CPR Promotional Check-Up - Apr 21, 2015

Theme & Water Parks

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A lovely and talented and lithe Cumulus PD was maybe the tenth person in the last week to request ideas for their local joint. So, to be proactive and preemptive and all that stuff, here ya go:

• Rename a ride for a day and give out a dial position number of tickets for the inaugural run on the Cannon Ball or the Daveinator
• KDWB's Survive It And Drive it with listeners on a coaster at Valleyfair got a documented 52 minutes of TV coverage over 9 days.
• If you plan on having a birthday or anniversary this summer, there's really no better location for a "day".
• Theme Park Mogul. I love that game. Do it on the website with accrued points. Winner gets a pass for the summer
• There aren't TOO many universals (Records, Studios, Dave) but one of them is that sticking a DJ on a ride to raise money for charity will get press. Google "Jerry Clifton" and you'll find photos of him from the 70's when he was living on a ride at Coney Island. KSFM stuck Juan on a ride at the California State Fair and was literally on every TV station between Fresno and Oregon.
• For a weekend, hide QR codes around the park and make them "worth" points and prizes.
• If your park has Dipping Dots, do a live web-cammed feed of the morning show scooping a cone and dipping it. Guess on-line how many dots will stick and win passes to the park if you were right.
• Jo Jo when he was at Wild in SFO, became the General Manager of Great America for a day. He set prices, operated rides, greeted people, took people and cut them to the front of the line, served food...basically was omnipresent and accommodating.
• Can you make it "(Station) Day" and knock off a dial position cost off the price of admission. Have broadcasts from all corners of the park. Maybe wrap up with a concert in the evening.
• A couple of the stations have had permanent b-cast facilities where they can go, flip a switch and be live whenever it's a nice day. And if you think about it, what sounds more like "summer" in your market; a nice sanitized studio break, or being out surrounded by thousands of people with music and laughter and the shriek of the coaster screaming past?
• KLUC in Las Vegas has, for several summers, gone and done at least one shift every Wednesday at Wet & Wild. That's where the locals are, so that's where the station is. Look at the numbers; not many stations in that format with those kind of ratings. And it's because of stuff like this.
• Dave Ryan did "Theme Park Virgins" and took people who, for whatever reason, had never been to one of these places, out for a day.
• What if you did an on-line contest where you send each of the airstaff on the most terrifying ride at the place. Miked and videoed. The visual on the website has no sound and then you have a separate listing of audio clips. Match the scream to the announcer to win tickets.
• I also like the idea of doing something similar to a caption contest; you download the video and dub-in your own yelling and screaming. Post these and have people vote.
• There is usually a new attraction each year. In the spirit of the inauguration this week, give out seats on the inaugural run, complete with a commemorative DVD and t-shirt.
• "Whirl Till You Hurl" is another marathon promotion. A different spin, literally, would be to take the stunt boy, feed him heaping helpings of food from the park, stick him on the Tilt A Whirl. Listeners have to guess how long until he re-gifts. Video would become a million hit youtube sensation.
• Friday Night Live. A mix show or dance at the park every Friday night.
• A themepark is a great place for dates. Pretty much any Valentines promotion could be done there during the Summer, ie: Blind Dates. Kissing Marathons. A wedding on a coaster or underwater at the wavepool.
• What if you did a Renewal Of Vows for a couple whose first date, years ago, was at the park. All their family and grandkids could be there. The whole day at the park is their Re-Reception.
• Summer is a big time for class reunions. But was about the class of '90 or '81; classes who don't have one on the schedule for this year. Do a series of reunions for everyone say, who graduated in '92 from a highschool, come out this Saturday. Show your old ID or other evidence you were from that class and get a price knocked off admission.
• If it's a water park, I'd have the audience pick the swimwear for the staff. Have a selection to choose from on the website. Including a few from www.ahiida.com
• Sandcastle building is great. I've done it as office competitions and yes; you can rent sand for a day.
• Rewind in Cincinnati has stumbled on Field Trips as an umbrella for sending entire workplaces "away" for a day. NO ONE has a bad connotation of this term. These were the highlights of youth. Filed Trips to (local joint) would be large.
• Wild in SFO used to have concerts at Raging Waters. Lay on your air mattress and watch a concert. Also has been done as Dive In Movies.
• Make sure to have roving bands of promo staff taking shots and posting them.
• First, if you're going to do a remote at a theme park, mike yourself and ride the rides. Most theme park broadcasts are as exciting as a remote from Popeyes. One of the stations has been tasked to do "something" on opening day. They're looking at doing a cellphone scavenger hunt. As everyone comes in they're given a list of things to take a photo of when they're strolling the park.
  1. Little boy with ice cream on his shirt
  2. Baby in stroller
  3. Strolling musician
  4. Someone screaming on a ride
  5. Someone wearing a Dale Earnhardt t-shirt
  6. A guy wearing a fanny pack
  7. A smiling park employee
  8. A park employee cleaning up litter with tongs
  9. Someone laying down on a park bench
  10. A family all dressed similarly

  Bring in your cell phone to the station jock and win a prize if you found all ten.