You think about it everyday. You turn on the TV or scroll through Twitter and are bombarded with news about the economic impact of Covid-19. It may be tempting to jump on board with President Trump’s plan to reopen American businesses by Easter, but medical experts say that’s a terrible idea.
Do you try to find a way to help? Do you turn the news off and try to escape it, even for just a moment of peace? It can be overwhelming.
In Denver, Altitude Sports Radio has taken the first option. The station is using social media to entertain listeners and support local businesses. All of it is done under the headline of “Here for you in quarantine.”
The idea started with a plethora of Visa gift cards. The station started giving them away to social media followers in a number of different ways. Some of the contests were as simple as asking followers to retweet a video message and tag a local business they’d like to support.
Not only did listeners respond, but local businesses did too. There is a sense of gratitude and excitement in the way the station has embraced the community.
“We have a great promotions team and digital coordinator in Alex Rajameani,” Program Director Dave Tepper told me via email. “We took a successful model for our ticket giveaways and applied it to online cash gift cards. We keep the concept simple to follow. We randomly select winners from the people that participate which are easy to track because they have to work off our original post.”
Altitude hosts have joined in too. They obviously can’t win the gift card, but they’ve been using their social following to promote their favorite Denver restaurants that need local support.
Other gift card giveaways have been a little more involved. Marty O, who produces Altitude Sports Radio’s morning show Moser, Lombardi, and Kane, recently scored a viral hit with a video he created using his Swiffer and a Roomba.
The video was retweeted more than 242,000 times. Canadian sports TV duo Jay and Dan from TSN’s SportsCentre helped bring the video to the masses by featuring it on their show. The Altitude morning hosts jokingly called it “the most viral video in the history of sports.”
Marty’s video was enough to inspire other Altitude listeners. The show used Visa gift cards not only to help local businesses, but to help listeners as well. On Twitter, Marty asked followers to send in their “not all sports are cancelled” videos.
Social distancing and quarantine can free up a lot of time. Clearly, Altitude Sports Radio listeners used that time to try and top Marty in what was dubbed the #MartyOlympics.
Andy Lindahl of Altitude Sports Radio’s afternoon show Kreckman & Lindahl got in on the action as well.
The stations mid day show Harris, Hastings, and Dover got behind another idea called Take Out Tuesday. The hosts are encouraging listeners to spend money with local businesses and order out for lunch on Tuesdays.
“As a lineman, I have a personal interest in keeping my favorite restaurants open,” former NFL offensive lineman and mid day host Ryan Harris says.
Harris is a guy that writes books about success and gives motivational speeches to companies around the country about leadership and persistence. If anyone understands there is no “one size fits all” solution for small businesses right now, it’s him. He views the way he and and other Altitude staffers are stepping up for Denver businesses as teamwork for the good of the community.
“The impulse when we go through adversity is to feel like we are alone. Well, this is a way for us to tell the people worried about not just their health, but their livelihoods that ‘hey, you’re not alone,'” he says. “You’ve got a community and we’re going to support the places that really are stalwarts of our community.”
Brett Kane and Marc Moser of the station’s morning show carried the idea into another day of the week. Their show is supporting Take Out Fridays.
Afternoon host Nate Kreckman has spent most of his life in Denver. He told me that he isn’t surprised by the way locals have responded to calls to support small businesses in and around the city.
“It’s a cliche, but Denver really is a big small town. We have a great food scene, we’re one of the beer capitols of the world, and people know each other and care about each other. This thing sucks, but it’s been really encouraging to see how people are doing what they can to help each other out and keep the world moving…from a safe distance, of course.”
There is no way to make this moment in American history less scary. No one knows how long these conditions will last or what American life will look like on the other side. People are worried about their physical and financial health.
Altitude Sports Radio has found a way to create content that makes a difference in the moment in their community. Whether it makes a difference for the businesses getting the exposure in the long run remains to be seen, but those answers will come in the future. Right now, the station is doing all it can for Denver in an uncertain and unsettling time. That has to count for something.
Demetri Ravanos is a columnist and features writer for Barrett Media. He is also the creator of The Sports Podcast Festival, and a previous host on the Chewing Clock and Media Noise podcasts. He occasionally fills in on stations across the Carolinas in addition to hosting Panthers and College Football podcasts. His radio resume includes stops at WAVH and WZEW in Mobile, AL, WBPT in Birmingham, AL and WBBB, WPTK and WDNC in Raleigh, NC.
You can find him on Twitter @DemetriRavanos or reach him by email at DemetriTheGreek@gmail.com.
