As Hot 102.7FM prepares to celebrate two years of being on air in July, it can reflect on another successful awards cycle that included being honoured as a finalist in four categories at the 2023 New York Festivals Radio Awards in the United States and walking away with the coveted ‘My Station – Most Votes’ award at the SA Radio Awards in Johannesburg in November.
Hot 102.7FM came out tops in a category that puts the voting in the hands of South Africa’s radio listeners, with the ‘My Station’ section giving listeners the opportunity to vote for their favourite radio station. In 2022, SA Radio Awards organisers received approximately 1.1 million votes in this category, with Hot 102.7FM receiving the most votes, garnering 138,905 – or 12.6% of the overall number of votes.
“A by-product of a loyal audience is the need to constantly interrogate and engage it on its changing needs, and the desire to have Hot 102.7FM at one’s fingertips and in the palms of the hands of our listenership was one of the take-outs of our continuous market research,” says Lloyd Madurai, managing director of Hot 102.7FM. “There’s also a direct correlation between the make-up of our upper SEM audience and the high levels of smartphone penetration in this market segment – making an app an obvious area of investment for the business.”
As a result, Hot 102.7FM has invested heavily in a high-end app solution, with particular attention paid to ensuring a rich sound quality that mirrors the high-quality FM experience the station’s audience already enjoys, along with a host of fun and funky features that fit strategically with the Hot 102.7FM brand.
They include the full Hot 102.7FM lineup, links to the station’s social media pages, and the option to listen live and engage directly with the studio.
“A lot of thought and work went into developing this app and the response has been amazing,” says Madurai. “Thousands of downloads in the first couple of weeks of going live and great feedback from our audience, showing us that we’re on the right track and have another high-end platform on which to engage and service our digitally-savvy listenership.”
The Hot 102.7FM app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App store, giving listeners the opportunity to enjoy their favourite ‘Old Skool’ and R&B wherever and whenever they want.
