NEW RADIO STATION FOR WOMEN
By Adnews Staff
Montreal-based Telemedia Inc. will be trying to catch female ears with a new format and marketing push for the Toronto radio station it bought in February. Early tomorrow morning CJEZ -FM becomes E Z Rock 97.3. At the same time, a 10-month multimillion-dollar advertising and special events blitz starts for the station which is making a subtle transition from "classic hits" to "easy rock". The new format is designed to capture a chunk of the market inhabited by women in the 25-54 age group. The target listeners are mostly well-educated working mothers who use radio as a background to daily activities, station general manager Marc Paris revealed at a gathering in Toronto yesterday. He said the easy rock sound, which "comforts, inspires, cheers," has made Telemedia stations in Quebec's six biggest markets the top stations for adult listeners, particularly women. "On June 30 we'll fire the opening round in the kind of ratings battle that hasn't been seen in this market since CHFI took on CKFM in the mid 80s," he stated. The ad campaign consists of television, outdoor, print and direct mail, from Vickers & Benson Advertising in Toronto. Telemedia's other station in Toronto is mainly for men. THE FAN is an all-sports station on the AM band. Telemedia has 25 radio stations in Ontario and Quebec.