PROMOTIONS—PRACTICAL AND BIZARRE

The idea behind any promotion is to gain listeners. Over the years, stations have used a variety of methods, ranging from the conventional to the outlandish, to accomplish this goal. “If a promotion achieves top-of-the-mind awareness in the listener, it’s a winner. Granted, some strange things have been done to accomplish this,” admits Mississippi broadcaster Bob Lima. Today, radio stations use the Internet as a method to market themselves. Stations have elaborate websites with colorful graphics to catch the reader’s attention, giveaways, and announcements of upcoming contests, concerts, and photos of winners of the most recent contests to encourage more listenership and participation. Additionally, stations have fully adopted social media technologies by encouraging listeners to friend the station on its Facebook page and follow the station on Twitter or Instagram. Stations will use whatever technology and platform needed to communicate with and potentially gain more listeners.

Promotions designed to captivate the interest of the radio audience have inspired some pretty bizarre schemes. In the 1950s, Dallas station KLIF placed overturned cars on freeways with a sign on their undersides announcing the arrival of a new deejay, Johnny Rabbitt. It would be hard to calculate the number of deejays who have lived atop flagpoles or in elevators for the sake of a rating point.

In the 1980s, the shenanigans continued. To gain the listening public’s attention, a California deejay set a world record by sitting in every seat of a major league ballpark that held 65,000 spectators. In the process of the stunt, the publicity-hungry deejay injured his leg. However, he went on to accomplish his goal by garnering national attention for himself and his station. Another station offered to give away a mobile home to contestants who camped out the longest on a platform at the base of a billboard. The challenge turned into a battle of wills as three contestants spent months trying to outlast each other. In the end, one of the three was disqualified, and the station, in an effort to cease what had become more of an embarrassment than anything else, awarded the two holdouts recreational vehicles.

FIGURE 7.1
Stations promote their image

Source: Courtesy of Wolfpack Media LLC

Today, promotions have gotten edgier, especially on those stations featuring “shock jock” shows. Things can and do get out of hand when personalities go to the extreme to draw listeners’ attention with on-air pranks and giveaways. Prior to migrating to satellite, Howard Stern held all manner of scatological promotions and contests, many centered around women removing their clothes, and Opie and Anthony asked listeners to have sex in public places. This ultimately got them removed from the air, thus proving there are limits to what a station can do to get attention from an audience. Of course, after a successful stint (or exile) on satellite radio, the duo was hired back by terrestrial radio—proving again that ratings matter most.

FIGURE 7.2
Although the Opie and Anthony show on WNEW-FM in New York garnered attention from local listeners for its promotion involving alleged sexual acts in public places, it also garnered unwanted attention from the FCC, which found the radio station contest in violation of obscenity and indecency regulations. It cost the radio station $357,000 in FCC fines and it cost Opie and Anthony their jobs

Source: Courtesy of Radio World and Paul McLane

The tone and tenor of station promotions have certainly changed over the decades, notes Larry Miller:

Although occurring in what now seems a gentler and kinder world, my personal favorite is the one about a station in LA in the early 1950s that sent out a “free Valhalla Oil credit card” to listeners. Well, there was no such oil company, but loyal listeners nevertheless spent a good deal of time searching for a Valhalla gas station. Everybody had a laugh.

Reporter Peg Harney offers testimony that the bizarre still occurs in radio promotions:

As a publicity stunt and also to get people to use the local public library, a station in Ft. Worth, Texas, a couple years back announced it had hidden cash in small denominations in the fiction section. Approximately 800 people descended on the library and proceeded to pull books off the shelves looking for the money. The library had not been notified that the station was going to make the announcement, and it was totally taken by surprise. The librarian said that approximately 4,000 books were pulled from the shelves—some of them had pages torn out—and that people were climbing on the bookcases and making a tremendous mess. The station was forced to make a public apology, and it promised full financial restitution.

One of the most infamous examples of a promotion gone bad occurred when a station decided to airdrop dozens of turkeys to a waiting crowd of listeners in a neighborhood shopping center parking lot. Unfortunately, the station discovered too late that turkeys are not adept at flying at heights above 30 feet. Consequently, several cars were damaged and witnesses were traumatized as turkeys plunged to the ground. This promotion-turned-nightmare was fictionalized in an episode of the television sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati.

Even worse is when a death occurs as a result of a station’s promotional stunt. In Sacramento, California, in 2007, at KDND, the station held a “Hold your Wee for a Wii” contest. It required contestants to drink as much water as possible without relieving themselves. A young mother of three children, for whom she was trying to win the Wii video game system, died after drinking two gallons of water. As a result of the death, 10 employees lost their jobs. The Washington Post reported, “The standard argument made by radio executives is that listeners who participate in stunts are adults and ought to take responsibility for their own actions.” In 2009, a jury awarded the woman’s family a $16.5 million judgment in a wrongful death lawsuit. In 2013, when the radio station’s license renewal came up for review, legal challenges were filed with the FCC by community groups who remained outraged by the contestant’s death. By 2017, Entercom License LLC, the owner of KDND, requested that the FCC dismiss its license renewal application altogether, relinquishing control of the station. Joon Chun, of ChiefMarketer.com, says: “This lesson provides a sober reminder of how important it is to not ask people to do stupid things for promotions.”

