CPR Promotional Check-Up

Promotional Prospecting

One of the GM's asked me about traits that all great radio stations have in common. I said that one thing they all do, is mine for opportunities. They seize on stuff that everyone ignores. They look at everything as a chance to have fun and make noise. And since these things usually cost ZIP to do, then you should really have your radar up.

Case-in-point: Hot 96 in Evansville. Jason Addams got a request from some highschool to help with a fundraiser for a new dugout for the ball field. Jason is smart. Uber smart. He knew that instead of just donating some CD's for a raffle, this is a chance to make noise and ingratiate themselves even deeper into the community. So they have several very cool, sounds-larger-then-life, costs-nothing plans ready to pop.

Stuff like this is out there. You just have to have the nose to sniff it out.

Smart Cars

One of the stations has one to give away. They're kinda cool but would rate them as being in the Organ Doner category of survivable car crashes. If you got one, you could:

• Do the "Doomed Groom". Get five of them just for contesting purposes. Put a guy and his future Mother-in-Law in each car and they live there until everyone but one pair drop out. Dude wins a wedding. Mom wins the car.
• Do "Are Your Smarter Then A Radio Account Executive?" Take a caller, step out into the Sales area, grab an AE, and ask them each a question. Beat the AE and qualify.
• Stars Cars has been done to death. With a Smart Car, the only true celebrity small enough for the role would be Vern Troyer.
• What about "Waste Management Idol"? You get ten garbage truck drivers who are each assigned to a listener. They drive, timed, an obstacle course and have to parallel park their truck. Best time. Fewest knocked over cones, wins for the listener.

Party Girl

Because, at the end of the day, it's all about owning the streets AND getting webhits, Hot 89.9 in Ottawa has merged them together: Party Girl is a 'character' we created alongside one of our largest clients (who own 10+ bars/venues in the Byward market downtown Ottawa) to attend events/parties every long weekend at their various venues.

Basically, she's out every night Tuesday-Sunday leading into the long weekend. She does live cut-ins each night, she's out with the Street Team taking pictures, handing out prizes, ultimately to add some animation to the party atmosphere. She's in her early 20's so she's 'one of them'; she can relate to 20 something's that love to go out and know a good party when they see one.

We also send her out to host special events - mainly parties (ie. She hosted a season finale party for 'The Hills', she's introduced performing acts on stage at the Reggae Festival, hosted one of our NYE parties, etc)

Pics are at www.hot899.com under Paparazzi.

Off The Grid And On The Wheel

You have a little over a month until Earth Day. One of the stations has a promo request from their local MLB franchise for a "green promotion". I'd have a guy mow the outfield with one of those 1950's style push mowers, and get choice seats and green beer for his efforts.

A station-to-remain-nameless is looking at taking the station off the grid and having the website powered by a gerbil in a running wheel. ("Gerbil", as a term, is Comedy Gold) They're trying to working out the kinks so that when the gerbil stops running, the screen dims a bit.