The Idaho Falls Advertising Federation announced the winners of the 2014 Gem Awards during their annual awards banquet on Thursday, February 6th. Winners at the local level were advanced to the state level, and were included in this year’s Rockie Awards judging.
IdahoRadioNews: Movin’ to the country
With the spring book right around the corner, a flurry of changes in recent weeks on the airwaves — especially those waves that carry a country twang.
Cumulus personell moves
KQFC/97.9 Nash FM has swapped out its local morning show with a syndicated product. Long-running host Cory Mikhals gave way to Blair Garner and America’s Morning Show. The show is part of the Nash brand launched by KQFC owner Cumulus last year, and will be heard on a wide variety of stations across the, er– country.
At sister station KIZN/Kissin’ 92.3, 15-year veteran morning team Mee in the Morning is out. The married pair (somewhat better known as Kevin & Brenda) segued out of the station earlier this month. The reason behind the parting of ways is unknown – but sources say contract negotiations had been going on for a while. Nielsen (Arbitron) ratings for the Mees, and KIZN in general, have flagged in recent years.
The Mee-team will be replaced this week by — wait for it — Cory Mikhals. Mikhals will switch studios in the Cumulus building effective Tuesday.
Here’s the announcement of the Nash & Kissin’ changes.
Bull moseys back into town
Friday, another development for country listeners: Boise got another Western-themed station. KQBL/100.7 The Bull replaced KPDA/100.7 La Poderosa at 5 p.m., replacing the regional Mexican format used by the Impact-owned station in recent years.
The change on 100.7 happened at the same time Impact officially sold off 99.1 FM to Lee Family Broadcasting of Twin Falls. 99.1 now leaves the Boise market (more on that in a moment).
With the chess moves, Impact now operates four English-language music formats and a sports radio frequency: KSRV/96.1 Bob FM, KWYD/Wild 101, KQBL/100.7 The Bull, KZMG/My 102.7 and KNFL/96.5 ESPN Boise. Those moves double the number of music stations in Impact’s… bull-pen.
So why all the fancy footwork? Ultimately, Impact trades away a rough signal that broadcast out of Mountain Home for a strong signal on top of Bogus Basin.
Not mentioned in all this country fun: KAWO/Wow Country 104.3. The Townsquare Media-owned country station is the market leader in the segment, and hasn’t made any recent shifts.
Here’s the launch of The Bull:
My 102.7 still spot-less
KZMG/My 102.7 is still without commercials — but that may not last long. Impact could not own the station until it closed on the sale of 99.1 FM due to FCC rules. Now that’s happened, expect commercial messages soon.
The station is introducing a variety of interactive features. Some are routine, while others are novel to the Boise market. Listeners are invited to dial up my1027fm.com and vote songs up and down. They can also get a text or email alert when their favorite jam is about to play. During work-hours, the station will allow listeners to pick the first song played at the top of the hour from its website (from a pre-selected list).
99.1 to the dogs
Last year, Lee Family Broadcasting announced it would format 99.1 as “La Perrona” – a Regional Mexican station. When Lee Family got its hooks into the station, it launched… 99.1 The Dog. Imaging takes swipes at cross-town country station Kat Kountry. It isn’t really clear to me the long term story here. You can hear the launch of 99.1 The Dog below:
(Update: 99.1 has now transitioned to the La Perrona format)
Don Day is the Digital Sales & Product Manager for KTVB, and wrote and edited IdahoRadioNews.com for more than six years.
Job opening: Senior Account Director
Stoltz Marketing Group in Boise is looking for a Senior Account Director:
We’re Stoltz Marketing Group, a creative-driven advertising and marketing agency located in Boise, Idaho, that’s hell-bent on expanding our emerging national footprint.
And you are? You embrace our conviction that we can beat the best agencies anywhere and are ready to roll up your sleeves to help us do it. You’re a thought-leader who’s part consumer anthropologist, technologist, strategist and culturalist. You also like the idea of trading in long commutes for 300 days of sunshine, brewpubs and the Rocky Mountains that sit just beyond our office windows.
And now for the mandatories:
- You think 3-dimensionally and understand that a great idea transcends all media: web, mobile, ambient, print, etc.
- You turn client challenges into opportunities before they even know they exist.
- You demonstrate thought leadership without grandstanding.
- You know how to write insightful brand plans, positions and creative briefs.
- You manage client pitches, budgets and schedules to ensure projects deliver on time and align with marketing goals.
- You have a four-year university degree (Anything from theater to physics).
- You have more than eight years of proven agency or in-house experience and can demonstrate the above mandatories with real samples for real clients or projects.
- You exude a positive, can-do attitude and back it up with timely, well-considered action.
- You smile a lot.
For more information or to apply, email careers@stoltzgroup.com or see the job listing on LinkedIn.
Disclaimer: By day (and some nights) I can usually be found at Stoltz Marketing Group, so you’d have to put up with me as well.
Job opening: Senior Account Executive
Red Sky Public Relations in Boise is looking for a Senior Account Executive to join their team. From the job description on their website:
Senior Account Executives serve as the strategic advisors and account managers for each client project. They ensure Red Sky’s best practices are consistently adhered to and maintain the highest quality of account/client service. Senior Account Executives must have a minimum of five years professional communication experience.
Also
COMPENSATION / BENEFITS PACKAGE INCLUDES:
- Comprehensive health insurance, including dental and vision coverage
- Flexible spending account
- Three weeks paid vacation, paid holidays
- Employer-funded short-term and long-term disability, life insurance
- 401(k) retirement plan with matching
- Tele-working and Flex-time opportunities
- Professional Development budget
- Employee assistance programs
- Agency commitment to equal opportunity employment
- Dog-friendly office
Full details about the job and how to apply can be found here.
New year. New hires at Drake Cooper
Screwball headline aside, Drake Cooper started off the new year with two senior-level additions to their staff: Colleen Morgan, who’s joining as Sr. Graphic Designer and Susan Becker, joining as Brand Manager.
From the post on Drake Cooper’s site about their new hires:
Colleen Morgan
Colleen brings over 16 years of design and advertising goodness to Drake Cooper. In that time, she has lived in the agency world as well as both corporate and non-profit sectors while honing her skills in branding, design and creative strategy. In that time, she has lived in the agency world as well as both corporate and non-profit sectors while honing her skills in branding, design and creative strategy. For a designer, her right and left-brain are surprisingly balanced.
Susan Becker
Susan brings over fifteen years of marketing experience to her role at Drake Cooper, seven of those being with Portland-based Columbia Sportswear. As the promotions operations manager for Columbia she developed sponsorship programs with partners including NBC’s 2002 Winter Olympics, ESPN’s XGames, Sundance Film Festival, and The Discovery Channel. Since moving to Boise in 2008 Susan’s roles have included marketing manager at BOB Trailers, sponsorship manager with The Exergy Tour, and various consulting roles for businesses in the area.