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In the past, Thanksgiving marked the official start of the holiday season. Now, with stations launching Christmas Music on Halloween and Walmart having their Christmas trees out in July, perhaps only a slight exaggeration, the kickoff has moved up.
There are options if you find your station is still looking for a clever Thanksgiving promotion. I reached out to programmers for some ideas that you might be able to configure for your brand. Just no WKRP Turkey Drop, please.
Chad Ruffer, Group Director of Programming Bonneville Sacramento, “…you mean they don’t fly, and you shouldn’t drop them from a helicopter? I’ve done bowling for birds before, where listeners use frozen turkeys as bowling balls and try to win prizes, and then all the turkeys get donated to the local food bank. I’m also a big fan of using this holiday as a bonding opportunity with the staff to simply donate a few hours at a local food bank, helping make or serve meals. There was also a year when I was at MAGIC in Colorado Springs where we gave the entire staff the day off and pardoned one turkey and let him jock all the shifts that day.”
Jimmy Brooks, Director of Programming 100.7 The Tiger, Baton Rouge, said, “While we haven’t had a WKRP-style turkey drop, we’ve definitely had some fun and impactful Thanksgiving promotions at The Tiger!!!
Every year, we partner with St. Vincent de Paul and a local grocery store to host a holiday food drive. It’s a great way to give back to our community and help those in need.
We also love to get our listeners involved with annual contests like our Cutest Pet Contest. It’s always a fun way to spread some holiday cheer and let listeners submit photos of their pets dressed up in their best holiday gear!
This year, we’re excited to introduce our “Sparkling Holiday Memories” contest. This is a fun opportunity for listeners to share their favorite holiday memories and win a beautiful piece of jewelry that is custom made and valued at $1500.00 from a local jeweler.
We’re also hosting a daily Christmas tree giveaway the week of Thanksgiving, with a live broadcast from a local tree farm. It’s a great way to kick off the holiday season and get families into the Christmas spirit.”
Buzz Knight Consultant and President of Buzz Knight Media, “We did a ‘Dinner on the Mayflower.’ Promotion where we served up Thanksgiving Dinner on a Mayflower moving van with all of the fixings along with an appearance by members of the on-air staff.”
“I’m pretty sure we did a turkey bowling event with frozen turkeys on another occasion, but I feel like I am suppressing the memory because it was a messy disaster.”
Brian Figula, Director of Programming Operations, Bonneville San Francisco, said, “The only thing I can think of is in the 90s as a promotions assistant at Banana 101.5 in Flint, Michigan, doing Turkey Bowling in a high traffic area parking lot. The bowling ball was a massive frozen turkey. Throw a strike and qualify for KISS tickets.”
If you would like to share an idea or promotion, email jeff@barrettmedia.com
Jeff Lynn serves as Editor of Barrett Media’s Music Radio coverage. Prior to joining Barrett Media, Jeff spent time programming in Milwaukee, Omaha, Cleveland, Des Moines, and Madison for multiple radio groups, including iHeartMedia, Townsquare Media, NRG Media, and Entercom (now Audacy). He also worked as a Country Format Editor for All Access until the outlet shut down in August 2023.
To get in touch with Jeff by email, reach him at Jeff@BarrettMedia.com.
