(By John Shomby) It’s no secret that I am a fan of Jimmy Fallon and The Tonight Show. I’ve written a couple of columns about his creativity and the show’s excellent connection with its audience. None of this was exemplified better than the marketing and promotion around the release of Jimmy’s latest Christmas song – a collaboration with pop singer Meghan Trainor – called “Wrap Me Up.”
As a matter of fact, one of my record label friends mentioned that how this song was introduced was a lesson in creative record promotion. Well, hold on there! Not only is it a lesson for the label side, but an especially definitive one for radio.
The song was released on the Friday before Thanksgiving (11/18). Jimmy teased the release and the song starting on the previous Monday (11/13) and continued throughout the week. Every night, he found a unique, but natural, way to remind the audience about the upcoming release. You can catch some of the techniques used to promote the song on The Tonight Show here.
It’s a very catchy tune. Catchy enough for radio to jump on it, too, as all iHeart music stations, across formats, premiered it at a specific time on release day. Heck, I was ready to download the release myself after all this promotion (and I did, btw!).
What can radio take away from this very successful song release?
Leverage Existing Platforms and Audiences
- As I mentioned earlier, Jimmy incorporated the song into different show segments each night to create the necessary on-air buzz. He took advantage of the large viewing audience each night.
- Whether it be an in-market or on-air event, utilize every piece of on-air “real estate” you can from promos to sweepers to each air talent lending his/her own personal touch. Take total advantage of your built-in audience.
Embrace Social Media and Digital Marketing
- Fallon and his staff promoted the song’s release on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube heavily and have continued to do so after release day. This connected not just with heavy Tonight Show users, but also with anyone who has had any connection any time with the show or Jimmy Fallon.
- Be consistent on all your socials with posts, videos, air talent drop-ins, etc. to use as many creative ways as possible to engage the social media side of your audience and potential audience.
Create Engaging and Shareable Content
- Fallon and his staff used several lyric videos to create something that wound up being shared (and is still being shared) by fans with their friends. There’s a good possibility the Tonight Show will be adding to its viewership because of this song.
- It could be a video of a morning show parody song or listeners at a big station event. Whatever it is, get it out there as soon as possible, encouraging (and possibly rewarding for) sharing.
Show Personal Excitement and Passion
- This is where Jimmy Fallon shined the best, in my opinion. You could tell, with each mention of the release, that he was genuinely excited about the collaboration, the song, and radio’s involvement. More than once during the week, he made it a point to say, “Call your DJ Friday and request it.” (A great promotion for radio, too)
- Your talent and staff must buy into whatever the event is you’re promoting. REALLY buy in, that is. If they see your passion for the project, good chance it will rub off on them and, in turn, the listeners will feel that exuberance and now you’ve got something.
One of the best parts of all this marketing and promotion is that it was all done “in-house” with no paid advertising at all. This was a total homegrown project. Get out the ribbons and bows and start wrapping.
Based in Nashville, TN, John Shomby is the owner and CEO of Country’s Radio Coach. He is focused on coaching and mentoring artists, radio programmers, and on-air talent to help them grow and develop inside the radio station and the industry. Reach John at [email protected] and 757-323-1460. Read John’s Radio Ink archives here.
