k-rock › the fall 2007 tv ad campaign › edmonton radio news › radio in edmonton › radio

What The Hell Happened To K-Rock?

Of all the TV ad campaigns thrown in front of the average viewer, to radio folks behind the scenes the K-Rock blitz caused the most wonder and speculation.

Since the summer of 2006 and the "letting go" of popular morning man Terry Evans, the Newcap outlet has been in a ratings tailspin.

Evans replacement man Jim Jerome didn't sit well with listeners, and many felt the station's playlist had become tiresome.

Things got worse when the departure of Evans was compounded by the firing of his once air-mate Steve Zimmerman in May, 2007.

Two weeks after Evans' departure in 2006, Lochlin Cross from Winnipeg's Power 97 was installed as program director, and the station's slide from being a consistent top five finisher to tenth place has come under his watch.

K-Rock hit the TV airwaves late in August with four thirty-second spots (and a 15-second closed captioning sponsorship) with a common theme: a man in a sandwich board with an apparent cause.

The TV campaign was bolstered by the appearance of a whatthehellhappenedtok-rock.com web site (no longer active).

The operator of the site claimed in replies to posters on its board that the effort was the work of a single man (and a couple of friends to help pay for TV ad time) on a mission to find out what happened at K-Rock.

The owners of the official K-Rock site thought enough of the man's quest to link to the "What Happened" effort on their site.

The allegedly grassroots campaign became transparent very fast as a marketing stunt – a risky venture in a world now very viral marketing wise. Not executed properly, the stunt could turn cynicism inducing.

This all became even more interesting when on September 21st (three weeks into the all-important Fall 2007 ratings survey) those left on the morning show (Jerome and Bill Cowen) were sacked.

Newcap aka Lochlin Cross aka K-Rock then announced that on October 1st all would be revealed of what happened at the station.

K-Rock's West Edmonton Mall storefront studios were covered up (likely to hide the bewilderment of on-air staff still employed).

Word suddenly appeared in columns by Graham Hicks of the Edmonton Sun (planted?) and on radio forums (speculative) that the return of Terry Evans was imminent. Some even claimed it is Evans wearing the sandwich boards in some versions of the TV spots.

Program director Cross has a reputation in the business for pulling stunts, and it seems he pulled a fast one over Jerome and Cowen and their fans.

The commercials had likely been filmed in July, and if it is Evans in them, then allegations of blindsiding could be added to Lochlin's legend.

What might not be revealed October 1st was what was really behind the departure of Evans in June 2006. At the time Terry said, "I've spent too much time on career. It's time to reacquaint myself with my family."

In the year since leaving K-Rock, Evans has said he has been happy driving truck. Hopefully he'll keep his eyes open navigating a career path back to a station in desperate straits run by a desperate boss.

Update: The worst-kept radio secret was let out of the bag as promised ... and Terry Evans is back in his morning chair (likely to be a little more comfortable than his truck's driver seat now that winter's coming).

The new Terry Evans Show lineup up features Melissa Wright as co-host, and Karen Kay (aka Jami Hendrix when she was at The Bear and K-97 previously) sliding cross the Newcap studio floor from CFCW and Big Earl to handle news. Scott Ballantyne remains on hand to produce.

Rob Berg took over Wright's midday spot and Ross MacLeod hangs on to the drive home with Mike Diesel doing the same for the evening slot.

What the hell happened at K-Rock? Much ado about very little it appears ... but enough for CTV Edmonton to air the homecoming event on their noon and supperhour newscasts.

Various versions and edits of the commercials could also be seen at the whatthehellhappenedtok-rock.com web site (no longer active) and on Youtube. Shown below are the TV broadcast edits.

K-Rock Guy: What happened to K-Rock?

Man: I dunno man. You tell me.

K-Rock Guy: That's what people are saying.
They want me to tell them but if I knew I would not be in this sign

Trucker: I don't what happened

K-Rock Guy: What happened?

Trucker: What happened to K-Rock?

K-Rock Guy: Don't know, you tell me

Girl: We should make a K

Girl: K! K-Rock

K-Rock Guy: AC-DC, Clash, Stones ...

Other spots in the series were without dialogue – such as it was ...

Over the weekend before K-Rock's "explanation," several shopping centres were targetted with "Terry's Back" post it notes.

Various versions and edits of the commercials appeared on the popular Youtube video sharing site. Note that the "K-Rock Guy" appears much taller in these versions – Terry Evans?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2ZBVxfxazE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=km-YEuDtmEg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztqrij17Uj8

Also on Youtube is a video of Lochlin Cross in a brainstorming session.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jM96wyn2AAM

News of Terry Evans' return to K-Rock got the prodigal son sixty seconds of fame on CTV Edmonton's noon and supperhour newscasts.

"After more than a year off the air, K-Rock welcomed back fan favourite Terry Evans. Evans had left the radio station last June to become Evans The Trucker – he started a trucking company."

"After some discussion with management, Evans decided to give this radio gig another shot."

"It's kinda weird being back cuz this I where I used to sit, this is who I used to see. And there's some people I haven't met – they're new – there's a lot of familiar faces."

Coming out of the clip during the noon newscast, CFRN's six-figure man Daryl McIntyre offered his view on media salaries.

"Somehow suspect maybe that the radio gig is going to pay more than the trucking gig but it's just a guess."

Either Daryl hasn't kept up to date with job opportunities in the world of owner-operators ... or he hasn't spoken to anyone in radio working shifts outside AM and PM drive.

A portion of Terry's first hour back at K-Rock can be heard here (courtesy of RadioWest.ca).

edmonton radio news - the fall 2007 tv ad campaign - k-rock