A custom online experience, commemorating the rich heritage of 97.9 The Loop

Since 1977, 97.9 FM has been home to one of the most iconic Rock radio stations in America. Legends like Steve Dahl, Steve Garry, Jonathon Brandmeier, Erich “Mancow” Muller, and even Danny Bonaduce (the list goes on) have all graced the airwaves of WLUP over the past 40 years. During its reign, 97.9 The Loop has built an immense following of passionate fans through countless Rock concerts, the introduction of The Loop Rock Girl, and of course, perhaps the most iconic event, the historical Disco Demolition.

The Challenge

To commemorate the 40th Anniversary, our Programming Department wanted to raid the archives and create a custom online experience that showcased all of the history of 97.9 The Loop – a website that could handle a variety of content, ranging from listener-submitted photos, to exclusive audio, to blog posts about rarely seen promotional items. This website also needed the flexibility to grow and evolve if necessary throughout the whole year.

My Role

I worked closely with the Programming Department to identify what kinds of content we actually had at our disposal, and of that content, identify how we wanted to roll it all out. After a logo was established, it was my responsibility to bring the whole website to life, from the architecture of information, to the overall design & development. Once the “bones” of the site were built, I turned it over to other team members to begin generating content.