Fun Kids, the UK’s only dedicated radio service for children aged under 10 and their families, has announced record audience growth in the latest RAJAR results, Q2 2009, released 6th August 2009.

Under Folder Media’s ownership, the station has seen its London audience increase 37% since its acquisition in September 2008 to deliver 112,000 listeners in London (aged 4 plus), with Folder Media’s internal research identifying a similar number listen elsewhere in the UK.

Matt Deegan, Creative Director, said “We are thrilled that more children and their families are coming to Fun Kids to go to be entertained.  Furthermore, despite the recession, going into Autumn 2009 we are proud to be working with advertisers in a wide range of exciting features and sponsorship opportunities”.

Folder Media’s social networking and listener management services have been contracted by the recently launched digital radio station Jazz FM.

Folder is now responsible for managing all of Jazz FM’s listener queries and feedback received through JazzFM.com as well as managing and updating the content of the website itself. The service provided by Folder Media is encompassed by the slogan and policy of “no listener left behind”.

This policy ensures that Jazz FM’s listener base is carefully looked after through efficient and responsive feedback to queries  alongside creating web content that is tailored to fit the wide variety and tastes of jazz music fans. Folder Media is also responsible for maintaining the station’s online contesting and created and manages the listener database.

Social Network activity is also a key part of Folder’s relationship with Jazz FM and we maintain profiles on the key sites.

Facebook

By using Facebook we connect Jazz FM with over 8 million UK users and 140 million users worldwide. The power of the site and the exposure that is available online is harnessed by establishing ‘fan pages’ and ‘groups’ which act as unique pages within the site where users of a shared interest can gather information and connect with each other.

Folder manages ‘fan pages’ for popular presenters at the station allowing us to specifically target users who are fans of these particular shows, provide specific information about the show and cross-promote the station’s other activities. We also run the Jazz FM ‘group’ page. This is a public group that carries information about the station and can be accessed by any user worldwide. These pages and the group act as entry points for the radio station itself and also opens up further lines of communication for listeners to interact with Jazz FM.

MySpace

Jazz FM’s MySpace profile offers listeners another route to contact and connect with Jazz FM. As MySpace is evolving to become a social network based around music, we use Jazz FM’s presence as a way to drive awareness of the station through jazz musicians and aficionados. Often through MySpace, Jazz FM receives requests from artists requesting that their music is sampled on the station or put forward to the presenters.  Folder responds to what can be often large volumes of requests from artists and often simply through responding to a request we establish a ‘friendship’ with the artist and deepen their connection with Jazz FM. A trio sending in music to the radio station is not just an opportunity to grow the station’s repertoire, but the opportunity to add three more listeners to the radio station.

Last.FM

On Last FM we offer listeners the ability to see which artists the station plays on a regular basis and to see the most recent songs played.  For a specialist music station such as Jazz FM, Folder has found that this undoubtedly offers listeners a really useful option that many other stations do not provide. The nature of the site means that when the station regularly plays music from a particular artist, the station will appear on that artists profile page, allowing new listeners to discover and sample the station. The site also generates ‘neighbourhoods’ – people who listen to the same types of music as Jazz FM, once again driving awareness of the station.

Through managing the responses on the social networks and from the listener emails, we can take the temperature from listeners about music, features and on-air activity and discuss that with the station direct. Also, by making Jazz FM responsive to feedback, the barriers between listeners and the station is broken down.

Folder is confident that engaging with listeners on as many platforms as possible has in return, improved and sustained listener dedication to Jazz FM. This has given the station a positive reputation amongst the jazz music community as an open and non-elitist portal for jazz information, ranging from gig guides to suggesting our favourite Christmas jazz tracks.