(By Paige Nienaber) I don’t see this as right or wrong. Maybe it’s just an oddservation. There was a recruitment spot for advertisers running on a station over the weekend. The basic, “If you’d like (station) to help your business…” It directed potential clients to a national site.
This kind of reminded me of the generic PSAs you hear for company initiatives after a hurricane. It really makes me wonder how many people actually donate to these disaster relief things, or reach out to some link to advertise.
Me? I’m old school. If I was ever going to advertise my business, I’d want a human to be there for me during the whole process, from budgets and targets to copy and appearances.
If I was ever stupid enough to go into Sales (it’s not my forte), I’d buy an actual schedule on my station and explain that I love myTalk 107.1 as much as you obviously do. It’s unique. There’s nothing like it anywhere and the myTalk audience is someone you truly want patronizing your business. Look in the mirror: that’s who listened to 107.1. Me? I live here. I grew up here. I know the Twin Cities and can remember when Perkins had their wishing well. Here’s my number, call me and I will personally create a plan for your business.
Hokey? Maybe, but my friends who are successful in Radio sales have personal relationships with their clients. And it’s hard to have a relationship with a link.
Now, on with the Dumpage.
Today at 3p
On Thanksgiving Eve 2008, I was dropped off at the Denver airport at 1p for a 6p flight. It was dead. A ghost town. And at 3p… all Hell broke loose. Listening to my former clients, they may as well have been on the moon. No acknowledgment at all that a great mass of humanity was in motion.
Make sure you have a social media plan that will engage people. Prep some questions in advance:
- How far are you driving this year?
- Who has a crazy relative?
- I haven’t shopped yet; what’s the turkey situation at the grocery stores?
- Where’s a good bar to meet up with old friends from school tonight?
- Who else is babysitting their cousins and having to drive them around?
- How many times will they use the term “glittering” in tomorrow’s Macy’s telecast?
Get some artwork up and tweak the site. Seriously, stick some Pilgrim hats on the artists on the masthead and you’re set.
Call some grocery stores. Update long-term parking availability at the airport. Call mom and ask for her stuffing recipe. If the morning show is on the move, get some calls from them. One of the all-time best breaks I’ve ever heard was Jo Jo Wright on a flight home to Texas on the night before Thanksgiving, interviewing people on the plane with Airphone and initiating a sing-a-long of “Over the River and Through the Woods.” It was live. It was unexpected and it was outstanding.
Thanksgiving Topics
To add to your smorgasbord of phone and social media juice over the next couple of days, Pebbles at Jammin’ 101.7 in New London adds:
- Worst Thanksgiving fight ever. (I worked with a morning person named Pam who was married to a doctor, who was in practice with his brother. Pam is from Chicago and loves the Bears. The brother was married to a woman from Wisconsin. At her first-ever Thanksgiving that she was a member of the Drehmel fam, Pam made a joke about the Packers. It caused…a rift for the next several Thanksgivings)
- Best side dish. This has already been done as an online poll by 93Q in Syracuse.
- Worst food disaster.
- Best excuse to leave early.
- Bad Mom Cooks. Who doesn’t know someone (or IS someone) whose mom has zero skillz in the kitchen… but thinks she does.
- Most Embarrassing Photo You Don’t Want Your Parents To Whip Out And Show Everyone. Mine would be me in a brown leotard as a rocking horse in the 5th-grade Christmas pageant. Which, of course, was the photo my mom gave to the organizers of my senior class party. Mrs. Paige? Her with MC Hammer.
- Worst Things To Say When Meeting The Future In-Laws. Who hasn’t made a serious faux pas with the new fam?
- Thanksgiving Drinking Game. Create a drinking game for your listeners to do with their siblings around the table. Whenever mom asks something like “Is everyone having enough?” or another cliché term, the kids all sneak a shot or swig or refill their glasses.
