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CPR Promotional Check-Up - Jun 2, 2020
June 2, 2020
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Virtual Teachers
Here’s a terrific example from Star 104 in Omaha of how they tweaked and adjusted a weekly feature for the past three months of remote control schooling. www.104star.com/teacher-of-the-week/
Backyard Bubbles
The first “show us how you are spending a safe summer” gallery promotion is sold, sponsored and up at 99.1 Hits-FM in St. Johns. www.991hitsfm.com/backyard-bubble
Canada Day/4th of July 2020
This will be different, just like Mothers Day and Memorial Day were.
The things that you can still do and kick caution to the curb are ocial media, Imaging and web graphics. soundcloud.com/cprpromo/sets/4th-of-july-2013
Since web graphics take more time for some stations than others, maybe you start working on them now.
Parades have been a part of the celebrations for a hundred years. Do your own and roll past senior centers and nursing homes.
As Rob Base would say “What else, what else?”
“Fireworks” I don’t see them being cancelled but giant gatherings where 200,000 sweaty people are crammed together? Probably not. But people will be in yards and on roofs and in their driveways to watch. So have people share their views.
“Chalk One Up For Freedom” Reward patriotic sidewalk and driveway chalk art.
“Cracked Out Countdown” Every station is going to be doing something with their music. Wired in Philly did the Cracked Out Countdown. Song #17 into Song #30 into Song #2.
“GOOD Morning Ev’rebuddy” Dave Ryan at KDWB found fun ways to torture Rob Morris when he was Program Director. One 4th of July, they awakened Rob and Mrs. Rob with a 6:30 am fireworks display on the front lawn of their suburban home.
“Rockstars & Stripes” One of the stations did Foo Fighters tickets and six packs of Red Stripe beer for July 4th weekend.
“July Fools” B-95 in Fresno once did their 4th of July live from Millerton. The community parade and fireworks were all live on the station. The problem? Millerton didn’t exist. It did…until they damned a river and it was now below a reservoir.
“(Insert Food Item) Eating Contest” If you are serious about a morning show bit that will get you some TV time, this is the weekend to do an eating contest. Ice cream. Hot dog. Cotton candy. It doesn’t matter. TV crews eat it up. (Sorry) Post-Sacramento this will be a tad more challenging. Talk to a doctor before and have an EMT there.
“O.P.P.” One of the stations did O.P.P. (Outdoor Pool Party) Check-Ins for the 4th weekend. You don’t need a street team. You take calls and let the listeners paint the picture of a holiday weekend. Geez. It IS rocket science.
“F.M.L.” Fireworks, music, liquor. That pretty much sums up the 4th.
“It’s All Fun Until Someone Puts There Eye Out” They played badminton with fireworks on the morning show at KDWB in 2005. There’s something in my inner-8-year-old that loves it. Magic in Colorado Springs actually shot bottle rockets across the atrium at the Rock station’s studio.
“Weekends” The 4th is a Saturday this year and I hate to be repetitive but sometimes it's worth it: this is a real great opportunity to haul out the Wheel of Meat because this is a very popular day to barbecue. KUBE in Seattle did a Red, White And Boom Weekend. The "red" was a case of Coke, the "white" was a KUBE t-shirt for wearing to the fireworks, and the "boom" was a six pack of CD's. All the winners of this package qualified for a car stereo system. Got cash for giveaways? Then this would be a Red, White And Green Weekend. Don't be boring with your methodologies. Incorporate the sound of shells exploding or fuses sizzling into your contesting. This also might be a chance to do Beat The Bomb. One station did an Old School weekend and called it Blasts From The Past. Z-90 in San Diego did a Bikini Jam Weekend and gave out swimsuits to their female listeners. And it was huge. Or do a Boom-tique and giveaway Fouth Of July clothing: a station tanktop, sunglasses, flipflops, a swimsuit and a tourniquette for when you blow your hand off playing with fireworks. KOB-FM in Albuquerque did Red, White & Blond and had tickets to see Christina Aguilera.
“Fireworks Database” Get a client to sponsor a fireworks section of your website that would have info on all of the fireworks displays in your listening area, plus any community festivals, parades and celebrations that are still “on”. This is all information that your station should have anyway, to help you plan out your street attack for that day. This would be a nice resource for you to provide listeners, and maybe you can do it in conjunction with a TV station or newspaper for some added publicity.
“A Declaration Of Jamdependance” Do a "Declaration of Jamdependance" that you can run in promo form the week of the fourth. Make it a Mission Statement for everything that your station believes in, ie: the most cash giveaways, concert tickets, non-stop music, etc.
“Backyard Barbecuing” 102 Jamz gave away an at-home barbecue for a winner and 20 friends once.. The station showed up at the winner's place, brought all the food and did all the work. Or take it to the streets and have a Grill Patrol out cruising people's cookouts and picnics at their homes, stopping by to drop off some chips, charcoal, condiments and other necessities. Maybe call it the 21 Bun Salute.
