Who is really number one in Manchester?

One city, two stations scrapping over who is rightfully “Manchester’s number one hit music station”.

As you’ll see in the screengrab above, Google has decided that Key 103 is really number one, ranking it above Galaxy against this search term. Neither station appears to have bought their strapline as a keyword.

Roy Martin (no relation) has captured how it sounds on air.

Why has this happened? Some say it’s an audacious, even aggressive move on Global’s part that is possibly part of a wider merger plan. Others suggest it’s just a cock-up and Global simply fell into something of a local strap trap while aligning their brands nationally.

One thing’s for sure – it’s a disruptive move that adds brand confusion for listeners.

To me this also suggests the brand management approach of the FMCG sector is coming to radio. Short product cycles, me-too brands and constantly changing upgrades and innovations. We’re not used to that in radio so perhaps now is a good time to brush-up on FMCG marketing techniques. Meet you in the soap powder aisle.

There’s more on this in the next Earshot Creative Review radio podcast, due at the end of this week.

Stations mentioned in this post