CPR Promotional Check-Up - Mar 28, 2012

A.D.D.C.D.

Countdowns generally all sound the same. So it's nice to occasionally see a station get creative with theirs. Wired in Philly did the Cracked Out Countdown for New Years. Song #34 into song #7 into song #19. One of the stations is looking to do a one song countdown in the mid-days each day. "Short Attention Span Countdown"?

Doomed Groom

It's very popular to get married in June. Consequently, that should be on your radar. Invicta FM in the UK did something called The Doomed Groom a couple of years back. A spin on Chains Of Love, they handcuffed a guy to his future mother-in-law for 8 days. The payoff was a lavish wedding worth about $10,000. Speaking of which...

The $25,000 Wedding

This is something that Sales could really sink their teeth into. KDWB in Minny did this a couple of years ago. It was their version of The Today Show bit where the audience votes and chooses which couple should get married, the style of dress, the wedding reception location, the cake, the limo, the entertainment, the tuxes and the honeymoon destination. Total value of the wedding was $25,000.

Cinco de Mayo

It's a Saturday this year. So, as Bell Biv Devoe would say, "Spiderman freeze in full effect!" (I have no idea what that means)

• Obviously, if there is a local celebration, parade or similar gathering, you'll want to be there. Most markets have a Hispanic neighborhood and these events can be very very large. The one in South St. Paul draws about 50,000 people.
• Parade? Absolutely you should be in it. You could also do what Kiss in Cincy did but in reverse. For St. Patricks Day a couple years back they entered a Cinco de Mayo float and handed out thousands of jars of salsa. They were very apologetic. Their calendar got screwed up.
• You can stick "Cinco" in front of pretty much anything. Cinco de Tickets. Cinco de Flicko. Cinco de Clubs. Cinco de Brazilian Exchange Students.
• One of my favorite Wild/San Francisco weekend promotions was "Mexican Or Not?" They named an artist, like Ricky Martin or Shakira or Gloria Estefan and you had to call in and say whether they were Mexican Or Not to win.
• Mexican Idol? Very simple. Find a karaoke company that has lyrics printed in Spanish. Have listeners warble along in Spanish to "Sexy Back" and other hits.
• Post-Sacramento it might be difficult to get a jalapeno eating contest past corporate, but you should try. Power in Miami had someone do that for Superbowl tix a few years back. It was amazing. And very visual when they were regifted onto the sidewalk.
• I'm sure The Human Pinata was around pre-Mancow but the first I ever heard of it was with him in San Francisco. Basically you hang an intern from a crane, tape prizes to him/her/it and then allow listeners to beat them off (?!) with a Nerf bat.
• Worlds Largest Margarita? Anytime you stick "World's Largest" in front of an item or event, you're 50% more likely to get press. Kiddy pool would be necessary.
• How about doing an "S.O.B. Party"? South Of The Border trips for people who wins various contests.
• I think it was Cayrock on Grand Cayman that did an event last year that played off illegal immigrants and required listeners to crawl under a fence to get between two club gigs.