KROQ Feeling the Heat?

Looks like they're taking the music tweaks at Clear Channel's Star 98.7 (KYSR-FM) seriously over at KROQ.

In the 11 years I've lived here, I've never once seen a billboard campaign for KROQ. The station has generally not spent much on outdoor advertising -- after all, it's enough of a radio powerhouse and institution, so that marketing money could be used elsewhere.

So why the billboards, why now? Perhaps they want to stop Star 98.7 -- which has recently moved to a more harder, male-targeted sound (think KROQ lite) -- before it makes any inroads.

The KROQ billboards and bus ads feature core station bands (Red Hot Chili Peppers, above, Incubus, etc.) and the slogan "I Am KROQ." Interestingly, KROQ's frequency (106.7) is nowhere to be found. Guess the station is still enough of an institution that the marketers figured KROQ's target audience already knows where it is.

Also interesting that the bands featured on both 98.7's new billboards (Linkin Park, Pearl Jam) and many of KROQ's new ads (Sublime, RHCP) are for the most part considered 1990s bands.