Hot 102.7FM celebrates second birthday and reflects on life as a '2-year-old'

Defying the odds by launching as a new commercial radio station in the highly-competitive Gauteng market on 1 July 2021, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, Hot 102.7FM has gone on to carve out a niche for itself by focusing on the basics of playing popular ‘Old Skool’ music that resonates with its upper SEM audience, high quality presenters, a personal relationship with its listenership, and the use of the power of radio to do good in the community.

“I’m incredibly proud of what we’ve built in such a short space of time, despite a challenging commercial climate and the tragic loss of some key staff and on-air personalities,” says Lloyd Madurai, managing director of Hot 102.7FM. “And what we’ve managed to build is a radio station that knows its audience and is able to deliver a compelling radio product to that audience, along with tangible results for its commercial partners.”

It’s been an incredible run for Hot 102.7FM.

Not only has it maintained commercial success, built market share and onboarded a host of new blue-chip advertisers, but also founded the Hot Radio Academy and struck a string of mutually-beneficial media partnerships with the likes of the Joburg Super Kings (global partner), the DP World Lions, the Emirates Lions, and the Ferrari Owners’ Club of South Africa.

The station has also raised over R15m for charity at its annual Hot Cares Teddython fundraiser and run a series of engaging consumer and trade competitions, including sending listeners and trade partners to the ground-breaking ABBA ‘Voyage’ concert in 2022.

Then there’s the awards, of which there have been many, including Hot 102.7FM being named the winner in the ‘Best Local Radio Station’ category at the Best of Joburg Readers’ Choice Awards in 2022 and walking away with the coveted ‘My Station – Most Votes’ award at the 2022 SA Radio Awards – an event at which it received 13 nominations.

The icing on the cake – and a significant feather in its cap – came when Hot 102.7FM received global recognition by being honoured as a finalist in four categories at the 2023 New York Festivals Radio Awards in the United States.

“To be recognised on the world stage – and at the ‘Oscars of the radio industry’ – was just great affirmation of the path the station is on, and being honoured by global heavyweights in the world of radio says so much about what we’ve built here at Hot 102.7FM and the quality of the radio product we’ve taken to market,” says Madurai.

To celebrate its second birthday and in honour of its New York ‘gongs’, Hot 102.7FM is running an on-air competition through the month of July, playing off the number ‘two’, that will culminate in two listeners heading to the Big Apple on an all-expenses-paid four-night stay in the American city.

Competition details are available at www.Hot1027.co.za.