CPR Promotional Check-Up

Drop It And Drive It

The "win a key" thing is so old that Kevorikian once had a bid in to push the plunger. David Letterman made a career out of dropping stuff off buildings. What if you took the names of your qualifiers, wrote them on ping pong balls, and dropped them off your roof or from a crane. On the ground? Someone who is blindfolded and with a butterfly net. They madly wave it around and whoevers' ball gets caught, wins the car.

Not A Good Idea. Not Even A Great One. Just A Fair Suggestion

It's fair and festival season in the upper Midwest. Every freaking town and county has one. And they DRAW thousands. You need to be at them. Period. The essence of marketing a radio station is to get your staff out to meet as many people as possible. And what better place to do that then at a county fair. The politicians are all there. They know the value of these things.

I was at the Washington County Fair in idyllic Lake Elmo, Minnesota the other night. (It's all you would expect and more) Throngs. Masses. A churning cauldron of humanity. Devoid of radio stations.

Anyway, about every fifteen minutes the speakers would run pre-recorded announcements, like, "Don't forget the parade tonight at 6 pm!" and "Be sure to visit the FFA building for the talent show this afternoon at 3!" Why couldn't these have been done by a morning show?

102 Jamz in Orlando worked out a cool deal a couple of years ago when they were the official station for some 4th of July festival in Kissimmee. All of the crowd announcements were done by the airstaff. Very cool. They just had to ask.

Fair Factor

In need of something to do at your booth? First, what can you pony up for a grand prize? One of the stations I consult has their big fair starting next week. A rock band to remain-nameless is playing one night. One of those acts that were huge in the 70's and 80's and now boast "with three original members!" They worked out that a winner can be their roadie for the day. Whatever you have as a prize, Fair Factor, ie: having listeners crawl through the pig pens or live in the porta potties, is always big. An instantly relatable name.

A Fair Affair To Remember

Another station that I "do" (a full client list is at www.cpr-promotions.com) is going to find a couple who met at their big fair a million years ago and are going to have them renew their vows, surrounded by family and grandkids, at the fair. Instead of throwing a bouquet, the wedding party will go down the giant slide in tandem.