CPR Promotional Check-Up - Jun 30, 2011

A Back To School Methodology

An award-winning CHR to-remain-nameless has a major Back To School event in August at a mall. The client has given them a few $1000 gift cards to giveaway. (Again: McDonalds has gift cards. Call it "cash") The methodology to give them away? They're going to get some school lockers, set them up and give away combinations. Your combo opens the locker, you get the money.

Back To School

Less then 60 days away. Thought-starters?

• Fashion show at a mall
• The Dream Dorm, which is always large
• School Supply Drive. But a good one. Just not a series of remotes at Target
• Back Pack To School. Logoed backpacks are great. Filled with client swag is better
• Got a theme park or teen club? One last blast party or event would be nice before the kids report back to class
• Limos are great prizes: return to school on the 1st day in style
• Colleges? Some of the stations have been down there on "move in day" with the entire airstaff to help students and parents carry crap in
• Getting those dry erase message boards, selling space on them (pizza clients are a given) and handing them out for college students to put on their dorm doors is great
• Can also be done with dorm room "Do Not Disturb" signs. Sample attached.
• Fly in Albany has done "Last Student Standing" for three years: 10 college-bound students living in a school bus and tortured and eliminated until one is left...and wins a $10,000 scholarship

A Textable School Spirit Contest

There are two times to do a School Spirit Contest. September and January. When the kids are back and refreshed. Russ Allen at Pamal offers this twist to High School Survivor. Power in Miami, Hot in Houston and NOU in Indy have done versions of this. In Indianapolis, it was to win Justin Bieber as your principal for a day. They got over 900 texts. Wait. Correction. Over 4 millions texts. That would be more.

Kids text their schools name to the station and the school with the most text messages wins a concert or appearance from an artist.

Whatever text message provider the station uses will automatically tabulate the votes, which makes it easy on the station.

And the station could monetize the school spirit contest by selling it to a client. Each time a kid sends a text message they get a reply with some mention of the client. It could be:

"CONGRATS! U just won a free McDonald's QPC. Show this msg by xx/xx to get ur sndwich."

or

"Thanks 4 voting. U didn't win a QPC but vote often 4 ur school to increase ur chance of winning."

One in every 100 (ratio can be set by the client) would win a Quarter Pounder with cheese. And we all know, no kid is gonna go into McDonald's and just get their free sandwich and leave. They'll also buy something (fries, coke) and they wouldn't dare go in without their friends so traffic is driven into the joint.

Listeners are prompted through on-air mentions and :10 & :30 commercials that run in sales inventory.

Obviously waiting on sales to "sell" the school spirit promotion isn't the way to go. The PD and Promo Director should get the school spirit promotion set up and ready to go even if sales is inept. But just offering the promotion to them, makes ya look good to the GM and in this example doesn't clutter up the promotion.