GFK Metro Radio Survey 5 is due out next Tuesday (Aug 25), and in the lead up to survey day we thought we’d check in with a few content directors to see what happens at their station when the results come through, whether the staff have any superstitiions and what sort of celebrations take place in or out of the office.

Whether or not you’ve been in a metro station for survey day, stations mark the day in many different ways.  radioinfo caught up with three metro content directors – Jay Walkerden from Nova 106.9 Brisbane, Charlie Fox at WSFM in Sydney, and Erica Hodge from Mix 94.5 Perth, to take a quick look at what happens on survey day.

radioinfo: Let’s start with an easy question.  How do you receive the results on survey day?

Walkerden: We usually get the results in my office when they come through at 9am.  Myself, the exec team and the PR team
Fox: 9am in my office via email.  Alone.  Thank god the days of sitting around in the GM’s office waiting for the phone call are over.  I hated that!
Hodge:  Myself and Todd Campbell (hit92.9) gather in GM Linda Wayman’s office at 7am (6am in summer!) to see the results come in together. Even though we all get them delivered to our personal email these days, it’s nice to share the moment. And start the analysis immediately!

radioinfo: Once management and your senior people have seen the results, how do you communicate them to the rest of your staff?  And how important is it that you talk to staff before they see the results online?

Walkerden: At 9:30am we do an all staff meeting and present the top line results.  And we always make sure we do the preso before the results go online
Fox:  I walk out the door and yell WOOHOO!!!! If WS is No. 1 FM … or wait for KIIS across the corridor to do it. It’s usually one of us. Then I go take the good news or bad news to Jonesy & Amanda (office next door) Then we have an ARN all-staff meeting at 10AM.  I email everyone on the WS team the results as soon as they come in. I text the winners.
Hodge:  I let my breakfast team know as soon as is appropriate (because they’re on air at the time). I’ll also communicate the results to my drive team by email and/or text. Then we have an all staff meeting in the SCA Perth boardroom at 9am to announce the results.  I like the on-air guys to hear them from me first….and the wider team to have them framed in some context from Linda, Todd & myself – so a delay there doesn’t really concern me.

radioinfo: I’ve heard that some stations have survey day rituals or traditions.  Do you have any at your station?

Walkerden:  I have one that I go to the gym in the morning , don’t get into the office till about 8.30am so I’m not pacing around the station. 
Fox:  My only ritual is to wear a black shirt on survey day. Back in my MMM days Rod Muir would take us all out to a $50,000 loooooong lunch with Dom Perignon aplenty…KIIS have taken to ordering pizzas .. win or lose .. the crazy reckless bastards! 
Hodge:  We are lucky – SCA Perth puts on lunch on our rooftop every survey day. Always. No matter the result.

radioinfo: Obviously you get the top line results first thing.  But when do you sit down and drill down deeper into the numbers?

Walkerden:  Normally the same day depending on the result. Sometimes my head is clearer the next day when you have had a chance to think through the result
Fox:  Drill into the what? Oh yeah, um, well of course the same day!! Nothing else to do, what with no pizza or anything…
Hodge:  I start my deeper analysis as soon as I have briefed my breakfast show. I usually have my report (to Craig Bruce) completed by lunchtime on survey day.

radioinfo:  Final question.  Do you want to make a prediction for next Tuesday?

Walkerden: Someone will go up, and someone will go down.
Fox:  Having been in the industry for over 1 million years I’ve learnt that you can NEVER predict the ratings.  But looking at my tea leaves, it says WSFM should remain No.1 FM. But seriously ANYTHING is possible! It’s sensible to look only at trends rather what happens in one survey.
Hodge:  I’m confident we’ve delivered a strong product over Survey 5. Fingers crossed the books reflect that

GFK Survey 5 results are out Tuesday August 25.  radioinfo will have the results from 9:30am Tuesday morning.