Situation
One of the last independently owned and operated rock stations in the country, 92.3 WTTS, was operating with a ten year old website, and a mobile app that was barely functional. With more and more audience moving to streaming media outlets like Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, and other similar services, it was time to help WTTS evolve itself beyond being just a radio station to become an music experience delivery company.
Solution
We led the Programming team through strategic planning, and helped re-orient their perception of their competitor set to be not other radio stations, but streaming services. Based on this, we re-imagined the WTTS website as an artist-centric web magazine for exclusive content about national artists, and rebuilt their mobile presence from the ground up – all in the middle of of a global pandemic where no live music was happening, and no one was driving in their cars listening to the radio on their way to work.
CUSTOMER JOURNEY – AREAS OF FOCUS
Figure 1A – Experience Engineering
OUTCOMES
Month Turnaround
%
increase in total users
%
increase in new users
%
decrease in bounce rate
%
increase in Pages per Session
%
increase in page views
Within 120 days of launch
Increase in streaming sessions
- Facebook – up 65 % in the 120 days after launch, with a reach of 637,678 64.7%
- Instagram – 10,552, up 248% in the 120 days after launch 248%
- YouTube – doubled views in the 120 days after launch to nearly 2MM views 98%
- Podcast – has over 1,200 plays in the first 120 days after launch 99%
- WTTS Stream – increased by 25,000 to nearly 100,000 streams / mo in the 120 days after launch 87%
- Mobile Apps – more than 327k page views across 5,300+ users 92%
BREAKING RECORDS ONLINE AND ON THE AIR
Through their newly-established digital channels, WTTS is now delivering more than a million online touch points per month with their listeners. In fact, their on air audience is only their fifth largest, behind YouTube, the live stream, Facebook and Twitter. But not only did we break records online, our recommendations around leveraging addressable OTT in their marketing efforts led the station to the highest ratings it has ever achieved in its three decade history, including being in the top three stations M-Su 6a-12M for A25-54, a second place PM Drive finish, and 4th place Mid-days finish. The station established a 6.5 share 12+. Their prior record was a 3.8. Each 12+ share point is worth roughly a million dollars in revenue, using rough estimation to put this in perspective.
content strategy, process, and management for 250+ concerts and events a year.
“The team at Science & Magic helped transform our digital platform. Their dedication to excellence and knowledge of the digital path specific to WTTS has catapulted our digital content to a heightened level never before experienced. The strategy that WTTS implemented under the direction of Science & Magic has aligned perfectly with our brand. The customer service and patience in explanation is unmatched. I highly recommend.”
DIGITAL BRAND STRATEGY OVERHAUL – NEW SITE, NEW APP, AND MORE.
CONTENT STRATEGY FOR HUNDREDS OF HOURS
OF EXCLUSIVE LIVE PERFORMANCE VIDEO CONTENT
FROM WORLD-CLASS ARTISTS.
ARTIST-FOCUSED CONTENT STRATEGY
REINVENTING WTTS DiGITAL PROPERTIES
Competing with Spotify, Pandora, Apple Music, and other streaming services meant developing an entirely new strategy for mobile, and new mobile experiences – including native iOS and Android apps, a Progressive Web App, a mobile-optimized responsive website, and developing capabilities for push, text, geofencing, and more. Not only did we rebuild their entire mobile infrastructure, we created videos to promote it both online, and on targeted OTT (over the top) television buys for the brand, and for the app.
Mobil Apps
Graphics created to promote the new WTTS Mobile Apps.
Mobile Apps
More graphics promoting the WTTS mobile apps.
Mobile Apps
Graphic created to promote the new WTTS Mobile Apps.
Digital Channels Promo Graphic
Website graphic highlighting all the different ways to experience the brand online.
Couch Concerts
Another graphic for digital channels promoting WTTS Couch Concerts.
Couch Concerts
Created promo graphics for Couch Concerts, an on-air feature.
Couch Concerts
Graphic created to promote WTTS Couch Concerts on-air feature.
Couch Concerts Weekly
Couch Concerts layout to promote each week’s nightly shows.
Couch Concerts Ticket
Ticket graphic built to promote Couch Concerts on-air feature.
Rock of Ages – Feature Graphic
Created graphics across online channels for WTTS Rock of Ages, an on-air feature.
Coronavirus Graphic
Graphic created for Coronavirus breaking news in online channels.
Save Our Stages
Digital ad created to help support the Save Our Stages program during Covid-19.
Save Live Music
Ad created to promoed the Indiana Independent Venue Alliance.
Escape Room Promo Graphic
Social Graphic promoting the WTTS Escape Room feature.
Social Content
Social media quote content (FB, IG, TW, Etc.)
Earmoji
Created a set of emoticons incorporating the WTTS “earcon”
Caged Tweets
Crowd-sourced social media campaign showcasing listener comments.
Caged Tweets
Crowd-sourced social media campaign showcasing listener comments.
Caged Tweets
Crowd-sourced social media campaign showcasing listener comments.
Caged Tweets
Crowd-sourced social media campaign showcasing listener comments.
Caged Tweets
Crowd-sourced social media campaign showcasing listener comments.
Caged Tweets
Crowd-sourced social media campaign showcasing listener comments.
Holiday Channel
Created a special Holiday Channel stream on the WTTS Apps
Blog Bot
Created a Q&A Smart Bot to help WTTS air staff submit blog posts.
Couchella Poster
Layout concept based on Coachella poster for WTTS “Couchella” concert.
Brand Guide
Created a visual identity guide for the WTTS brand
Design Guide
Created a design guide for the visual aspects of the WTTS brand
Persona Development
Created target personae to help guide on air and online content production.
Strategy – Empathy Map
Sample of an empathy map we created to help WTTS understand its audience.
ENGINEERING EXPERIENCES
A completely new mobile brand experience
New native apps for iOS and Android, as well as a PWA
NEW CAPABILITIES FOR REACHING LISTENERS
Push messaging, text messaging, geofenced automations, and more
Mobile micro social network in the app
Enables listeners and fans to find each other, chat, and more