Elizabeth Conlin

Kidwaves

Radio station targets the under 12 market with kiddie newscasts and DJs who help their listeners learn.

 

Norman Wain's target audience is anything but small. "Kids represent 20% of any market," says Wain, noting youngsters spend $6 billion garnered from allowances, gifts, and jobs. "Marketers struggle to reach these kids but are left with few choices other than Saturday-morning TV," continues Wain, a 40-year veteran of the radio industry and chairman of Metroplex Communications.

Convinced of a better way, Wain has started beaming his own signal to people under 12 via "The Imagination Station" in Orlando. Wain hopes this is the first link in what will become the Kids' Choice Broadcasting Network. The programming resembles a radio version of "Sesame Street" with kiddie newscasts, folk music, and DJs who help their listeners learn.

-- Elizabeth Conlin

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