings results, because agencies were waiting to see if the shift in stations and the rebrand from Mix to KIIS would succeed. It did of course.
With contract renewal coming around at the end of this year, the Radio Days interviewer asked if Kyle and Jackie are going to stay with ARN for another contract period?
“We’ve just started negotiating, but really, I couldn’t be bothered going anywhere else. We’re happy where we are,” replied Kyle.
The conversation later moved on to programming philosophy.
According to Jackie, having a good relationship and constant communication with your program director and senior management is an important first step, then it is a mixture of craft, creativity and sharing your lives.
Formatics and timing out?
“Content always wins over formatics, but formatics are important too,” agreed Campbell and Jackie.
“I’m no good at maths so I can never time out… We went until 9:45 the other day, I consider that 45 free minutes I’ve given to the station,” said Kyle.
“We keep some segments that always work, but we also try to keep things fresh by renewing some segments.”
Arriving at least 45 mins before the show starts?
Both agreed that it was not important to actually be in the station at a certain time before the show as long as you have prepped in some other way.
Bringing your life to the show
“It’s very important,” said Jackie. “You need to relate to your audience, they need to know you.”
Kyle agreed: “We’ve been on the air for 16 years, when we began Jackie was 23 and now she’s married with a daughter. My girlfriend is 24, I’ve been married before and divorced, we just use everything in eachothers lives and share as much as possible.”
One message per break
“Programmers used to say just give one message per break… I always thought, who are they researching here. People who stop to answer research questions or come in for a bit of Pizza to say what song they like… they’re losers. Real people can handle lots of ideas,” said Kyle.
Selling the Music
“Songs change every few weeks, it’s here and gone, but the consistent thing is the stars that we have on and ourselves,” said Kyle.