CPR Promotional Check-Up - Oct 28, 2020

Iconic Carpet (another great Alt Band name coopted by my eblasts)

If you are at a station that has access to your own site and social media and are allowed to do stuff, here’s your background for next week.

Halloween Blood Drive

One of the coolest promotions that I ever inherited was a blood drive on Halloween. The techs and personnel were WAY into the theme and were dressed up in costumes. Instead of orange juice they had Hawaiian Punch. Candy. Souvenir photos in little cardboard frames. It was FUN. Look at the grand prize that ‘ZHT is offering up to one donor at their event next Friday.

An Election Free Guarantee

A very wise and kind (he has never sent me a profane email)(Yet) sent me this yesterday, re the election: “It feels like the biggest piece of show prep our talent will face in a few weeks, it’s also the elephant in the room.”

He would be right.

1. It’s all that anyone is talking about.
2. It’s also the thing that no one wants to hear anything more about.

My friend Teresa, the Happiest Nurse In Oregon™ is unplugging from social media. She literally can not take any more. And she would be about the 10th person I know who has stepped away until at least the 4th.

Back when Radio was fun and we didn’t overthink things and something LIKE the election would come along, stations would make a pledge to not mention it. They would be a haven from the hype. And they would even offer a prize if you caught them screwing up, ie during the OJ Trial: “I stopped at the Kwik Trip for breakfast and they were sold out of OJ…” a horn would go off and the talent would have to shell out $102 or tickets.

I saw it done with Paris Hilton and with some other pop culture stories that just wouldn’t die.

So offer The Election Free Guarantee. We’re your safe harbor from the storm. We WON’T stop reminding you to vote but you will not hear our DJ’s mention the election, and then provide a list of words that are banned until the 4th. Include terms like “You need to do the research…” and throw in something just stupid and random like, “steamer trunk.” Don’t include the candidate’s names. Just stuff like “poll”, “donate”, “margin of error”, “debate” and “New World Order.”

Why? Because we need to acknowledge the story in such a way that it’s funny but won’t have angry mobs in your parking lot. We’ll save that for National Breast Feeding Day.