Fan Engagement Up for NASH Next Country Talent

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Cumulus has announced that fan engagement continues to grow for the social media-driven "NASH Next Challenge" talent competition, which will discover and release music from up-and-coming Country artists. The competition, which kicked off in June, has seen fan engagement on social media, the "NASH Next" website and the "NASH Next" app. The talent search is also promoted on more than 200 Country stations.

Key fan engagement statistics include:

• Over 57,000 fans registered to date, and new fan registration is steadily growing with each challenge
• 241 million total impressions in the past three months on social media, excluding impressions from privacy-protected Facebook pages, which generates 90% of social media-driven site traffic
• 24 million people reached by NASH Next on Twitter and Instagram alone, nearly twice the number of fans reached in late August
• More than 1.1 million "NASHNextCountry.com" visitors per month
• 70% of the NASH Next website traffic driven by social media
• Over 70% of total NASH Next traffic comes from mobile devices
• A typical NASH Next fan views 6 pages and spends more than 10 minutes on the site per visit, double the time spent in late August
• Fewer than 1% of visitors leave the website after viewing only one page
• NASHNextCountry.com continues to draw new visitors with 47% of traffic to the site being first-time users

Winners will be decided based on a combination of an original "Spin Index" of social media activity, online fan voting and three influential music industry judges, now including Cumulus Senior VP/Content and Programming Mike McVay, who was recently named to replace former Cumulus Executive VP/Content and Programming John Dickey. McVay brings over 30 years of broadcast experience to the panel and joins legendary music producer James Stroud and award-winning Country artist and radio personality Kix Brooks.

"This unprecedented level of engagement demonstrates Country music fans' continued dedication to the NASH brand as they help select the next generation of Country music superstars," said McVay. "I am honored to participate in this innovative new take on artist discovery and look forward to playing a role in other NASH events and initiatives as the popular brand continues to expand."

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