It was a Pure Gold Survey 5 for ARN with both the brand’s stations going up in the money markets of Sydney and Melbourne.

Sydney’s WSFM did the better of the two, posting a 0.7 gain to go to a 9.3 share which puts them at #1 FM and #2 overall in Sydney.

Melbourne’s GOLD 104.3 waxed a mere 0.2 but it was enough to “catapult” the station into second place on the FM band behind smooth and a faltering FOX.

radioinfo touched base with ARN’s Duncan Campbell asking him what he think contributed to the results in Melbourne and Sydney?
 

“Both stations are well positioned strategically and we’ve focussed on ensuring that the presentation is contemporary as well as highlighting the music in different and more creative ways. The key point of difference against the our main competitor Smooth is that we have personality based heritage breakfast shows that provide a critical layer of entertainment that means then stations are more than just the music they play.”
 
WSFM was a stand out, had you done anything differently in terms of comps or marketing to secure such a great result? 

“Both Smooth and WSFM are good stations and we do share a lot of audience however WSFM with the heritage breakfast show of Jonesy & Amanda has a real point of difference. We’ve also decluttered the station and added more music features so overall the station has improved and people have responded to that.”
 
Gold is now second behind FOX in Melbourne – again your thoughts on that result? 

“Again a strong station and a station that has a lot more potential despite it being a great performer for us anyway.”

Would you say it was a mixed result for KIIS network? 

“I’d say it was a very positive result for the network. The only issue is really KIIS 101.1 and we’re aware of that and are working on plans that will create better results for us in 2018.”
 
ARN had wins in every state, how would you some up Survey 5 for the network? 

“For ARN to be the #1 network 10+ nationally is an extraordinary achievement given the number of stations we have versus our competition. It’s a credit to every single person who works for us and it says a lot about how determined we are and highlights that you should never dismiss ARN and what the company can achieve.”

You can take a look at our analysis from Survey 5 here.