March Madness and The Final Four are just around the corner. Like the Super Bowl, every staff member should be admonished about using these two trademarked names. In this case, Just DON’T Do it.
I worked at a Classic Rock station where March brought the “Brackets Of Rock.” Choose 68 bands and solo singers and create a bracket.
Feature one bracket at a time, make voting available on the website, and promote heavily on socials.
The last time I did this, I was surprised by a Facebook comment from Peter Frampton, who posted telling people in his particular bracket to vote for Fleetwood Mac instead of him.
Another bracket is the Cutest Pet. Have people submit pictures of their pets. Pick 68 and let listeners vote for the cutest.
Country Music has traditionally been artist-driven. Country stations can create a bracket with albums. Garth Brooks’s “No Fences” vs. George Strait’s “Troubadour” will generate a response, as will Kenny Chesney’s ‘No Shirt, No Shoes No Problem” vs. Luke Bryan’s “Crash My Party.”
With Classic Rock, I was always a fan of theme weekends. It was a good way to put a different presentation on the same songs. Or, as one of my early mentors, Phil Wilson, used to put it, “Same S&$t different shovel.”
I don’t like Block Party Weekends or three or four songs from the same artist. My theory is that if you don’t like U2 and here comes a block of four, I just lost you, and it may be a while before you come back.
The exception might be during March Madness. Make sure to word it carefully to avoid infringing on the trademarks, but a “Final Four Play” is timely and fun.
And just for the record, I can use those phrases since this is in a news and opinion column. I’ve heard some stations that do not allow the news and sports reporters to say, Final Four. That’s not necessary if it’s not a promotion or for marketing purposes.
Have fun with this. I would love to hear what your station does for The Final Four. Email your best to jeff@barrettmedia.com
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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.
