Jack FM : Playing what they want

We visited Jack FM on the back of record RAJAR results in August and them winning three awards at the Arqivas; including 2011 Commercial Radio Station of the Year (300,000 – 1 million TSA).

Programming Director Sue Carter and Sponsorship, Promotions and Interactive Manager Hamish Law spoke to RadioCentre about the monumental rise of the original UK Jack FM in Oxfordshire for both the brand and their station since they won their licence four years ago.

Who is Jack?
SC: Jack is a ‘we’, never an individual, but if it was, it’s a mix of things; irreverent, anti-establishment, a little bit of a rebel, surprising, a little bit cynical, but with a heart when it counts. Not necessarily the guy you want to bring back home to Mum, but the guy at the pub you want to have a pint with.

Why is Jack like no other station?
SC: Jack says, ‘forget about how you’ve always done it, we’re going to do it differently’.  One thing people find weird is that three different companies own the Jack brand, and yet we all share content with eachother.  The success of other Jack stations in their markets is good for us, plus if we’re going to make a trail or other content, it’s kind of nice knowing it’ll air somewhere else on one of the other Jack stations.  I think it’s the first time in this country where this kind of content sharing happens without financial incentives.

What has been the station’s biggest challenge?
HL : One of the biggest battles was educating people about the Jack brand -getting it. We have to work to make it appear like we don’t care about what we play or say, when in actual fact we really do.  One of our current sponsors is a water company and the owners are listeners.  They just really get the brand and what we’re trying to achieve, they say ‘here’s the brief, but have fun with it; give me some great creative’.  Clients find they get a good response because the audience trusts Jack.

Who is the average listener?
SC: Our skew is slightly more male, but essentially, it’s someone who has a good sense of humour and doesn’t take life too seriously. They’ve got a little bit of a wicked streak in them they’re the Mum and Dad in the car that enjoy getting the joke their kids don’t.

What has been your biggest recent success?
HL: Overtaking BBC Radio Oxford in the most recent Rajar figures was a big achievement. 
SC: We debated whether to tell anyone though, we’re Jack; we’re the underdog. People like that.

What helps content on Jack FM standout?
SC: Great story telling. More than any other radio station I have ever worked on, here it doesn’t matter what content we have, it’s how we it relate to the audience. Every single time we’ve done something where people have said ‘God, I didn’t know I cared about that’ it helps them change their idea of what radio is. We’re not reinventing the wheel; we’re just reminding people about how valuable local commercial radio is.

What do you think your listeners want more than anything?
SC: Great music and honesty. Because we love what we do, we love the station and we’re also fortunate to live somewhere nice - there’s no faking it. Completely tell the truth - that’s literally it. The Trust is there. If we cock up, you know we cock up.

What do you want for Jack in the future?
SC: Just to be really careful that we don’t drop the ball. On twitter and Facebook, if someone calls or tweets we will always answer it. Some days you may not want to respond because it’s your day off, or you’re tired but we all do. We also want to continue as we’ve started - we’re the underdogs and the good guys doing something for the community, we’ve got a responsibility and we won’t forget that.

What three words best describe your station?
HL: No faking it. It’s an honest station – what you see (or hear) is what you get.