Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Saturday, December 14, 2024 74° Today's Paper


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Jack’s UH antenna ball bears an old-style design


Jack in the Box Hawaii has a new University of Hawaii antenna ball this year — with a logo from back in the day when "Let’s go Bows" was the hue and cry and before there was any such thing as the wave.

The white helmet with a football-bearing, charging menehune bordered by a rainbow was used from the 1970s to the early 1980s. "Our intent was to create something that was a tribute to the UH teams of that era," said Donna Yano, Jack in the Box Hawaii vice president.

The "Throwback Jack" ball is free with the purchase of a large combo meal and is also sold separately. The balls will come in handy for a special offer that begins early next month. Last year’s UH Warrior antenna ball sold out and Yano predicts this one will as well.

 

KIKI FORMAT FLIP

KIKI-FM 93.9 has changed its format, a move that will change the battleground for Honolulu’s youth-targeted radio stations.

KIKI’s format has flipped to old-school rhythm and blues from its long-lived urban contemporary hit radio format — and rebranded to "93.9 Jamz" from "Hot 93.9." The station will play the kind of R&B that "Generation X grew up with … certainly not their mom’s old-school tunes," said director of programming Jamie Hyatt in a statement, making a pointed reference to competing KUMU-FM 94.7.

KUMU-FM, owned by Ohana Broadcast Co. LLC, has been rapidly increasing its listener base and eating into audiences of adult-contemporary giants KSSK-FM 92.3/AM 590 and KRTR-FM 96.3 since changing to its R&B format April 7.

"Obviously, they got our attention," said Chuck Cotton, vice president and general manager of the seven-station Clear Channel cluster, including KIKI and KSSK. "Our goal was to design something that would compete with them (KUMU), but not to do exactly the same thing." The hope is to get good Arbitron ratings in the 18-to-35 and 25-to-54-year-old demographics, he said. The station’s first songs were radio and dance floor hits in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Three full-time employees lost their jobs with the station that will remain unstaffed, save for Program Director Ryan Sean, for the time being, Cotton said.

Promotion for "93.9 Jamz" began yesterday afternoon at Aloha Stadium with sign-waving. "We thought it was kinda cute, during the election, to get a little attention." There will be additional sign-waving, TV spots and other marketing efforts designed for visibility.

 

MORE VOTING, MORE OFTEN

Editors of Travel + Leisure magazine have extended the online voting deadline for its America’s Favorite Cities competition to Sept. 15, so there is more time to vote for Honolulu and 34 other cities in the running.

Honolulu previously won the top designations as a romantic escape and relaxing retreat.

Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Advertiser. Reach her by e-mail at erika@staradvertiser.com.

 

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