When iHeart’s KISQ San Francisco became “The Breeze” in 2016, it joined WFEZ (Easy 93.1) Miami in eventually prompting the Soft AC format boom that reached its tipping point about 18 months later. After a surprising moment of Soft AC as the hot new format, many of those stations evolved or left the format altogether. But Don Parker still believes in Soft AC.
Parker spent more than 15 years as the San Francisco-based SVP/programming for iHeart Media. This week, he announced the launch of Parker Brand Strategies, a return to the consulting that he did in the late ’00s. He remains “extremely passionate about Soft AC, especially because I’ve been successful with a startup in the format. I’ve also watched it be taken off track numerous times by numerous companies. And it’s so frustrating to me to see that happen.”
Parker helped launch The Breeze, which took advantage of modernizing what was taking place in the AC format, including rival KOIT. In the intervening years, KOIT regained its footing and the usual format lead, but the Breeze has also proven more enduring than many of its counterparts. In the October PPM, KISQ had a 4.6 share.
This week, in the Ross on Radio interview, Parker talks about Soft AC and also about what he hopes to accomplish with the new consultancy.
“The beginning of the Breeze was a year-long effort. When I first suggested it, there were, as you might expect, a lot of people who thought it was going to skew 55-plus. I pointed out Easy 93 as a great example of a station … [that] was often No. 1 25-54, and some would say ‘but that’s Florida, that’s retirement.’ And I said, yeah, but we’re talking 25-54, we’re not talking about retirees.
“I was able to convince the powers that be that we should do a research study. And sure enough, it showed that in the female 30–52-year-old space, there was a significant appetite for the format. And obviously, the Breeze very quickly became the number two-cuming station in San Francisco, behind [longtime AC] KOIT, which is such a behemoth there.”
KOIT had been modernizing on an ongoing basis. Did the study show a vulnerability? “Not really. KOIT is a good radio station. Bonneville has always supported it with lots of marketing and lots of research, and it’s always had good programmers. It wasn’t that we saw KOIT as this damaged brand. It was just that there was room for this new format to come into play. As you said, KOIT had had evolved, like almost every mainstream AC in the country … we just felt that opportunity was there, even against a quality competitor.
“Soft AC has longevity, but it has to be kept so carefully in place. And I think what I’ve seen with the format as it’s aged is there tends to be this desire to make it a little more contemporary, make it a little more uptempo – thinking it can broaden out its appeal, and instead it diminishes the appeal.
Was there ever a time where The Breeze got too new or too uptempo? “Not San Francisco. [But that did happen to] Sacramento’s Breeze [KBEB]. About a year and a half ago, they started sliding back to be a little more gold-based, again, not pushing as much tempo, and the ratings have improved. But even in San Francisco, early on we were asked, ‘How are we going to beat KOIT if we don’t sound like them?’
“As the Breeze has gotten older, we would test recurrents that have the essence of the station. When you eventually find one, everybody knows it, and then it tests well enough to play and it fits the essence of the station. Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars is a great example — that one will probably test in next year, in due time. Sometimes there’s a great song that fits the essence, but the audience hasn’t said they want it yet. At the same time, even older Taylor Swift songs still feel very contemporary because Top 40 never stopped playing them.
“A key to the format is that it can always evolve. It’s one of those rare formats that spans more than 40 years of music, from the ’70s to songs from a year or two ago. Very few formats can do that.
“To me, that’s all about music testing. That’s probably a lot of what the [challenge] is, too, for some of these other stations and other owners, is they may not be able to do music testing so frequently. I do think one of the crucial elements of the format is making sure that you can test music at least a couple of times a year, so that the audience can tell you when they’re ready, and you’re not having to guess.
“[Breeze PD] Ricci Filiar and I used to joke all the time that you could play every single song in the music test, because all 700 were hits and the passion for the music was through the roof. But you’re still going to play the ones that test the best.
