Uncategorized

Woof Boom Radio LLC announces the purchase of an FM station that will be located in Madison County

The new station will broadcast at 103.7 on FM and simulcast News Talk 1240 AM WHBU’s signal. It’s focus will be on Anderson and what matters to the people in our community. WHBU is the 2nd oldest radio station (and oldest commercial station) in the state and is the only secular Anderson station with the entire Anderson community at it’s core. Woof Boom recently launched the new WHBU Morning Show with Sean Harshey. Since purchasing WHBU and the other former Backyard Broadcasting stations in May of 2013, Woof Boom Radio has invested over $250,000 into their AM stations.

“The people of Anderson deserve their own station. Our job is to talk about the issues that are important to Anderson. We are making a sizable financial commitment because we see the need and opportunity for great local radio,” states J Chapman, President of Woof Boom Radio

“Adding a new station is unusual and not an easy process,” Chapman added. “Our legal counsel in Washington DC received verification that the FCC has granted the initial approval to transfer the license to Woof Boom Radio. This is a great day for Anderson.”

General Manager Todd Merickel commented, “In the time I have been talking to Anderson residents the last few weeks, I keep hearing how WHBU is vital in serving the Madison County area with local programming and now Woof Boom Radio shows again that we are committed to providing the best product possible for our listeners and advertisers.”

New Morning Show host Sean Harshey commented, “”Being on the FM dial for our listeners in Anderson and Madison County is great because it makes us more accessible and gives everyone another option to hear Anderson’s live & local radio programming on WHBU.”

Keeping it Live and Local

Local – it’s a simple word but an easy one to take for granted. I have worked in broadcasting for 24 years in Sarasota, Florida, Indianapolis and for 15 of those years in my home of east central Indiana. I am a Muncie Northside and Ball State University graduate and love being back home helping to make this area a better place to live, work, play and raise families.

My previous broadcasting employers have included large corporations and small locally-owned stations like Woof Boom Radio. One thing I still believe today (like I did 24 years ago) is that local broadcasting is a huge contributor in any area for a community’s communication needs. Think of all the different ways that radio can work and promote things creatively and quickly. Ideal to promote town events, charity announcements, public service campaigns and when weather issues arise, radio is still a powerful ally in getting the word out fast to individuals.

When New Jersey was hit with a hurricane, most cell phone communication was out for extended periods of time yet radio stations stayed on the air with back -up generators and dedicated broadcasters feeding information to listeners seeking help. When weather disasters hit, the standard message is still to have a transistor radio with batteries as a standby. (Of course, we can’t forget the too-numerous-to count giveaways of t-shirts, hats, bumper stickers and concert tickets!) Simply put, radio is still a powerful way to communicate a message to the masses and even more so from a local level.

Analysts at Edison Research study how radio has changed, and what stations can do to maintain a strong following.

“In the last year Edison Research has been hired to perform several studies on just the question of how to keep younger consumers listening to FM radio. We pretty much hear the same things over and over – they do and will continue to go to radio for unique compelling content – and to be in-the-know on what is happening locally. Young listeners talk to us about the chance to actually meet the personality they hear on the radio and the announcements of local events or concerts. They understand – their local radio stations are providing them with something.”

Smart Phones, Websites, Podcasts all the way down to the Television and Cassette tapes have all been predicted to doom and destroy local radio. But radio is still here and it always changes and adapts to the times and technologies being created. And it’s exciting to see where radio is going next.

Smart phone and digital technology is working now with radio to provide local content to consumers and listeners and Woof Boom Radio will be leading the way, locally. The number one reason I decided to join J Chapman and the Woof Boom Radio team is the company’s core values that include the belief that radio works if it is live and local. It’s as simple as that.

I am excited to announce that News Talk 1240 WHBU will be launching “The Sean Harshey Show” a new local talk show weekdays from 6:00AM to 10:00AM. As we say in the industry, keep listening for other new and exciting things to come from Woof Boom Radio. Best of all, we are thinking them up and creating them right here in East Central Indiana!

Feel free to contact me with ideas or suggestions at: todd.merickel@woofboom.com

What Makes a Woof Boom?

Since our east central Indiana radio business started a few months ago, there have been more than a couple of questions about Woof Boom’s name, its origin, and what we are really all about. If I condensed the “frequently asked questions” to just a couple, they would be “What is a Woof Boom?” and “Why Would I Do Business with a Company Named Woof Boom?”

Our employees recently took a stab at answering the basic question, asking our community and staff what they make of “Woof Boom.” (Have a look for yourself in this short video.)

I think “Woof Boom” can be defined as our unique approach to helping our customers reach the community in an engaging, entertaining, and productive way.

But why would I do business with a company named Woof Boom?

Lots of companies go overboard when creating mission statements, core principles, and the like. A few years ago when writing mission statements was in vogue and all the rage, typically the company leadership would go on a retreat and upon returning the newly-written Mission Statement would be framed and posted in the lobby.

Most of the employees didn’t know or understand the mission or values of the company that resulted from the retreat. It turned out to be a pointless and futile exercise. I was in bank recently and read their five paragraph mission statement, and I have to admit that I still have no idea what that bank is really about. That type of approach, clearly, is not Woof Boom.

Woof Boom Radio’s Vision, Mission, and Values really just represent two things: Serving Others and Building a Relationship Grounded in Trust. That’s it.

Our business is radio and that just happens to be the vehicle we use to serve others. Our company and what we do isn’t for everyone – and that is OK. But our people really do care about one and other, and we all care about our customers and listeners. You can say it — but you can’t fake it. People are looking for what is true and authentic. Woof Boom is certainly both true and authentic.

We serve our customers by getting results for them.

J_Chapman

Recently, we had a business that was using one of our stations to reach potential employees. Toward the end of their advertising campaign, the client called and said they were getting virtually no results from the effort. I couldn’t have been more proud of our employees and the way they responded. They swung into action. Overnight we developed new creative, crafted a simple message, changed the client web portal and we promised that we would get them results. Our client did get results and they have returned to advertise with us again.

You can’t fake your commitment to Serving Others and the sincere approach to Building a Trusting Relationship. That’s who we aspire to be, and that’s who we are at Woof Boom Radio.