“Picnic Packs” Speaking of picnics, Picnic Packs would be great prizes that week. Hook up with KFC, Popeyes or Churches and get some buckets of chicken. Any deli-style restaurant should be able to help you with this, too.
“Reunions” In some parts of the country, this is a big weekend to do family reunions. Either, go and visit some with food and prizes, or, host your own reunion. Like a 102 Jamz Family Reunion for all of their family (listeners). Have music, free food, games like sack races...you get the idea. Or have one of your longest and most established announcers have a reunion.
“Cool Prizes” It's usually scorching hot on the 4th, so you might want to concentrate your weekend theme and giveaways on the weather. Q-102 in Philly once did a Cool Down Weekend and gaveaway styrofoam coolers stuffed with prizes like a tray of ice, a packet of Kool Aid, tickets to see a movie in a nice airconditioned theater, passes to a waterpark, a CD from Coolio and one of those little hand-held battery-powered fans. Everyone qualified to have the station pay off their electric bill. Live in SFO did “Chill ‘N Grill” for Memorial Day. Meat for the grill and tickets to chill at BFD.
“Red, White & Brew” Most music features and countdowns for this holiday are pre-packaged, syndicated lameness. Where will people be listening to you? Hopefully? At backyard gatherings where there will be copious amounts of malted beverages. What if your countdown was the top songs to drink beer and barbecue to?
“House Parties” This was a form of the Grill Patrol that one of the stations did in 2016 when they hosted a dozen backyard barbecues over the holiday weekend, and they supplied the grills, charcoal and all the food.
“World's Largest…” This is usually a good starting point for planning a promotion; what's the biggest thing we can do with, say, Valentines Day? KUBE in Seattle did the World's Largest Blind Date. For the 4th, how about The World's Largest Ice Cream Sundae? This fits into the fourth vibe. What else can be large?
“High Up Viewing Parties” Again, based on local regs, where is there a above-it-all viewing platform in your market? A revolving roof top restaurant would be one place. In Austin, The Beat did a rooftop party at a club down on 6th Street: party central in that market. The airstaff dressed up thematically (Uncle Sam, the Statue of Liberty) and they had hotdogs, "samburgers" and "explosive-ritas" for $1.04. Seriously? Anything you do to get the listeners off the grass, out of the crowds and with access to an flushing toilet, would be big.
“Pooling Your Resources” If you have access to a big pool, you're halfway to a great event. If it’s deemed to be safe in your market. Jammin' 102.5 in Sacramento did a Secretarial Pool Party at the Red Lion for Secretaries Day. Power 102 in El Paso had a Beat The Heat vibe and took over the pool at the Hilton for an all day blow out with the listeners. I once rambo'ed another station's 4th event at the Sheraton in Phoenix and they had really packed 'em in. They had a reggae band, a barbecue, water volleyball and lots of frosty drinks.
“Speed Trap Weekend” This is, like Memorial Day, a big weekend to travel by car. 98PXY opened up the phones and people tipped the audience to where the cops were lurking. In much the same vein, gas prices will still be a huge hot button, so have gas to giveaway every hour. Maybe declare “Independence From High Gas Prices”.
“Red, White & Blue Moments” KOOL in Denver did patriotic vignettes and salutes to the troops. Got some very very nice e-mails from local soldiers who were listening on-line over in Iraq.
“Red, White & Free” One of the stations did a Red, White & Free Weekend. They happened to be sitting on tickets to five different concerts. The winner picked one of three envelopes (red, white and blue) and they won whatever ticket is inside. The promo was done by a redneck fireworks stand operator.
“Cracker Packing” Fireworks are illegal in many of your states. Like in Minnesota where all we can get are the cheap kind that don’t have any oomph. So we drive across the river to Wisconsin and pour millions into that state’s coffers. The highway patrol sets up at the bridges and pulls cars over randomly, confiscating their swag. What if you did a “Cracker Packing Weekend” and “the GM is having a big party for all his friends at the countryclub, and has sent the intern staff across the state line to get rockets and firecrackers for the bash”. The contest would be the highway patrol pulling over the van every hour and taking the fireworks. They also shake down the interns for free tickets. You win whatever tickets the intern has “crotched” in their pants.
“Celebrating Famous Fourths” One of the PD’s suggests doing a countdown of the greatest #4 ranked songs on the 4th. THAT is a new one. Finally: Jane Child will get some love.
“Bikini Wax Weekend” Wild in Oklahoma City once combined mixing and bikinis for a Bikini Wax Weekend to start the summer. Listen for the “rip” and a scream to call and score a swimsuit from a very very nice, upscale women’s sportswear place. They got them…for mentions.
“Getting In The Last Word” Don’t forget that it’s never a waste of banners to go and hit the overpasses that lead out of town on Friday afternoon.
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