Radio has always been a close follower and monitor of, well, radio. When some morning show goes and does something like releasing a cat under a bouquet of helium balloons, then in the next 24 hours, morning shows everywhere are filling balloons.
Radio is also great at cannibalizing other stations’ contest methodologies when it sees that they worked.
Last month, 93Q in Syracuse did a Harry Styles trip, having people follow, over the course of a week, “stuff” that was being packed in a suitcase. Call on Friday and say, “Extra socks”, “toothbrush”, “spare batteries,” etc etc etc and win the trip. It was great.
So another Cumulus station is going to use that for their Harry flyaway.
Last Friday, The Vibe in KC sent people to see Hilary Duff in St. Louis, which is a three-hour drive away. So the morning guy packed a bag for the drive. All through his show, he added stuff like licorice, a Wendy’s gift card, a change of shirts, a road map, etc. At the end of the show, you called and recited back all the crap he’s bringing and got the trip.
Great. Simple. And a lot more engaging than a digital entry.
And now, on with the Dumpage:
Great Morning Show Topics
- “Words that you hate so much you have an almost physical aversion to them”. Me? “Broth”. I have no idea why. Meredith Teplitz? “Moist”. Use the word in front of her, and she’ll have to sit down.
- “What did your parents spank you with?” from CRS-award-winning KVOO in Tulsa. All the lines had to be put on hold because they couldn’t keep up with editing.
Police Logs
Radio has a challenge getting people to visit our sites. “Sabrina Carpenter’s battle with Rosacea” just doesn’t have the “pull” that it used to.
We are a voyeuristic society, and “COPS” would have been on the air for 35 years if we didn’t find comfort in knowing that someone else is having a worse night than we are.
KOZE-FM in Lewiston has a section with continually updated police logs for the market and surrounding area. That’s kinda cool and funny.
Pumpkin Spice Latte
I can’t stand the stuff, but some John Tesh-ish survey says that 54% of Americans look forward to Pumpkin Spice season. And the season is upon us. Last year, Krispy Kreme jumped the gun and got it out there before McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Dunkin Donuts.
You can do what Kiss in Albany did and frame your group contest around it: “Win $1000 in Pumpkin Spice Latte” is a message that will cut through. Here is some of their imaging.
LIVE-FM in Hagerstown did Pumpkin Spice Loot. People who are into it are REALLY into it, so just getting a debate rolling (Starbucks vs. McDonald’s) would be a way to acknowledge it. Or if there are restaurants outside of the fast food chains that offer it, then bracket it.
KLUC created the PSL Fairy and sent someone with a tiara and a wand to deliver it and make people’s wishes come true at work.
BEN-FM in Philly bracketed all the local places that serve it up.
Natte Or Latte? Get one of the (many) available “how to make your own Starbucks PSL” recipes, make it, get the real from-the-store stuff, and have true snobs try to discern the original vs the fake.
And if you can get some from a client for a giveaway, see if you can also get some tickets from the state lottery. Just whatever scratcher they’re pushing. Pair them up for Pumpkin Spice Lotto.
It’s Hot
Heat continues to be a story for a lot of people, and imaging is one way to acknowledge it:
From Paul McCoy in Norfolk: THE COMMERCIALS ARE BY THE POOL HAVING COCKTAILS…IT’S COMMERCIAL-FREE MONDAY ON HOT 100.5.
From Drake Donovan at Audacy/Pittsburgh: For the next person you hear complaining about this heat, offer them a nice glass of shut-up-and-go-to-the-pool!
Too hot for ya? Remember that February when we were all snowed in and couldn’t go anywhere …Yeah. Let’s save our collective breath and…go to the pool, m‘kay? Star 100.7.
Star 100.7…grasping at straws…and hoping they’re attached to margaritas.
Here’s a cool sound…(SFX: FAN, A/C, POOL SPLASH, OCEAN WAVES, FREEZER DOOR OPENS) and something that sounds cool…Star 100.7.
Imagine a place in the shade… the mist of an ocean breeze… the gentle caress of coolness from an oscillating fan… a few cool thoughts between songs… from Y108!
It’s supposed to be hot in July…It’s called summer…So stop complaining and crank up the A/C…
Punches WILL Be Thrown
What couple, in the weeks leading up to their marriage, haven’t said “Screw it. We’re going to Vegas.” Why? Because of getting caught in the middle between the parents and the haggling and bickering over reception details. Do this as a topic, find a couple off-air, fly them to Vegas, videotape the wedding, fly them back, invite the families in for a staged discussion about the reception, and then go to the video. Punches WILL fly. Here comes Dad with a metal folding chair.
Orajel Theater
One of the stations has a client that is bringing in about nine “shows” to the local performing arts center and wants ticket contesting. As opposed to creating a different methodology for EACH show, the idea is to have one methodology that will come back for each on-sale.
And that would be the Orajel Theater. The morning show acts out a scene from a movie, but the female producer would be numbed up on Orajel and would drool, slobber, and slur her lines. ID the film for the tickets.
Wired in Saskatoon was the first station I got to try it with Idol. Hilarity ensured.
Topical Weekends
It was once hot as (you would insert a noun or adverb here) in Albany, so Kiss 102.3 did a Beat The Heat Weekend and awarded tickets to the Saratoga County Fair. At the fair, there are many opportunities to cool off in the beer garden, with the giant industrial-sized fans in the livestock barns, and when you get strapped into the Regurgitator and spun at Mach 9.
Gas Wars
It’s been a few years since anyone has done this.
We have access to “stuff” that someone, say, a gas station owner, wouldn’t have access to. Like backstage passes for a big artist.
The concept behind “Gas Wars” is simple. You offer these money-can’t-buy prizes to the gas station owner who will sell fuel for the lowest price for a set amount of time. Like an hour. In the case of one CHR, it was N’Sync meet and greets and gas station owners with daughters were going crazy in the bidding.
The winner was a guy who did it for negative ten cents a gallon. Yup. You could get ten gallons and a buck. The TV chopper shot looked like the closing scene in “Field of Dreams” with cars snaking out into the distance.
Cut The Cord
Back To School and the last week of August are what’s next on the promotional radar.
If you have someone on your roster of talent like an Amy Kaye or a Dez or an Elizabethany who is a person you’d actually want the listeners to meet (they’re polite, personable, non-slovenly and fun to hang out with), then Cut The Cord With (Talent) has been done a few different ways. But the basic concept is to do a week of “things” that will allow moms to kind of get through the process and drama of their kids going off/back to school.
At Kiss in Boise with Kate McGwire, all five activities were done through clients.
Monday: Wine & Art
Tuesday: Driving Range
Wednesday: Book Club
Thursday: Rafting
Friday: Skeet Shooting
Easy peasy. It can be sold, and it’s terrific marketing and also acknowledges something that is happening in the lives of the audience.
