When Ron Price came to Clear Channel’s KMXP (Mix 96.9) Phoenix 11 years ago, pop/rock was still the dominant flavor of the Hot AC format. Modern AC stations—still a very vital part of the format—were still deciding what to do about Faith Hill and Shania Twain, not Black Eyed Peas and Eminem. And Phoenix was a market with three Alternative stations.

Since then, Hot AC has morphed considerably into a format often separated from Mainstream Top 40 more by timing than texture. True Modern ACs have dwindled down to a mere handful. But KMXP has maintained its pop/rock flavor and has, this year, settled in at No. 1 in PPM. Price says the station debuted at No. 1 in PPM and “had basically been bouncing between No. 1 and 2. We’ve now been No. 1 every month since the first of the year.” He adds, “Even before PPM, we were getting ready and setting up for it. Being ready helped us make the transition be as successful as it has been.”

The last significant musical change in Mix 96.9, Price says, was a shift to fewer ’80s titles and more ’90s and ’00s songs several years ago. Pop/rock, Price says, “is the core sound of the station, and I tend to believe it’s a core sound for the market. We even play songs that aren’t at the format such as Breaking Benjamin and Pearl Jam’s ‘Just Breathe,’ which is a power for me.”

Some of that is because Phoenix’s three-way Alternative race has dwindled to one. And KZON, an Alternative reporter that often verged on Hot AC itself, is long gone. “I’m in a spot in this market where I can pull stuff off the Alternative chart because we don’t have a strong Alternative station in this market, so I can fill that void,” Price says.

Leaning Alternative “allows me to capture a ton of male listening that helps in overall persons. It also helps whenever there’s anything wacky going on in the sampling in women. We just had a challenge with women 18-34 and were able to bring it back with some marketing in September. But even when we were weak in that young end with women, we looked great because of the male numbers. Just the combination of men and women [keeps the overall number] strong.”

That marketing consisted of “an extremely successful digital billboard campaign that backed up our on-air cash campaign. With the billboards, we promoted our $1,000 [money song] and set an appointment for when that would play as well as when that would be announced and it was interspersed with our ‘now playing’ board. That campaign was the most effective campaign I’ve ever seen in PPM. It drove our TSL through the roof and gave us our best 6-plus month.”

Mix 96.9 shares a cluster with longtime Mainstream AC KESZ (K-EZ) and KZZP (Kiss 104.7), which remains one of the more rhythmic leaning Mainstream Top 40 reporters. Despite this, Price says, “We never set out to make any sort of effort to separate ourselves from each other. We all very much do our things. By doing that, it’s allowed us to create a very nice wall of women with the three stations.” The station will play a few Lady Gaga and Rihanna songs as recurrent or library titles. It won’t play Taylor Swift. “But if it’s a solid Pink song, she works for us all day long.”

As for the ’90s music on the station, Price says that ’90s Pop/Alternative titles have “done a really good job of replacing the ’80s that I got rid of. “A lot of times it’s the genre that drives meters in this market. What always surprises me is the number of meters I can see on Stone Temple Pilots’ ‘Plush.’” And, in general, Price says, “When I’m getting those huge peaks, it’s with core sounding songs—Daughtry, Nickelback, ’90s Alternative, and the Pink-[type pop].”

Mix 96.9 had a morning show change in March when Matthew Blades replaced Chris Parker. “Since March, it’s really just been about getting him up to speed on best practices for PPM and just being an engaging talent here in the market. He’s doing a good job of busting his ass to make him happen. The ratings took a slight dip for a few months but we’re back up and beating our previous numbers now. So we’re feeling very good about mornings right now,” Price says.

Here’s Mix 96.9 on Thursday, Oct. 14, just before 1 p.m.:

Tonic, “If You Could Only See”
Daughtry, “Life After You”
Maroon 5, “She Will Be Loved”
Lady Antebellum, “Need You Now”
Eagle-Eye Cherry, “Save Tonight”
Neon Trees, “Animal”
3 Doors Down, “Kryptonite”
Green Day, “Time Of Your Life”
Muse, “Uprising”
Matchbox Twenty, “Bright Lights”
Naked Eyes, “Promises Promises”
Switchfoot, “Your Love Is A Song”
Daughtry, “September”
Gin Blossoms, “Follow You Down”
Kelly Clarkson, “My Life Would Suck Without You”
Hoobastank, “The Reason”
Train, “If It’s Love”
Whitesnake, “Here I Go Again”
David Cook, “Come Back To Me”