“The other thing that I think that people misunderstand about the format is that it’s going to be perceived as slow or boring, and it never comes back that way in research. It always comes back as ‘this station just makes me feel so good,’ and it’s because you can sing along with every song, even the recurrents.”
I’ve heard a very successful Soft AC station play “Eye of the Tiger.” Has that song softened over time to the point where Soft AC can play it just because it’s a big, crowd-pleasing hit? “I wouldn’t play ‘Eye of the Tiger,’ and it’s one of the songs that we debated early on. I was asked why we weren’t testing ‘Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.’ We knew it would probably come back top 10, but there’s an essence that the format has to fit.
“I think the same [need to maintain essence] is true for Throwback Hip Hop. I helped put on KHYL Sacramento, which, to this day is one of the top two or three format stations. We didn’t start playing currents to be a little more current or to be a reporter or whatever.”
Who else do you like in the format? “WLIT [Lite FM] Chicago. We rebranded that station from My-FM back to Lite, took it back to Soft AC, and it stayed pretty true to it for a long time. I think Mick Lee has done a good job.”
Were there ever sales issues in San Francisco? “Not at all. Some of that was because the station was a favorite of some of our youngest sellers in the building. We had a seller who was 32 years old, and she listened to the station for the first hour, and she came into my office and said, ‘This station is all the music I grew up with my mom listening to. I can sell this. This is going to be huge.
“Early on, there were suggestions about playing Christmas music, and I was dead set against that. I said KOIT owns that. We need to be the relief station for them. I would always advocate if a Soft AC is competing with a Mainstream AC that’s already known for Christmas, absolutely don’t go Christmas. Be the alternative.”
Obviously, if we’re having this conversation, you think there’s still a hole for this format in most places. “I think it’s a phenomenal format. Everywhere I’ve seen research, everybody looks at it as a feel-good, fun format, even though you wouldn’t think that based on tempo … There are very few formats that can slowly evolve that way, where you can add another year, another two years, as times pass. Eventually, I think the ’70s and some of the early ’80s will go away. [It just has to] to evolve with that brand essence.”
Are owners and GMs gun-shy about Soft AC because the boom came and went and not everybody made it? “There are probably people out there who think, ‘Well, that didn’t work.’ There are just a few exceptions that worked long-term. But I think that a lot of the problems for other stations were self-inflicted. It’s a format you have to be so careful with and make sure that you’re always delivering on the promise every time somebody tunes in.”
Besides Soft AC, what are some of the other projects you’re hoping to work on with the relaunched consultancy? “I’ve got a lot of experience turning around stations and starting formats. I think I did 10 startups at NextMedia, [Alternative KTBZ] The Buzz Houston and taking KKFR Phoenix back to Rhythmic CHR. Mega 100 Los Angeles was a flagship for Rhythmic Oldies.
“I’ve done a lot of startups, a lot of turnarounds. I think that’s probably my specialty, compared to a lot of other consultants. Maybe you don’t need to hire me for five years to be your brand guide, although certainly I’ll stay with clients who want that, but helping you turn around a situation is kind of my proposition.
“When you’ve got brands that are curated well, localism is important. It is absolutely important to be connected. I’m sitting here in in Palm Springs today, and Brad Fuhr’s KGAY, which is obviously very targeted to the LGBTQ+ community, has a great following because it has local connection. It’s a unique brand. You can’t get it anywhere else. And people listen to it, and it’s on when you get into Ubers and Lyfts. People who aren’t even part of the LGBTQ community are listening to it.
“I think that that’s just critical if you’re going to succeed in this fractured world, where there’s so much streaming going on and you’ve got to give people the reason to pick you. Those local personalities and that local connection and all the community involvement are really important. KMEL San Francisco [morning host Sana G] does a Sana Claus fundraiser. You’d think over 15 years, where listening is down and splintering every year, that it would decline. Instead, it grows every year, and we raise more than we did last year. I think that as long as you have that connection, the localism, and a unique brand, radio still has a big place.”
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