CPR Promotional Check-Up - Apr 6, 2012

Gas Go BOOM!

Historically, going back to the 70's, the price of gas goes up and down and when it peaks some station will take over a gas station and sell it for a discounted price and that evening they're the #1 news story.

As happened yesterday with FRED-FM in Fredericton and Kiss in Boise, and will happen todaywith Jamz in Birmingham.

In Fredericton, they brought back Gas Man, a caped character and got four TV news including this story on a station that owns the competition. http://atlantic.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20120405/gas_discount_120405/20120405/?hub=AtlanticHome All of this for the price of $1200.

Kiss in Boise had a perfect alignment of planets:

• They incorporated the police into the promotion by giving out "Don't Text And Drive" wrist bands
• They kept the location secret but did NOT use the old "We're taking over another station" crutch
• They stickered all the cars
• Please note the pump nozzle in the TV shots: stickered.
• And...they used Gas Man

One of the TV reporters said that Gas Man was the star of the promotion. He was the "visual". http://www.ktvb.com/news/Local-radio-station-gives-away-free-gas-in-Boise-146362535.html

The almost downside to the police involvement was that it ran stupidly smoothly. Six motorcycle officers handled the traffic and it went so quickly that Steve Kicklighter had to purposely slow it down so that there were still cars in line when TV was going for the live shot. (The station did what you ALWAYS do when picking a location; they chose a BUSY street so that there would be mayhem and traffic jams, but it ran like clockwork. Dang.)