It all started with a dream. Lewis Kalb from Medford Lakes, New Jersey wanted to be a play-by-play announcer for the Philadelphia Phillies. So he bid heavily in the Phillies Phantastic Auction. He won the chance to call the third inning of a recent game against the Washington Nationals.
According to an article on Awful Announcing, the seventy-three-year-old Kalb sat down and sounded like he’d been calling games his entire life. His delivery sounded like a throwback to days gone by.
He could have been compared to the greats like Vin Scully with the Dodgers. Similarly, Ernie Harwell — whom I remember calling Tigers games on WJR when I was growing up in Detroit — delivered with the same polish. You can hear Kalb’s call in the video below.
Football Fans Get Their Moment
Moving to football, the Akron Zips unveiled a promotion to make another dream come true. Specifically, the Zip’s Offensive Coordinator of the Game giveaway gives one season ticket holder a unique opportunity. They will help script the first offensive series for the team’s home opener.
An article in the Sporting News quotes Athletic Director Andrew Goodrich as saying, “This is about giving one of our most loyal supporters a seat at the table, right alongside our coaching staff, on the biggest night of the season.” Head Coach Joe Moorhead, who could easily hate this idea, gave the promotion his seal of approval. “This will give our fans a behind-the-scenes experience that has never been done before anywhere, so I’m excited to show them how to put together the opening script and see what they can do.”
The Power of Fan Passion
Sports fans are a special breed. These opportunities give them a chance to get closer to their favorite teams. Similarly, Classic Rock fans are a special breed that love their team. Just like sports fans, they passionately debate other people for hours. They discuss the greatest guitarist or best album. That’s why countdowns work so well on our stations. That’s also why promotions like what the Phillies and Zips did are such amazing opportunities.
There is no shortage of ways to get your listeners involved with the station. First, you can bring in listeners to be guest hosts, just like the Phillies did. Moreover, you can let them pick the music for a segment. Alternatively, you can let them be the announcer and talk about the songs they get to play. Furthermore, bring them behind the scenes and let them help with scheduling a log. If your station does two-for-Tuesday, this is a great way to pick the second half of the set. Definitely, let a fan of your station make some of those decisions. Ultimately, there are a million ways to bring listeners into the fold.
Making the Most of Limited Budgets
This type of promotion is especially valuable in an age when there are no marketing budgets. Your station needs exposure to get people to tune in. This gives you a way to tap into your listener’s networks. Consequently, a good promotion like the ones described above should lead to plenty of material the listener can post on their favorite platforms. That will spread to their friends and followers. Your station becomes a topic of conversation — something I’m sure it is not on the average day.
Of course, I do understand the concerns. Listeners, especially the ones who really value an opportunity like this, can be a lot. The fear they could steer the station off course is not unfounded. However, with the proper guardrails baked into the promotion, there is no reason you shouldn’t keep things under control. Plus, like the squirrel I wrote about recently, maybe occasionally being a little out of control isn’t the worst thing you can do.
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David Hill serves as a Music Radio Editor, Columnist and Features writer for Barrett Media. A radio lifer with more than 30 years behind the mic, in the control room, and in the program director’s chair, David’s career spans influential stops at brands such as WIYY 98 Rock, WBAL-AM, and 99X. He has worked across multiple formats and ownership groups, including iHeartMedia and Cumulus Media, developing talent, breaking music, and navigating every major industry shift from diary to PPM and terrestrial dominance to streaming disruption. When he’s not writing or analyzing the industry, Dave runs The Tune Farm, a marketing firm built to help artists and brands grow audience the same way great radio always has—by creating connection, not just impressions. He can be reached at David@BarrettMedia.com.