(By Paige Nienaber, obviously) Not to get “all Europe” about it but we are in the final countdown to 2024. Obviously, Thanksgiving and Christmas stand between us and the end zone, and both are can’t-miss holidays for radio, but New Year’s Eve has become an afterthought, which is kind of sad.
I think that this is partly due to people being on vacation. I get it. But with so many stations sticking an awful syndicated countdown on the air, it would seem that a station that did ANYTHING more compelling than that would win the night.
“People don’t listen to the radio on New Year’s Eve.” Well, that’s a Programming problem. People in clubs and at movies and on dates aren’t listening to the radio. But there are house parties and it would be great if you could be the music for those. Again, that’s something for Programming.
What can Promotions do? Hit house parties. Call a grocery store and see if you can get some deli trays for mentions. And if that fails, pizzas, but that will require coordinating with stores so you can have one ready for pickup on the way to a nearby party. You don’t want too much downtime between hits.
Then put an invite on your site and have people tell you where and when they’re ringing in the New Year. Include questions like:
- Domestic or imported beer?
- Probability of nudity?
- Is there a pool?
Then get out a map and try to lay out a schedule so that none of the parties are too far apart. At Wild in San Francisco, we started at 8p in the City, crossed to the East Bay, worked south to San Jose, and then finished around 12 at a party just a few miles from the station in San Mateo.
You want calls and posts from all of these. The calls are audio accoutrement. It’s the excitement between the songs that will make you sound in the moment. December 31st can be a lot more than just a syndicated comedy show.
And now on to The Dumpage.
App Man
By far the best promotion I ever inherited was Cash Man at Kiss 102 in Charlotte. Three times a week we’d send someone out to approach random people and ask them “What station do you listen to?” If they replied “I listen to Kiss 102!” they won $102. All of these were captured on tape and each one was turned into three winner promos. We trained the audience how to respond if anyone asked them who they listened to, and with the three promo plan, it sounded like we were doing lots and lots and lots of these.
What if you did this with asking people to see their phones? If they have the app, they win.
It was also an excuse to acknowledge everything that was happening in the market: “The Kiss 102 Cash Man stopped by Friday Night Live and caught Ellen Abernathy…” “The Kiss 102 Cash Man stopped by the Kings Mountain Christmas parade and caught Bob Sweeten…
Jingle Bellies
At one point or another, most of us have scored Digital Gold by having listeners write the calls on their bodies somewhere and posting/sharing. Kiss in Phoenix did it with hand bras. ZHT in Salt Lake City did it with Baby Bumps.
It goes without saying that you will have Trans-Siberia Orchestra tickets or trees or holiday show passes or other Christmas-themed prizes. Solicit photos of bellies that have been holidazed with maybe some tinsel, an ornament on a navel ring, some flocking, and of course the station moniker. Post and pick daily ones for prizes.
Tats 4 Toys
Thank you to Jay Kruz with Mix in Cincinnati for spotting the following radio news. Now, think…. money to buy toys:
L&L Broadcasting’s Savannah morning host Tim Leary finished his month-long “Tats for Ta-Tas” campaign and ran his first ever ½ marathon with more than 530 logos and names tattooed on his body. Leary finished the 13.1-mile race in just 2 hours and 15 minutes. In a little over 4 weeks, the campaign raised more than $5,300, and all the proceeds were turned over to Susan G. Komen.
Leary says in October he asked listeners for a $10 donation and the name of someone they know affected by breast cancer. “We began to tattoo (not permanent) all the names and logos on my body. I then ran my first half marathon ever as a human billboard honoring and remembering those names. I met the most extraordinary people during this,” stated Tim. “This woman Betty approached me one time we were out collecting and handed me $10. She was bald, and her eyebrows drawn on. She handed me the bill as she welled up and said, this is from my husband for me, I just finished my last radiation.”
The process to tattoo Leary took more than 13 hours. He had an artist free hand paint the names on and they’ll last for another two weeks.
Worst To Thirst
Or first, in terms of starting with Troy McCallum from Boom in Toronto:
“Homely For The Holidays” – submit a pic of your pathetic Christmas décor (Tree, etc.) and let the audience judge who has the ugliest décor that needs a lift. Winner(s) have their homes professionally done with all the trimmings (dinner, etc.).
So, part of the joys of being a parent is the opportunity to tell your kids how broke you were when you started off. Like eating your first Thanksgiving dinner on a borrowed table (Production Director) with two borrowed chairs (morning guy) and sleeping on the ground on a foam insert of a couch that the Sales Manager loaned you. We was ratchet.
What if you solicited photos from couples of their 1st Thanksgiving and had a client award them with a nice bottle of wine or champagne?
Turkey & Stuff It
First, if you add a turkey to ANY prize in the next two weeks it’s going to be a home run. “Turkey & Stuff It” is easy. The presentation is that the promo staff were getting the birds ready for the staff party, were a LITTLE over-enthusiastic, and now a lot of prizes are missing. You take a caller, you reach into a turkey accompanied by squishy SFX, and pull things out. Concert tickets. A Coke coozie from an event last summer. Expired movie tickets. Chapstick. You don’t know what you win until it’s pulled out of the turkey.
Butterball Hotline
If you have not spoken to someone from this seasonal phenomenon out of Naperville, Illinois, you have missed some great stories. If the mother of one of the talent does something really spectacular for Thanksgiving like “cheesy potatoes”, create a Cheesy Potato Hotline and stick the mom on the phones.
Paige Nienaber insults/consults more than 100 radio stations on Fun ‘N Games (Marketing & Promotions). Find him at CPR Promotions. Read Paige’s Radio Ink archives here.
Yea a Kiss 102 Cash Man mention!!! Party On Paige!!!
Dark