CPR Promotional Check-Up - Jun 23, 2011

Love & Marriage

This got passed around, but if for some reason you missed it, get it up.

http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2011/05/18/train-helps-couples-say-marry-me/?hpt=C2

This is the second big marriage proposal video to go psycho viral ((tm) pending) in the past couple of weeks. Huh. Maybe there's something to this whole idea of helping a listener propose? I mean, it's NOT like we don't have access to artists and stages and movie theaters and banner tows and bat lights and hot air balloons.

I'm just saying. And since June is also a traditionally popular month for getting married, and since every single one of you has jewelers who advertise, there's a promotion there.

I Would File This Under "Ooops, I Pooped My Pants"

First, you know this has to have been shot in Minnesota because nowhere else would you hear "Oh my gosh, it's a tornado!". Second, the glass building on the right? That's Clear Channel, ie: K-102, KDWB, Cities 97, KOOL 108, KFAN. Tim Carey was on the air at KDWB and is now officially off fiber supplements. http://www.kare11.com/news/article/924065/396/Communities-survey-damage-after-tornado-outbreak-

Your Summer Check List

We're still early enough into it that you should be double-checking your plans.

• Do you have stickers ordered or, have you sent someone on a treasure hunt through drawers and boxes and in glove compartments to see if there are any bricks that have been gathering dust? They're not doing you any good sitting in the bottom drawer of an empty desk that was home to Tom The AE who got fired in 2007. Get 'em out and stick them on cars.
• How are we set for interns? You want 20. Minimum. If you want a Street Team Manual, ask.
• Have we contacted every parade, festival and community event? Most states have a Department of Tourism website that covers every event in the state. Most radio stations will maybe do the one or two big fests...TOTALLY ignoring all the suburban and outlying events. That is pretty sad. You can be at a remote with the 10 people who show up at every one of these things, AND still be out at a parade or carnival or blockparty where there are thousands of people. Just manage the vehicles.
• Some stations will tweak their logo for the summer months. Why not? Summer is a "vibe". Your audience's lifestyle changes. Yours can too. Stick some dark glasses on the logo. You're set.
• Summer, like Christmas, is marked by big big movies. Many stations, if they don't get the screening, will just move on. No. You can't. Pitch like Hell and try to get the blockbusters. One tip is to help the agency and take a dog or two off their hands. (I was at a station that took "Ishtar" and "Shanghai Surprise" to get "Ghostbusters II".) Suggestion #2? Just get gift cards from a cinema and call them "tickets to (movie)". Who cares? "Movies" is a position. Especially in the summer.
• What is your vehicle situation? Can you update it and get something just for the summer? An ice cream truck is obviously cool A Jeep is still the best summer vehicle known to man. We used to get one for mentions every summer in Minneapolis. Regarding clients' logos on the side? Stick it on the back. One of the stations had an Orange Crush logo that was two TIMES the size of theirs on the side. It looked awful.
• Which leads to another good question: what do you have for people to do at the myriad of remotes I'm sure you do? The beginning of summer is a great time to blow up whatever games you have and find something new. Again: you want something that will keep people in line or crowded around, giving the semblance of activity. Because nothing looks worse then a remote with no one there. And even more importantly, you want something to keep the jock and promo person occupied. So they're not just standing there looking bored.
• Do you have an "umbrella"? I don't care what you do, just don't do the "(Dial position) Days Of Summer." Think of an umbrella like a music position. It supports something. It means something.
• You should draw a 150 mile circle around the market and identify every theme park, every water park, every whitewater rafting river, every concert venue, and start planning bus trips.
• Do you have a softdrink hookup? The vehicle should never EVER leave the station without a cooler of iced down beverages for handing out at the lakes, beaches and pools.
• Where do your listeners go to lay in the sun? Slap "Patrol" on the backside of that and you have "Beach Patrol" or "Pool Patrol". And that is something that is sponsorable. It also ties together all these random hits that you should be doing anyway.
• Garments. There is simply no better prize in the world that you can give a listener then a t-shirt. Summer is our meat and potatoes promotional season. Ask the young women on the intern staff what is hot for 2011, and get some.
• A boat. In some markets this is a moot point: there ain't no water. But in most places, there's at least a river or other place where you will find massive numbers of people floating around and recreating. It's a vibe. It's lifestyle. And it sounds cool as Hell to say you have a boat...even if it's just some AE's boat and all you do is fly a flag off the back and pay for his gas.
• Have a plan, a turnkey plan, for when the temperature tops 100 for the first time and everyone freaks out. You'll want to hoard some waterpark passes, some movie giftcards (nice, airconditioned Cineplex), you'll want super soakers for the street team, ice cream, and some custom imaging. It's GOING to happen. Be ready for it.