If you happen to look at ads, the billboards or the web site too rapidly, you may mistake any of them for a marketing campaign banner. The colours and the lettering look acquainted. And you may actually acknowledge the face beneath the cowboy hat.
As quickly as President Trump started his second time period, a small Fort Myers, Florida nation radio station started capitalizing on his return. WHEL radio rebranded itself “Trump Nation” 93.7 FM on Inauguration Day. It seems to have briefly tried out the title in late 2020 earlier than dropping the moniker after a few months.
The font within the radio station’s emblem seems to make use of the typeface because the Trump-Vance marketing campaign used for its signage. The most important picture within the emblem is an animated picture of the president himself, along with his trademark pink tie and flag lapel pin, and an uncharacteristic cowboy hat.
Regardless of public opinion polls displaying Mr. Trump with approval rankings underneath 50% (although amongst Republicans, he is over 90%), the overall supervisor of WHEL says “Trump Nation” has tripled its rankings amongst adults 25-54 since March, based on a rankings report shared by the station’s executives. July Nielsen rankings launched in August confirmed WHEL was the second highest-rated nation station within the space.
“Trump Nation” has excessive visibility in part of Florida that may comfortably be described as Trump nation, on account of in depth promotion, together with a variety of billboards. Mr. Trump gained 64% of the vote in 2024 in Lee County, the place the radio station is predicated.
“We did not ask for permission,” mentioned Jim Schwartzel, the radio outlet’s president and common supervisor. “However I do not suppose that the president or anyone else would actually be upset by it. We checked out it as comedy.”
The Trump marketing campaign for years tried to weed out pretend merchandise and theft of Mr. Trump’s title, picture and likeness, however discovered it was costly and tough to cease utterly.
Schwartzel, a longtime media govt in Florida, is searching for the Republican nomination for a U.S. Home seat held by Rep. Byron Donalds, who’s operating for governor.
Schwartzel advised CBS Information he believes his radio station’s slogan, moniker and promotion are distinctive in American broadcasting and present the ability of Trump’s model in industrial media. The station’s slogan is “Make Nation Nice Once more.”
Trump references saturate the station’s airwaves, too. In between a rotation of present nation hits, together with Luke Combs’ “Again within the Saddle,” Sam Hunt’s “Physique Like a Again Street” and Luke Bryan’s “One Margarita,” the station makes use of a voice actor to impersonate Mr. Trump’s voice on a few of its station promotions and imaging, which reference native roads, communities and purchasing.
In a single latest promotion, the voice actor impersonating Mr. Trump introduced the radio station’s “Deportation a day” marketing campaign, which provided cruises to Mexico for listeners. The on-air promotions used the Trump voice actor and a voice actor with a younger Hispanic male voice to pitch the journeys and evaluate them mockingly to deportations. The Trump voice refers to journeys throughout the “Gulf of America,” whereas the Hispanic male voice counters that it is the “Gulf of Mexico.”
Schwartzel’s marketing campaign web site touts his “conservative values” and says he’s operating for Congress “to provide President Donald J. Trump the assist he wants.”
Schwartzel advised CBS Information, “We do not speak concerning the politics of deportations, however we twisted it to be entertaining.” He mentioned he determined to call his radio station after Mr. Trump months earlier than launching a marketing campaign for Congress. He mentioned he doesn’t seem or broadcast on the station due to his candidacy, in order that he can keep away from a requirement that he supply different candidates equal time underneath federal regulation.
The usage of Mr. Trump’s title on the radio station carries some threat of alienating potential listeners and prospects, a few of whom already hear fairly a little bit of his voice on different stations and media platforms. A few of the station’s on-air promotion options the Trump impersonator speaking dismissively about issues which are “woke” and touting being a “builder.”
An more and more saturated media and music surroundings is pushing radio stations to attempt bolder, controversial efforts to lure – and even salvage – listeners.
Don Tanner, a radio trade skilled and founding co-partner of Tanner-Friedman Strategic Communications in Michigan, mentioned WHEL-FM radio’s experiment is a part of the radio trade’s effort to stay related.
“It’s a must to differentiate in radio,” Tanner mentioned. “There are such a lot of rivals on the market for eyes and ears. Particularly in music, the place nation music followers can go to Spotify or Apple to hear.”
Tanner, who authored the e book “No Static at All — A behind the scenes journey by means of radio and pop music,” advised CBS Information that inventive radio branding is a typical method to draw an viewers: “The sort of format is trying to just do that.”
Representatives for Mr. Trump declined to remark.
Although Schwartzel mentioned his radio station avoids political subjects, the station has performed promotional occasions at native Republican membership occasions, he mentioned. Schwartzel mentioned the thought to aim the Trump branding occurred to him whereas watching the Trump “boat parades” in Florida, the place Trump banners, flags and signage had been being displayed and celebrated.
The Florida Democratic Social gathering didn’t reply to a request for remark.
