Rother FM - Ofcom Licensing

Section 105 (A): Ability to maintain proposed service
The station will then be run by a Sales Manager, a Programme Manager and an
Administration Manager, all based at Rother FM, under the supervision of the Group Chief
Executive and other senior Lincs FM Group managers. This structure is highly successful at
other Lincs FM Group stations, enshrining local decision-making within strong Group policies.
Our proposed staffing levels at Rother FM have been based on the Lincs FM Group’s actual
experience at Dearne FM. Our Sales Manager will be joined by two sales executives. The
Programme Manager will present a daily programme, and there will be two further full-time
presenters. Our news team of three will be headed by a Senior Journalist. We will also have
an Administration Manager who takes responsibility for the day-to-day running of the site, as
well as looking after events and small-scale local promotional activity.
Human resources, accountancy, regulatory matters, large-scale marketing, engineering and
IT will all be dealt with on a Group basis by existing staff at the Lincs FM Group’s
headquarters in Lincoln. The Group has considerable experience of delivering central
services in a flexible and low cost fashion. We do not envisage that the addition of Rother FM
to the group’s portfolio will make any change to the central costs of the organisation as a
whole.
Rother FM’s marketing budget is based on the group’s actual marketing expenditure for
Dearne FM. We propose a pre-operational marketing spend of £31,500, with £25,300
allocated per annum for years one, two and three. We will use many of the tried and tested
methods that have led to successful launches and promotion of the group’s existing stations:
bus and outdoor advertising, leaflet delivery to targeted addresses, car stickers and display
boards at various locations. Station-branded items such as balloons, t-shirts, carrier bags
and key-rings will be distributed at promotional events. The Group has had particular success
in generating significant awareness at little or zero cost.
The Lincs FM Group has also been in the forefront of using technology to link our stations and
allow us to improve our local programming performance. Our IT team was nominated for the
Technical Innovation award at last year’s Arqiva Commercial Radio Awards for their work on
sensible, low-cost systems that allow all stations in the Group to access material such as
celebrity interviews, production work for competitions and promotions, and the most up-todate
music database.
The Lincs FM Group will continue to apply for licences in adjacent or overlapping areas to its
current coverage. It is in the process of applying for the recently advertised Hull licence.
Three of its services are carried on DAB multiplexes and it will apply for the expected
Lincolnshire multiplex. It will look for carriage opportunities for its other services but will not
allow the success of DAB to become a requirement for the Group’s continued commercial
success.
Despite consolidation amongst larger groups the Lincs FM Group is confident that its
committed local approach gives it a particular advantage in the local market and that its
impressive audience hours and its coverage in some otherwise difficult to reach rural areas
will maintain the attraction for national advertisers to continue to support a smaller regional
group.
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