30 Years Gone

Think back to 1979. Fire was about to be discovered. The wheel was still 2 years from evolving from its then-current triangular shape into something close to an oval. The only way to let somebody know "what I'm doing" was to tell them or write a letter and mail it from a U.S. Post Office. The primitive music being played was classified as "disco," destroying the ears and lives and cocaine noses of America's youth movement.

But, out of the ashes of this pre-historic time, there arose a radio station. It was a radio station so unique and so powerful that the people fell to their knees and wept. This radio station was, and still is, called WDHA.

30 years later WDHA-FM is 30 years old. While you may say, "Dave, you're being redundant within the same sentence," my reply is, hey, if you guys are okay with Sammy Hagar singing "Only time will tell if we can stand the test of time," you can accept my topic sentence of paragraph #3.

I grew up with this radio station, first catching on with it in the summer of 1980 when they consecutively played every song in the Beatles catalog from A-Z that July or August (they played "She's Leaving Home" off of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and I rode my bike downtown to Scotti's Record Shop in Madison to steal - I mean, buy that album the same day). When you grow up with a radio station, it's like family. It's like WDHA and I shaved together and drove our first car together and went on dates together and partied together. We probably both said "Dude" far too many times for our own good. To be working for it this many years later is like if you went on a date with a girl (or guy) back in high school and ended up getting married to that person 25 years later. Am I right? I think I'm right. (Note: If you want to know who's in the pictures, scroll to the bottom.)

So, with that rant in mind, WDHA - "The Rock of New Jersey," had a big celebration this week at the Welmont Theater in Montclair, Nueva Jersey (pronounced New Yersey). There was a band that played. Some call them Lynyrd Skynyrd. So you had The Rock of New Jersey celebrating its 30th anniversary with a band that's been around for more than 30 years.

"What's this mean to me?" you almost stutter before realizing I'd possibly make fun of you for it.

It means that WDHA, a radio station that's been in the Rock format for 30 years, is consistent (See how many times I've told you we're 30 years old? Yeah, I can't get anything by you, can I?). Listenership is at an all-time high: More than 380,000 men and women and kids and hamsters listen to this radio station every week. Our consistent format is parallel to how you should advertise: a strong message communicated consistently. That's the key to advertising. And it's the key to WDHA's 30 years of success.

Here's a great anecdote. As a kid listening to 105.5, I used to hear ads all the time for Kenvil Power Mower. Kenvil. It's a real town on Route 46. Sounds like it's one or two towns over from Mayberry, where Andy Griffith and Opie lived with Ain't Bea. Anyway, the point to this is Kenvil Power Mower was so consistent with their simple message for so long, I still remember them. If you axed my brother, he'd say the same thing. He remembers. Go ahead. Ask him. I double-dog dare you.

So maybe you should steal from the 1980s Kenvil Power Mower playbook, get on the air and stay there. You'll be glad you did.

SCREAM OUTS

A brand spankin' new feature to this awesome blog is the Scream Out section (rockers don't give "shout outs"). We welcomed a few new advertisers to the fold this week, including Morris Catholic High School in Denville (which rhymes with Kenvil), Fairchilds Market in Roseland (doesn't rhyme with Kenvil or Denville), Advantage Contracting from Wayne and Advanced Cardiology Practice, also from Wayne. Listen for their spots (that's industry parlance for commercials) and patronize them to the fullest extent of the law (meaning don't stalk). We all thank you for it.

SONG OF THE WEEK

Since it was Lynyrd Skynyrd that played WDHA's 30th anniversary concert, let's play a little something from them. One of my favorite tracks is called "Tuesday's Gone." I hope you like it as much as I like you.

Thanks for reading!
Dave

Pictures:

#1, at the top, is the whole WDHA-FM staff at the Welmont Theater. There's a cake in the middle of the picture that looks small to you but was very large to us. If there's any left over, I'll give you some.

#2 is of me (on the right) with Nancy Remy of Shadow Traffic. I know her name like I know Kenvil Power Mower. She thought I was joking when I told her it was a thrill to meet her, put my arm around her and also get this picture taken. But I joke not.

#3 is of me (on the right) with Stu Iselin, another Account Exec here at WDHA & WMTR who doesn't live in Iselin, and Valerie Freda, another Account Exec who doesn't live in Iselin. We all think it's a swell town, however.

#4 is of me (on the left) with Matt DeVoti, our station's general. I mean General Sales Manager. He used to be a DJ for years on WNEW-FM, when it was a cool rock station and not the girlie "Fresh" station it is today. He's at DHA 'cause he rocks. (He also likes WMTR-AM "Classic Oldies" very much.)

David Philp
Account Executive
WMTR-AM/WDHA-FM
Greater Media Broadcasting
55 Horsehill Rd. Cedar Knolls, NJ 07927
ofc: 973-538-1250 x1377
e: dphilp@greatermedianj.com
fax: 973-538-3060