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