Fools On Parade
April 1 is not far away. Does your station take part in the annual April Fool’s Day effort to trick people into believing the bizarre or absurd? One of the most fun April 1 promotions I ever did was the “Fools On Parade.”
It’s labor intensive, but invite your listeners to enter the parade with their most foolish idea. The first critical step is to design your parade route and get the proper permit from the city. Once your permit has been accepted the city will be ready with things such as blocking off streets and having police in the area.
I made the route way too long the first time I did it. That left both sparse and packed viewing along the route.
It will work best if there are first, second, and third place CASH prizes. Make sure you invite the local television stations. Another way to gain attention is to invite well-known people in your city to serve as judges.
Set up a viewing stand along the route and stream the parade live on your socials.
There are far too many moving parts to list here. If you are interested in more details, email me here.
Closest To The Pinhead
Try this if you’re looking for a different way to raise charity dollars, raise awareness, and get coverage.
First, you need to get with the local hockey team and borrow a goal-tender outfit. Then, take your marquee personality clad in hockey gear and wired for broadcast and put them about 150 – 175 yards out on a local driving range.
Invite listeners and let them have a bucket of five balls. You can charge a set amount or let them offer a free will donation. I’ve generally found that giving people that choice will cause them to give more than with a fixed amount.
Then, they drive the balls of the tee toward the pinhead. If someone hits them, and I only had this happen twice, and it was on a bounce, they win the sponsor-provided grand prize. Otherwise, throughout the event, put down a pin where someone comes close.
If someone insists on participating without a contribution, let them so as to not violate the prize, chance, consideration.
Caution: When I did this promotion, it was with smaller companies that were not heavily regulated or burdened by legal. Get a signoff from legal before proceeding.
Givin O’ The Green
If your state has a lottery, as most states now do, except where I live in Nevada, where, surprisingly, the lottery is not allowed.
Most games and states have a promotion budget, and I have found that they can be generous with their “lottery bucks.” Give them out to listeners at a St. Patrick’s Day remote. It’s a fun event. Make sure you give them away with no purchase necessary, or you will run afoul of the very people who provided the prize.
I’m guessing that a few of you rolled your eyes when I said give them away at a remote. I want to share some thoughts on that.
When I was programming, I did everything I could to persuade the sales team not to sell remotes. I was wrong.
In the CRS NuVooDoo research presentation, the value of local personalities being out in the community and connecting one-on-one with listeners stood out. In a recent feature piece I wrote about Steve Salhany, PD for Audacy in Boston and Providence, he told me, “I think if you don’t do that, you’re screwed. I tell my folks all the time it’s kind of equated to politics. It’s about your ground game. The people need to see you, and you meet people, and one leads to another. We have to win our audience’s affection and time.” (BMM 2/21)
Looking back, I had let something slide, which I had taught for years about how to do remotes. We/I had gotten lazy.
The excuse was that the Saturday car dealership remote was just a way to feed the salespeople free hot dogs or pizza or that the same ten people always came for the free food. If that is the case, you are to blame.
Every event has a vibe. It is implicant on your talent to describe or create it. In remote breaks, don’t sell, “Come on out and spin the prize wheel or grab a free hotdog.” Do you think most people will come out to spin the wheel for a free station koozie?
Instead, have the talent play to the listener’s imagination. Imagine yourself sitting on a brand-new Harley. Running down the road with the exhaust pipe saying potato potato potato. There are 40 new Harleys here at Jeff’s Harley Davidson. Come by, and we can help you make that dream happen.”
Granted, a new Harley is not exactly an impulse buy, but the point is to tap into the vibe, put the listener into the experience, and invite them to come and take part.
When you get the listeners there, you must look like the showbiz personality they think you are. A card table and a table skirt won’t do that.
Most importantly, don’t just stand behind a table looking uninterested. Don’t use the excuse of going somewhere quiet to do your break.
Many personalities are surprisingly shy and self-conscience outside their studio’s comfort. Remember, it’s show business, and people like to see you in action. Get out from behind that table, interact, and let them see you do your thing.
Look at the dealer if you have ever been to a casino and passed an empty blackjack table. You will most likely see them standing with their hands on the table with their palms up. Of course, part of that is to discourage theft, but it also serves as a subtle invitation to join.
These simple steps will create an event and bring listeners to your client’s location. It’s your job to get them there and let their team take it from there.
I would love to spotlight and share what your station is doing. Email me at jeff@barrettmedia.com.
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.
