Country station aims to drop title in attempt to change its profile

Country 106.8 FM is in negotiations with the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) to change its name as part of a re-branding exercise.

On the back of this week's strong listenership statistics, the station is also planning to approach advertising agencies again in the next few weeks.

The station has been relying on direct sales over the past six months. Direct sales involve approaching advertisers directly rather than going via an agency.

The station currently gets about 90 per cent of its revenue from direct sales. It has a sales force of eight, who target small and medium enterprises.

The approach has worked historically for local stations outside Dublin, but this is one of the first times it has worked reasonably effectively in Dublin. The Dublin-based agency Mediaworks has been working with the station on a consultancy basis in the past four months. Mr Paul Moran, a widely-respected figure in Dublin advertising circles, has been giving the station some advice on how it can more effectively target large companies.

The station's managing director, Mr Pádraig O'Dwyer, says that, with a 4 per cent listenership figure in Dublin (about 35,000 listeners), the station has a fresh reason to talk to agencies.

It is understood the station favours losing the Country title as it has negative associations for potential listeners. It has in recent months broadened its music policy and you are now as likely to hear Shania Twain as Daniel O'Donnell or Kenny Rogers.

The music policy was changed after lengthy negotiations with the BCI.

The station has attracted very unfavourable publicity this year, with only NewsTalk attracting more negative coverage. But a major re-structuring and a new line-up has changed things around. Mr O'Dwyer claims the station is penetrating into parts of Meath, Louth, Kildare and Wicklow.

"We know from the phone calls and texts we get that our service is popular with commuters."

The M50 generation appear to be the station's most loyal fans, although the station is not targeting younger listeners. Mr O'Dwyer says the station's target group are over 35s, who are often interested in property, health and cars.

He says, as a reflection of this, the station now has three special shows focusing on these subjects. The balance between male and female listeners has also shifted towards the latter, he adds.

If it can re-brand itself and push listenership over 5 per cent, the company behind the station, Star Broadcasting, could become reasonably profitable.

The shareholders at present are: Mr Jerry Carron, a long-time radio investor with 30 per cent; Mr Paul Coulson's Yeoman International with 20 per cent; Mr Peter Norton, a businessman with 15 per cent; independent producer and broadcaster Mr David Harvey with 11 per cent; and the marketing company Marketing Network with 10 per cent.

The remaining shareholders have smaller holdings, among them musician Mr Paddy Cole, who is also a director.

Chemistry shifts

The agency Chemistry, which has done work for Eagle Star, Meteor and First Active, has moved its €10 million media-buying account.

The agency used to use Mindshare but, from the new year, MediaCom will be taking over. The managing director of Chemistry, Mr Ray Sheerin, said that, while media planning was still integral to Chemistry, media buying needed to be outsourced, mainly because buying was now a matter of clout and scale.

Dubliner magazine

The Dubliner magazine has reported a loss of just €2,213 for the year to December 2002. This was a considerable improvement on the losses suffered in the previous year.

It was incorrectly stated in The Irish Times on Monday that the magazine's losses for 2002 amounted to €266,519.

The accounts filed in the Companies Office point to an expansion of the business and an increase in working capital. Debtors have climbed from €85,273 to €161,995 and creditors have risen from €92,582 to €172,463.

The company, Dubliner Media Limited, would seem to have bucked the trend being experienced by other Irish magazines and is well placed to capitalise on the closure of In Dublin magazine.

In addition, the company is thought likely to follow through with the success of its 100 Best Restaurant Guide with guides to other sectors.

The strength of the magazine, now three years old, lies in its appeal to younger consumers or, as it prefers to label them, the "establishment in waiting".

eoliver@irish-times.ie