- Let’s Make Our Cousin Laugh Gravy Out Her Nose. We did a promotion at one of the stations that had the potential to sound dirty. They were concerned that the GM would never allow it. And I asked, “He knows what a (term) really is?” There ya go. Come up with some terms for your listeners to casually drop into conversation that would sail right over the grownup’s heads… but would hopefully make the younger people crack up. Like, “For our staff party, we had sandwiches, chips, and donkeypunch.”
- My House Smelled Like. Heard this on a station last year and the phones seemingly blew up. Everyone grew up in a house that had a unique smell. (Mine was lyme and the subtle odor of decomposition from the crawlspace.)
Cyber Monday
When Jeff Kapugi was in St. Louis, they did “Green For Aldean” and when a stoplight on their site turned from red to green, that was a cue to call. The station in Albany did it on Valentine’s with a little cupid that would fly across the screen: which was the cue to call and win last-minute flowers.
Next Monday, what if you took your contests off the air, and the only way to know the cue is to keep your eyes peeled for Santa’s sleigh to fly across the site?
Am I The A-Hole?
“Love Juries” and other Radio juries that have the audience engaged and helping to sort out the facts and place blame, have been a staple for a long time.
And there will be a lot of sorting and placing after millions of families get together on Thursday, with the presence of alcohol not helping matters any. So Monday, you have your contest and Reddit provided the name.
A Santa Bracket
Except maybe Halloween, the next 30 days have more themes for gallery contests and elimination brackets than any time of the year and they’re all sellable. Social media has done all of our research for us: kids, pets, food. Just holidize them.
KyKy in San Diego wrapped up a Thanksgiving Side Dish bracket. And as a Midwesterner, I’m appalled (if not apoplectic) that there are no cheesy potatoes on the grid.
Print media has often taken kids out for a tour of the town and had them rate Santas at the malls. What if you did a Santa Bracket with the guys from 16 public locations (malls, stores, and other places that have one for the month) and did an elimination competition? The winning Santa gets a weekend at a hotel and dinner, and someone who votes gets some holiday swag. Or even just a tree.
A Griswold Gallery
If you’re into outdoor lights, you are really into outdoor lights. There can never be enough. It could certainly be bracketable but I’d do a gallery. Submit your lights, inflatables, and other Art for a chance at a product or service from the sponsoring client or the station will pay your electric bill for December.
Shameless Plug
With everyone on the road and traveling, feel free to plug http://hotelnightmares.com
Gift Exchanges
An actual pre-Christmas exchange starts next week with one of the stations where they have some good prizes Monday to Friday. Call in and tell us what you’ll exchange for our mall gift cards. And you really DO want them to bring in their item when they come to get their prize.
(Celeb) Call In And Win Day!
When Emmis had a Top 40 in the Twin Cities, this was a weekly feature on the Hines & Berglund Morning Show. They’d lob out a celeb like Prince or Elvis and if they called in they got $99.50. It was kind of like Loren Michael’s offering the Beatles $3000 to reunite: the size of the prize was intended to be funny. “Michael Jackson still has 18 minutes left to call and claim his 99 and a half dollars!” And then they lobbed out Harold Stassen on his 88th birthday. A former governor and perennial presidential candidate… and he called in. Great no-cost bit.
Tree For All
If you call around to tree lots, I’m sure that one will trade some wood for mentions. And they’re great prizes. Then you just need a name, and Hot 99.5 in DC was courteous enough to come up with one, albeit for Earth Day.
Bad Moms
“Bad” is a great promotional prefix; you can stick it in front of most Hallmark Holidays: Bad Grads, Bad Dads, Bad Leprechauns.
KKLZ does an event called “WINOS” or Women In Need Of Sanity. It’s a moderately upscale wine-tasting party. One of the PDs passes along a local event called Bad Moms and it’s a night for drinking, bonding, and male dancers.
Dollar Store Christmas
Starting around December 20, people will begin to freak out. $1 gift cards to the Dollar Store would be great. Or $5 if you’re feeling wealthy. Or buy $50 in wrapping paper and hand it out at busy intersections.
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.
