CAPITAL.FM

18. 06. 13 - 22. 06. 13
C A P I T A L . F M/ Not All The Stars Are On Air

The new kids on the block, Matt, JoJo, Me and Bodg

Foot In The Door.

Working for Capital FM was a spontaneous placement which approached me as opposed to me impending them. The environment was fast, ever changing yet a calming consequence prior to what I had experienced at Channel4 earlier this summer. (That being said, there was still a wealth of adaptable student flair on site) The placement itself found me. Having been ‘dared’ to enter using only the tone of my recorded voice, I had accidentally won, from hundreds of entrants, I had managed to unintentionally win, a once in a lifetime competition to be the voice of 105-106 Capital FM’s newly endorsed summer music festival campaign, ‘North East Life’. Might I add that I am THAT person who hates any playbacks of my recorded tone of voice – never a true representation. Nevertheless I had obtained the opportunity to introduce to the stage all the pop music acts of that day, in front of thousands of pop fans. At the time I was a little sceptical and knew that for listeners such as my 12 year old niece, this would have been ranked as a golden prospect. “22 year-old Vicky was

serving a customer at the time her ‘demo’ was recorded” read the newspaper article, “Having then been shortlisted from all the entries she was invited to the Capital Studio to record an on air challenge which she passed with flying colours, winning the once in a lifetime, money  can’t buy prize.” Reflecting back on this I guess I did attain a ‘once in a lifetime’ which was the invited experience at Capital FM to shortly follow. Apparently I was “Absolutely overwhelmed” likewise there was an elaboration of many other statements that I had apparently quoted; I sensed tricks of the media, journalistic trade. I had previously visited the Stadium of Light for a ‘Take That’ concert and understood the scale of this huge venue. Some of the UK’s biggest and best loved pop acts would be taking to the stage, featuring a number of highly recognisable headline acts such as top boy band, ‘JLS’. This family-friendly music extravaganza was conveyed as an event which would suit music fans of all ages, capping off what had been a spectacular month for live westernised music visitors at the Stadium of Light such as music giants Rihanna and Bon Jovi.

Although I held indifferent views for radio, I have cynical views on the platforms weaknesses which were reminiscent of my approaches towards music television channels at BoxTV, I argue, that with the escalation of social digital platforms and apps, such as the BoxTV app, radio profiles alike have adapted themselves towards the marketing strategy of online presence, which puts the brands in a commanding position for sharing music and freewill listening,

differentiating in the ways consumers listen via the uses of internet presentation. The integration into iPlayer sharing has no doubly been a large sustainable success, yet the former appearance of the commercial radio adjacent to these elements sees it as having less of an offering for variable consumers and of a diminish built on the foundations of fractured in being heavily marketed and advertised, we can all relate to those incidents, when we’d prefer musical hits as opposed to the significant sonic branding of provoking ads. It wasn’t until I arrived at the studio in SilverLink, Newcastle before I found myself looking for a taste in this exuberant industry. I expected my time in their studio to be quite unreceptive. Oh how wrong I was. The experience of standing inside a studio with radio talent who had been doing this show reel for years, the alerting flash of the ‘LIVE ON AIR’ signage sent off  rational alarm bells that my voice was going to be aired to hundreds of listeners that morning, if I slipped up, there was no going back. Headphones attached and a microphone larger than my head invading my personal space, was largely a winning vote of confidence, nevertheless my dignity soon vanished after proceeding with the cringe worthy tasks which were implemented to me by ‘Bodg’, ‘Matt’ and ‘JoJo’ on the breakfast show, of which a few of my friends oh-so-kindly recorded me that morning to share across the fields of social media.

 

after speaking to ‘Giles Tanner’ the Programme Controller for the network about my earlier summer placements he solidly responded with a declaration of “You could just start tomorrow for the week if you wished?” I quickly responded with a blinding “Really!?” and just like that I had put another foot through the door into a destination much closer to home comforts, (Up the road in fact) and the following day saw me walking through the doors to 105-106 Capital FM, The UK’s number 1 hit music station. Although I was only able to stay there four days because of part-time job constraints, the experience still proved to be that of a respected one.

 

Doing it the Capital FM way.

 

Capital FM demonstrates within the marketing portfolio, that the network ‘Doesn’t just play the hits-it makes and breaks them” reaching a whopping 7.5million people every single week, building the brand as the major commercial radio brand within the UK. First and foremast as a loyal advocate to Capital FM, there is a really contemporary brand lifestyle, which when evaluated deep enough, can

be heard over the tunes of music.  At a majority they are largely mainstream and their target listeners largely are indicative of Channel 4, like Deja-vu I was already able to cite that the client base will want to be among the first to know about new hit music. The profoundly broadcasted coverage is supervised by ‘This is Global’ a larger brand stakeholder with investments towards eight of the biggest names in the business. On their website they suggest that “When it comes to radio in the UK, we haven’t just created an impact, we’ve shaken and rocked the whole industry to the core.” This set of brand values supports their Global core element. Each of the radio brands are clear and simply, listeners each week can derive from every demographic. As a mission statement the This Is Global is quickly “We’re not just bringing life to radio - we’re bringing radio to life.” Below is a summarized report on the genuine audience demographic.

 

In Capital FM’s former life, the network was named ‘Galaxy’ where upon altering every aspect of the Galaxy brand to conform to what it is today, the brand received both a controversial and social hammering from immediate listeners. Al Ries and Laura Ries (1998) argue in the book ’22 Immutable Laws Of Branding’ that the “Law Of Change” provides complexities when facilitating the change of a brand  however Ries does highlight situations when brand change is feasible “The concept that brought your brand to the dance is still firmly embedded in your prospects mind. If you want to change your

brand, first look into the mind. Perhaps you’re not in the mind at all” and having undertaken research and I concluded this outcome was the answer to the brand being weak and a little less existent, Galaxy had very traditional meanings and connotations attached, in essence becoming a considerable slow mover compared to its fresh competitors entering onto the field.

Bibliography: Ries, A. and Ries, L. 1998. The 22 immutable laws of branding. New York: HarperBusiness. p.163

 

The aspects of radio branding.

Working for Capital means you will require the skills and energetic attitude to drive the service ambition and passion to make great radio content for the perspective consumer to use. As the office space was certainly smaller than Channel 4, leadership skills and willingness for ideas must be demonstrate to identify the issues that Capital’s audience care passionately about and ensure the programme interacts with them to reflect their voice. Many aspects of radio branding are intangible “Service branding relies on variance; it is more complex to manage than product branding. The Service brands are about the people.” As suggested by (Olins, W. 2003) This quotation is suggestive of the distinctive differentiating features which make a service brand stand out from one another, the alternative to attempting to hone in on any one tangible component is to develop a series of standardised brand values which allow the brand’s tone of voice to communicate towards the prospective consumer. Original journalism similar to Channel4 was paramount, providing quality news output that covers local issues in depth, as well as reflecting the national and international agenda in a way that is engaging to the localised audiences.

 

 

The Tasks.

Having networked with more amazing people, learning what I could from them to help in anyway needed whether it was constructing a more efficient filing system, administration or going out on the streets of the north east as a Capital Street star. Sourcing audio for competitions, updating PRS, listening to audio to help create podcasts, and live reads (making sure the presenters have said

 

branded advertisements in links when they were meant to). All the people here had been amazing, chatting to me and making me feel part of the family (and that is the only way to describe Capital FM), I was prepared to do a range of jobs from the initial assisting task of setting up North East Live to odd jobs. Each one got me into places I wouldn’t normally get into, and talking to people I might not have had the courage to approach on my own.