Earlier this week, my Barrett Media colleague John Mamola wrote a column titled, “Radio Must Be Better at Telling Its Own Story.” In the piece, he wrote that radio needs to be more positive, tell its story, and “Capitalize on The Moment.”
While not entirely the same, it made me think of one of my pet peeves regarding radio telling its own story.
Stations invest in promotions that award prizes like trip giveaways, concert tickets, and cash giveaways. Big flashy promos and web pages are created, and the talent sells them as if they are the best thing to come along in years.
Sometimes, it spans several weeks, culminating in the big moment of awarding the prize and announcing the winner. Then what? Far too often, nothing.
You have spent all this time and money and now you’re done with it and on to the next thing. This is where radio often fails big time.
Brag promos about it featuring the winner are nice, but often aren’t done. You spent time convincing your listeners that they HAD to have this, so give it a long tail.
If you send someone to a concert, have them send you photos or a video of the event. The same goes for a vacation. Have them on the show when they return to tell you about it. Have them paint a picture about how great it was.
Ask them to record a snippet that goes into a station winners promo. Run that promo monthly or quarterly, bragging about your winners and the great experiences your station provided. Don’t wait until the end of the year and talk about totals.
I know what you are thinking right now. My company runs national contests, which makes it even more important to have a winner promo. When I was working for one of the majors that did national contesting, they provided winner audio. It just rarely got used other than the moment the prize was awarded.
One thing that I have seen periodically in market research is listeners’ doubt that radio contests are legit and that people actually win. Doing the follow-up will go a long way toward putting that to bed.
I would love to hear and share what you are doing to spotlight what you are doing to showcase your winners. Email me at jeff@barrettmedia.com
Community Connections:
97.1 The Drive WDRV in Chicago, alongside its morning hosts Sherman & Tingle, successfully wrapped up its eighth annual “Give a Vet a Pet” campaign. The campaign has raised $113,164 for providing service dogs to veterans with PTSD.
Kat Country 103 and 104.1 The Hawk in Modesto/Stockton, CA collaborated to raise $212,200 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Saga Communications Illini Media Group, Champaign, IL raised over 381,000 meals for the local community during its 16th annual Prom Benefit for Hunger Relief.
Bicoastal Media’s “Q100.3” KRWQ in Medford, OR, raised over $187,000 during its 22nd annual Country Cares for St. Jude Kids radiothon.
Des Moines Classic Rock radio station 95 KGGO and Country station Nash-FM 97.3 KHKI joined forces to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital during the annual Music Gives to St. Jude Radiothon. The two-day event raised $81,523.
Industry Happenings:
iHeartMedia’s Chief Legal Officer, Jordan Fasbender, has announced her resignation, which will take effect around April 1. She is set to pursue a new opportunity outside the organization.
NAB 2025 will again host the Small and Medium Market forum on April 5 in Las Vegas.
Add Ons:
Townsquare Media has let ESPN Quad Cities 1170 KBOB and Translator 104.1 go dark, citing economic conditions in the market. The company also shut down Red Dirt Country 92.5 KMWX Abilene, TX.
vCreative, a leading provider of media workflow software, has unveiled a new integration between its vPromotions and PromoSuite Mail products. This enhancement aims to simplify the management of contests and communications within the broadcasting industry.
Katz Media Group raised over $47,000 for Broadcast Foundation Of America during its annual fundraiser. BFOA helps broadcasters in times of need
SiriusXM has officially launched Page Six Radio, a new daily morning show that brings listeners the latest updates in celebrity and pop culture news directly from the renowned Page Six of the New York Post.
The Local Radio Freedom Act (LRFA) has been reintroduced in Congress, gaining attention in both the House and the Senate. The LRFA aims to reinforce congressional resistance against introducing new performance fees, taxes, or royalties on radio stations, pushing back against initiatives from the music industry that seek to amend federal copyright law.
Barrett Media produces daily content on the music, news, and sports media industries. To stay updated, sign up for our newsletters and get the latest information delivered straight to your inbox.
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.
