CPR Promotional Check-Up - Mar 24, 2011

Earth Day

April 22nd. 41st anniversary.

One Hug At A Time One of the oldest and quickly becoming cliché’d launch bits for a morning host is to go and sit in every seat in a stadium. I never quite understood that. But then, I like watching “Boy Meets World” in Telemundo. KS-95 started their morning show in Minny by having them go out and try to shake hands with every listener in town.

What if you morphed these and had the morning show go out on Earth Day to a park and hug every tree in it. Walk up, thank them for the clean air, give them a hug and add “I love you man!” Attaching the web graphic from one of the stations from last year.

Shaken, Not Stirred From B-103.9 in Ft. Myers where last year they did“Earth Week”. “When it’s time to save the planet, the 18th caller will shake our Earth Tree and win whatever falls out. Naples Zoo tickets, Katy Perry tix, Nickelback tix. Everyone who wins also gets a tree seedling to plant and help make the earth a little bit greener.”

The Station That Gives You Wood McDonalds in the Twin Cities does an annual thing. On that Saturday every store in the 11 county region has hundreds of little bagged saplings. Free. Just some in and get one. And I do. Why? It’s a FREE TREE. Why wouldn’t I? Got a nursery that wants to play? Here’s the hook.

Free Grass!!! KSFM in Sacramento successfully landed on the radar of the local police when they gave out Ziploc baggies of grass (seed) with their weekend contest that also included Snoop tickets.

Really Not That Huge Of A Departure Chet, Lauren and Spence at KLUC ran recycled bits last year for their morning show on Earth Day.

Hail To The Bus Driver, Bus Driver Man! From the lovely and lithe J Kruz at Rewind 97.3 in Cincinnati: In 2010 partnered with the transit bus system (and got a buy out of it) and Julie was a bus riding eco-warrior on Earth Day. First, she rode the bus into work to show how easy it is and how much money can be saved + saving the environment and such. Then, she broadcast from a brand new Hybrid bus that went into service that day and give everyone free bus fares along the way.

For Your Coffee Clients They all have organic beans and blends. Have a link to their site so you can buy them and a donation goes to a local parks program (which ARE getting gutted by cuts). Also, get theromovats and with the OK from the transit company, be at park ‘n rides percolating commuters.

Actual Global Warming Intern. Magnifying glass. Classroom-style globe you might find at a thrift shop. On-line pool on how long it will take him to set it on fire just using the sun’s power.

What Would Google Do? Two years ago they surrounded their logo with forest wildlife. Got a “0” in your dial position? Stick a spinning globe in there. Or turn the site green for the day. Or, just blow it off. Everyone else will. Which, from my school of thought is reason TO do something.

Actual Gerbil Power This has been bandied about by a couple of stations and no one has yet pulled it off. For Earth Day you’re taking the station off the grid and having it powered by a gerbil. Website is just a live (not) shot of a gerbil running in one of those little things. Put a sticker behind him and PRESS RELEASE THE WORLD. (It’s just a continuous loop shot of him/her/it running. In a perfect world they would pause and the screen would dim just a little)

Festivals There’s going to be stuff in every market. Be there. Duh. But have some common sense about your setup. Having a big gas powered generator belching smoke will kind of make you look stupid.

Bikes & The Bikers Who Bike Them First off, and I can NOT possibly emphasize this enough; people who are into riding bikes have no sense of humor. This is not the day to do a prank or a bit about biking. I’d get some fencing, create a little corral, have some interns to monitor it and watch the bikes of people who ride them downtown that day, for free. Get a client and incentivize the mode of transport; get some free organic ice cream from Ben & Jerry’s.

For The Website Have some tips from home repair and auto maintenance people on basic “any idiot can do this” (that would be me) suggestions for cutting down on AC use and increasing gas mileage. Go. Sell. Now.

The Diminishing Ice Pack Few years ago on one of those temperate Memphis days in July (read: 108) Q-107.5 froze some tickets in a frozen Q (hotel banquet ice carver did it) Guess how long until they “melted out” and fell to the pavement, to win them. Photo attached. This has “Earth Day” written all over it. The prize could be whatever you have immediately available and you needed a topical hook.