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Flattery Will Get You Everywhere
December 6, 2022
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They say the biggest form of flattery is when someone copies your ideas. An old colleague of mine use to always say, “The best ideas are stolen,” and he knew from experience that it was true, and good for success. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am completely opposite from programmers who believe the phrase, “But we’ve always done it that way,” is the way to go. In fact, I am a firm believer in creating new ideas as much as possible, but I am also a believer in, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” But let’s be honest, if I am looking for a new approach, or idea for a regular event, activity, or strategy, it’s because the old ideas or approaches weren’t working. But sadly, in our industry, there are a lot of decision makers who don’t understand the difference.
I’ve said this before in so many of my previous columns, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” And this happens repeatedly in the radio and broadcast business. That’s why it’s important for industry leaders to start paying attention to the difference between what really works and what doesn’t and start operating in a manner that approaches things on a case-by-case basis, instead of being obsessed with an old, or completely new concept. In other words, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it, and if it is……. come up with a new plan.
And I’m here to tell you, if that new plan is something that some other organization is using, and it’s highly successful for them, then it’s okay for you to take that idea and put your own spin on it. Now, I wouldn’t recommend doing this in a market where the idea has already been maxed out there or the competition is doing it already. That will definitely come off as non-authentic and as if you are just a copycat. But I do recommend taking a highly successful idea, event, or promotion from another market, and putting your own “local” spin on it.
The perfect example of that is KPLZ, Star 101.5/Seattle’s “Moug and Angie Mornings Toy Drive.” This year was their first attempt at it. And this is not an easy event to pull off. Especially with a brand-new morning show in a market like Seattle. Now, we all know that holiday Toy Drives are not a new concept. But for them, it was one they were willing to try for many reasons. Obviously, they were starting from scratch, and had to dream big to pull this off. But they did it, and it was well worth their efforts.
Let’s talk first about why Moug and Angie chose to do this event. In a Facebook post, Co-Host John Moug wrote, “Growing up in #Vegas I had so much love for #KLUCToyDrive and always thought if I was going to steal anything in this business, it would be this. If we can bring a fraction of the joy to #Seattle that this has brought Vegas over the years, I’d call it a success.”
Now for those of you who don’t know this, KLUC Las Vegas’ Holiday Toy Drive is hands down the biggest radio event in Las Vegas, one of the biggest events of the year really. It’s been hosted by Chet Buchanan for years now and it’s put both he and the station on the map. The event gets bigger and bigger every year, and the Vegas stars who come out to support it line up to participate and donate. When you mention KLUC, that is what the station is known for.
Moug, having worked in many capacities for KLUC for many years, spent not only his childhood listening to the event, but also the better part of his early career being a part of the team that helped execute the two-week promotion where Buchanan camped out on a billboard 24/7 to drive donations. Which is why it’s easy to understand why Moug and Angie worked so hard to convince the Star team to support the event. And from the looks of the pictures on their social media account, it looks like they went all in, investing everything needed to make both the optics and concept work. I reached out to John Moug, and he confirmed the first-year event was a success.
“Growing up in Las Vegas and getting my start at KLUC, Chet Buchanan’s Toy Drive has been a part of my life in one way or another since I was a kid, same with my co-host Angie,” he said. “We felt that if we could bring even a fraction of the joy and help to the Seattle area as it has for the people of Las Vegas, we would call it a success, and I think it has! Not only was it a wonderful event that will help way more families than we could have imagined this holiday season, but it gave us an opportunity to make a deeper connection with our audience.”
Moug added, “Between sharing stories on the air and meeting listeners on-site, this was a fantastic event all around. STAR 101.5 already has an amazing reputation for doing good in this community and by kicking off the “Moug & Angie Mornings Toy Drive,” we hope we can align ourselves and continue that goodness for years to come!”
I’m not going to lie, it’s impressive that Lotus took a chance on a first-year event of this magnitude. Kudos to PD Lisa Adams and the Management team. The optics, logistics and planning were well covered and that came across on air, on socials, in print, and everywhere the event was talked about.
The bottom line is, the best ideas really are stolen, but if you are going to steal an event, make sure you bring you’re “A Game.” And make sure the person or persons driving the event are passionate about its success. If you half ass it, you’re just wasting everyone’s time, and everyone will draw the conclusion that you really are just a “copycat.” If not, and it’s a success, then you’ve got a recap worth sharing, and hopefully money on the books already for next year.
Check out the pics of the “Moug and Angie Mornings Toy Drive” on Social Media.
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