HOT 102.7FM has announced the launch of its new app, which is in response to customer demand and an ever-evolving audio landscape. The app will aim to give the Johannesburg-based radio station a platform on which to further engage its loyal and growing listenership.
As it prepares to celebrate two years of being on air in July, Hot 102.7FM says it can reflect on another successful awards cycle that included being honored as a finalist in four categories at the 2023 New York Festivals Radio Awards in the United States.
In November 2022, the station walked away with the My Station — Most Votes Award at the SA Radio Awards in Johannesburg.
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 organizers 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,” said Lloyd Madurai, managing director of the station.
“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,” Madurai added.
HOT 102.7FM says that, as a result, it 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 line-up, links to the station’s social media pages and the option to listen live and engage directly with the studio, according to the station.
“A lot of thought and work went into developing this app, and the response has been amazing,” concludes 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.