(By Paige Nienaber) There are moments in life when you will always remember where you were and how you heard about it. John Lennon? Studying and listening to KQRS in my dorm at the University of Minnesota.
One of radio’s NO-COST strengths has always been to react quickly and decisively when something suddenly occurs. And it’s pretty hard to argue for the relevance of your station when a tragedy strikes your community and you don’t acknowledge it.
In 2024 there are several ways to acknowledge one of these events. You could do something on social media. When the Pulse Nightclub shooting happened in Orlando, one station scrubbed their Facebook and just started posting all the info as it became available. And they were on this in moments.
Another company in town did not have local access to their social media so it was 14 hours before they could post anything. Think about that – 14 HOURS.
One thing to consider in that first hour is to immediately check your music because if there is some seemingly innocuous song in there that, at that moment, is the wrong song to play, you want to pull it. As Stingray VP Steve Jones said, “You will never get in trouble for not playing a song.”
An example of the wrong song would be at 11:30am on 9/11 when I heard a station play “And The Walls Came Tumbling Down” by John Mellencamp. Whoops.
So with the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse, I suggested to my client in the area that they might want to give Selector a look… and they caught “Under The Bridge” by RHCP an hour before it was going to run. What radio can do that a device can’t is to live in the moment, and not all moments are going to be happy ones.
And now on with the Dumpage.
Giving Away The Voice Guy
Some people are blessed with great voices. Some people go into Promotions.
102 Jamz used to loan their air talent to the Central Florida Fair to do crowd announcements, ie: “This is Bartell Bartell and we have a lost child,” or when stage times and performances are.
The Zone in Rochester is pimping out the Voice Guy. From Kobe:
Our voice guy is bored, so we’re giving away… OUR VOICE GUY to cut something for our listeners.
HEY IT’S BRIAN, THE VOICE OF THE NEW 94.1 THE ZONE. IN ADDITION TO THIS GLORIOUS JOB THAT PAYS ME IN GARBAGE PLATES, AND DAY-OLD BREAD FROM WEGMANS, (WHEG-MENS) DID YOU KNOW I’M ALSO THE VOICE OF SEVERAL TOY LINES YOUR KIDS PROBABLY BEG YOU FOR, AS WELL AS THE X-GAMES ON ESPN, AND A FEW AMUSEMENT PARKS YOU WON’T BE GOING TO THIS YEAR? YEAH, I’M KIND OF A BIG DEAL.
BUT NOW, I WANT TO BE THE VOICE FOR…YOU! YEAH, THAT’S RIGHT. DO YOU NEED A PROFESSIONAL VOICE-OVER ARTIST TO RECORD FOR YOU? VOICEMAIL GREETING? BIRTHDAY MESSAGE? DO YOU HAVE A BUSINESS AND NEED A NEW AUTOMATED PHONE VOICE? LEAVE ME A VOICEMAIL AND LET ME KNOW WHAT I CAN DO FOR YOU… YES, THIS IS REAL. CALL ME AT 585-399-5901 AND LET ME WORK FOR YOU!
Celebrity Stand-In’s
We’re going into a season of concerts and with concerts will be set-ups and broadcasts and with set-ups and broadcasts come photo ops. Because really, outside a concert, no one cares about a prize wheel. They just want a nice photo.
A lot of stations will have stand-up cutouts of the artist. Cool. I went to a Taylor show where there were 7 stations and 6 had the SAME cutout. Kiss in Phoenix? They got a young woman who looked like Taylor and paraded her around. It was bedlam.
So, what if you did “Celebrity Stand In” as a series? Do a gallery or social media contest to find the listener who looks most like your act and they’re your person for outside on the plaza. The payoff? Their photo with their Doppel-celeb.
A Literal Morning Show Character
In the beginning, there was the Literal Doctor, and it was good.
Then you have the Literal Photoshopper. And it was funny.
What if you had a Literal Morning Show Intern who pops in once a week and screws up whatever task they were given. Or create a Literal Listener who becomes a regular caller. Or rip off the bit and do the Photoshop thing.
“Can I Have Something For Free?”
On the first 4th of July when I had this job, I was at Hot 101.5 in Jacksonville and prior to Rambo-ing that evening’s Cox fireworks at the Gator Bowl, we cruised the beaches and boardwalks and handed out cold sodas. That’s all. And we were mobbed. The station had a storage unit with two pallets of some Coke products so we’d fill the coolers, ice them down, head out, return, and repeat until dusk.
On an ungodly warm day, you can overthink prizing. Pop/soda or water is great and often you can get a client that will load you up if you just ask them. And now would be the time to ask them.
Mo & Ro
They have a gazillion hits on their series of food challenges. There is literally a year’s worth of morning show bits waiting to happen.
Casino $$$
Empty nesting has been a real kick in the nads for me, so last fall I picked up some PT weekend hours in Guest Relations at the local track/casino. Greet people, answer questions, run contests, set up events… all of which I have a minimum amount of experience.
It’s a ball. And a bit of a freak show. At least once a week someone loses bodily control while at a card table. I wish I was kidding. But it’s been an amazing social experiment because the parallels between Radio and that industry are staggering.
Every client has a different goal or motivation. The gaming industry? They want to sign people up for their players cards which = database for marketing. And, obviously, getting butts in the door which then translates to more card sign-ups.
The place where I sit and people-watch accomplishes that by awarding free offers at events like shows and the Minnesota State Fair. I take the card they hand me after playing an on-site contest, bring it to the casino, SIGN UP FOR A CARD, and get my free meal or drink or $10 bet.
And it works.
So, now we know what will motivate a casino client. Now we offer them the opportunity to join the station at (event) with something like a roulette wheel and give away their offers. We’re at a lot of places that these brands won’t be at, so we can be their enabler.
Bundling Prizes
At Christmas, it’s common to see stations bundle their prizes in stockings or “wrapped presents.” WROR in Boston did it as the $5,000 Sleigh.
One of the stations has money and “stuff” from Sauze Agave Cocktails to give away the week of Cinco de Mayo. They’ll be presented as being in pinatas that are whacked open on the air during the 5 o’clock hour. One of the Prize Pinatas will have gift cards, concert tickets, JBL speakers, and $500 cash. You don’t know what you win until it gets whacked open while you’re on with the DJ.
“Things That Are Dirty”, for $500 Alex
Rob Mise shares this bit where a morning show went and searched for the “dirtiest radio in the UK” and then tried to get it listed as “art” and placed in a museum.
This is the time of year when people are going to be hauling out ATVs, grills, and other seasonal things that have sat and collected dust and mud all winter. If you have a client, this could be a “thing.” (My grill would win.)
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.
Stuff to consider regarding local casinos. I work for one that utilizes local radio people to promote their special days and giveaways. “Hi I’m (name) from (station) -don’t miss Valley View Hotel and Casino’s (promotion). This is something that’s been going on for decades. A few years back we were promoting “Rick Dees’ Carousel of Cash” – and when that deal ended, it became “Dave Mason’s Carousel of Cash”. That lasted for a couple of years..promoting not only the jock -but the station. I do 2-3x monthly appearances at the casino hosting prize giveaways..(I’ve given out about 5 million dollars worth of cars and untold amounts of cash). If you’re in a place where the casinos are competitive like they are in Southern California, they should be happy to work with you.