YES FM rebrands as YES THE BEST
Cebu radio station yields to millennial trends, adds social media celebrity. Jomie Hospital in its DJ line- up
Imay f you can’t beat them, join them. That proverbial phrase has always been part of the survival rhetoric. Though it
somewhat sound like an admission of defeat, radio station Yes FM asserts that riding with the flow of the times is just akin to playing with their aces.
To be officially called “Yes The Best” starting tomorrow, the radio station is rebranding itself into a champion of the present times.
During a media conference Friday, Yes The Best station manager and radio veteran Marlon Baula revealed the epiphany which led to the rebranding. Baula says that the whole idea would be to stay relevant, all the while developing an entirely different identity.
“We do not consider social media as an enemy. If we don’t stay relevant, if we don’t embrace the new media, then nothing will happen and we’ll remain stagnant. We definitely don’t want that,” Baula said of the move, adding that with social media as an ally, Yes The Best would definitely want to embrace, collaborate, partner with, and utilize today’s technology.
With the tagline “The Millennial’s Choice,” Yes The Best aims to tap into the pool of the most active and aggressive players when it comes to media consumption. Millenials, comprised of individuals born between the 1980s-1990s, make up a significant one thirds of the population. And as Yes The Best launches in Cebu, the station opts to fit their seasoned shoes into those of the restless youth who are identified as techsavvy, cunning, cultured, well-travelled, and having a high sense of entitlement.
Internet celebrity Jomie Hospital debuts as the new face of Yes The Best. The YouTuber, who has over 60,000 YouTube subscribers and over 550,000 Facebook followers, joins wellloved DJs Tita Chula, DJ Hashtag, Lolo Kikoy, DJ Wednesday, Smiley, Rica Hera, and Diego Bandido in the station’s crusade for relevance.
“I don’t think that radio is a dying industry,” Jomie declared.
The social media influencer, who rose to internet fame through comical skits and videos depicting relatable moments and playing different characters, revealed that it would not be easy for him despite his huge following. The 24-year-old business economics graduate from Mindanao State University also admitted that there is a lot of pressure riding on his shoulders.
Jomie, who hails from the city of Gingoog in Misamis Oriental but has moved to Cebu for good because of his radio gig, revealed that his career began when he had to produce a video for a school project. Now that he’s shifting to radio, Jomie acknowledges the apparent challenge: taking away the visual aspects, and creating purely auditory entertainment.
“When we started rehearsing, there were moments when I struggled with adlibs and improvisations,” Jomie, who thinks that editing is his strongest suit, admitted.
The neo-DJ says that he is more used to scripts and brain storming beforehand instead of performing live. The career move might also affect his content as a YouTuber but to Jomie, once a door closes, pretty soon another one will present itself.
“I’ve come to get the hang of it though, and I’ve also discovered certain things about myself that I didn’t know I was capable of and that’s a good thing,” he said.
By adding social media personalities like Jomie Hospital into their roster, Yes The Best Cebu looks into the possibility of gaining more listeners. Love Radio Manila has also employed the prowess of Lloyd Cadena – another internet star – as DJ.
“By merging our platforms, we’re trying to build an online community for both parties,” said Baula, describing the relationship as symbiotic and reciprocal.
But come to think of it, the advent of social media had already arrived long before 2017, so why only now?
“For us at Yes The Best, it’s never too late,” Baula said, as he also shared how they looked into their market before they took the risk. “We had our doubts before because it seemed like the crowd wasn’t into it yet, probably wasn’t ready yet. But today, the youth has initiative, they know and they decide what they want.”
The station revamp didn’t only involve the station’s title and array of DJs but also included major equipment upgrades, DJ booth enhancements, as well as an updated array of programs and mediums. The rebranding had cost more or less P500,000, all in the hopes of creating a station that is tailor-made for the bonafide millennial.
“These aren’t expenses, they’re investments. They’re necessary if we want to be the best,” Baula shrugged and recalled the risks they’ve taken when they first rebranded the station from Hot FM to Yes FM, and today into Yes The Best.
Eighty percent of the station’s content will now feature contemporary music reflecting the soul of millennials. The station also says that becoming a millennial inside and outside would be their marching order—this means becoming, to an extent, involved in issues which the youth feel very strongly about.
“We have to use all of our senses. It’s a calculated risk, but it’s not an overnight thing,” Baula said of the company move which greatly tests the station’s creativity, presence of mind and strength.
“Even we can’t wait to see what’s going to happen, and we can’t wait for you to see. Hopefully it’ll turn out for the best.”