Joe recently got a makeover.
On Aug. 16, the commercial radio station, previously known as “Joe FM” and part of the Medialaan group,introduced a new logo, baseline and program roster, reinforcing its presence in the Flemish radio landscape,
Launched in April 2009, Joe offers a “greatest hits” format and targets listeners in the 35- to 50-age-group. According to Belgium’s official ratings survey company, the Centre for Information on the Media, Joe pulled in 8.4 percent of the audience share from January to April 2016.
“Absolutely record figures, and the best since Joe’s start. A consolidation of the continuous growth of the station,” said Ann De Bisschop, radio director at Medialaan.
Sven Ornelis and Anke Buckinx host Joe’s morning
drive show during weekdays. All pics courtesy of Joe
With a new baseline, “Joe All The Way,” a new logo and strategic positioning of the station’s on-air personalities, Joe wants to strengthen its position with the Belgian Dutch-speaking audience.
“We’ve assigned our key hosts new time slots, and added new on-air staff,” said Robin Vissenaekens, Joe’shead of production.
An interesting addition is the station’s morning drive program, where Sven Ornelis returns to the early morning show. After having presented Q Music’s morning program for 14 years, the radio program director resumed his on-air work and teams up with another previous Q Music presenter Anke Buckinx. “Both Sven and Anke really know what our target audience stands for,” said Vissenaekens. “Sven has, like our audience, evolved through the years and he’s perfectly connected to the Joe listener.”
Raf Van Brussel and Rani De Coninck host Joe’s evening
drive show from 4–7 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Another novelty is the afternoon tandem is the Raf Van Brussel and Rani De Coninck pair. They both boast extensive radio careers in public and commercial radio, and on Joe they guide weekday traffic home from 4–7 p.m.
By dropping the “fm” suffix from its name some are suggesting that this may be an indication the Medialaan parent house is looking at DAB+, but Vissenaekens prefers not to comment.
“We’re not launching a new Joe, but a reinforced Joe,” emphasizes Vissenaekens. “Just like a premier league football team, we put our players in the best positions. It’s our goal to convey as much as possible to mid 30- and 40-year-olds, the greatest hits combined with tunes by Michael Bublé, Adèle and Justin Timberlake. Instead of eyeing a ratings target, we produce radio from the inside — that’s what counts.”