FIGURE 7.3A AND 7.3B
Radio stations will do whatever is necessary to attract listeners and appeal to their targeted demographic. This was a promotional event designed for female listeners

Source: Courtesy of Hot 89.9, Ottawa, Ontario

In an effort to increase listenership, in 2011, a Canadian radio station had a contest offering its listeners an opportunity to win a baby. LifeSiteNews.com reported the station’s program director as saying:

one in six people have trouble conceiving, and we know that our audience—we target females between the age of 25 and 54—is dealing with the issue of conceiving right now, and so we wanted to give them the opportunity to have a baby of their own.

The contest was designed to pay for in vitro fertilization (IVF).

In 2009, WRXL in Virginia held a contest called “Marriage Bailout 09,” in which it gave listeners free divorces via an arrangement with a local attorney.

The list of glitches and botched promotions is seemingly endless. In the late 1960s, a station in central Massachusetts asked listeners to predict how long its air personality could ride a carousel at a local fair. The hardy airman’s effort was cut short on day three when motion sickness got the best of him and he vomited on a crowd of spectators and newspaper photographers. A station in California came close to disaster when a promotion that challenged listeners to find buried treasure resulted in half the community being dug up by overzealous contestants. In Massachusetts, a station invited listeners to retrieve money-filled balloons dropped by helicopters into the surf, and contestants came close to drowning as the balloons floated out to sea.

These promotions did indeed capture the attention of the public, but in each case the station’s image was somewhat tarnished. The axiom that any publicity, good or bad, is better than none at all can get a station into not only hot water but legal problems, contends station promotion director Chuck Davis: “It’s great to get lots of exposure for the station, but if it makes the station look foolish, it can work against you.”

The vast majority of radio contests and promotions are of a more practical nature and run without too many complications. Promotions that involve prizes, both large and small, spark audience interest, says Rick Peters, CEO of Bluewater Broadcasting:

People love to win something or, at least, feel that they have a shot at winning a prize. That’s basic to human nature, I believe. You really don’t have to give away two city blocks, either. A listener usually is thrilled and delighted to win a pair of concert tickets.

Although numerous examples can be cited to support the view that big prizes get big audiences, there is also ample evidence that low-budget giveaways, involving t-shirts, albums, tickets, posters, dinners, and so forth, are very useful in building and maintaining audience interest. In fact, some surveys have revealed that smaller, more personalized prizes may work better for a station than the high-priced items. Concert tickets, electronic devices, and dinners for two rank among the most popular contest prizes, according to surveys. Cheaper items usually mean more numerous or frequent giveaways. Inside Radio reported:

At the top of the list is a tangible value proposition to the listener, such as giving away concert tickets, gift cards, or other items of value. O’Reilly Auto Parts provides $25 and $50 gift cards and offers sale specials. Also frequently mentioned is the opportunity for listeners to meet their favorite personality, live entertainment or a sound system, activities and street visibility to draw passersby in.

FIGURE 7.4
Attendees pose in front of the 98.7 FM ESPN, New York, “step and repeat” during the 2015 Legends Series featuring former New York Mets All-Star catcher Mike Piazza. Listeners were able to purchase tickets through Citi Private Pass, as well as win seats through an on-air contest. Attendees also included some of the advertisers

Source: Courtesy of 98.7 FM ESPN, New York

FIGURE 7.5
A tweet from the official 98.7 FM ESPN, New York, Twitter account promoting a chance to win a VIP Beer & Football experience sponsored by and held at the Brooklyn Brewery. The event was limited to winners and allowed winning listeners to meet and greet radio hosts Chris Canty and Anita Marks, as well as chat with them about football

Source: Courtesy of 98.7 FM ESPN, New York

The Internet and social media technologies have forced stations to place more of an emphasis on promotions and marketing for stations. Brian Foster, former Vice-President of NextMedia, which operates radio stations in eight states, says, “The number of options have grown at break-neck speed. While you used to compete against the station across the street, you now must battle against thousands of options with varying degree of personalization.” Facebook and Twitter are commonplace on radio station websites. “Social media has become the new age billboard. Street presence is also critical, this would include fairs, concerts, etc.,” says Foster.

FIGURE 7.6
Seth Resler

THE PROMOTION DIRECTOR’S/MANAGER’S JOB

Not all stations employ a full-time promotion director, but most stations designate someone to handle promotional responsibilities. At small outlets, the program director (PD) or even the general manager (GM) assumes promotional chores. Larger stations and station clusters with bigger operating budgets typically hire an individual or individuals to work exclusively in the area of promotion. “At majormarket stations, you’ll find a promotion department that includes a director and possibly assistants. In middle-sized markets, such as ours, the promotion responsibility is often designated to someone already involved in programming,” says Bob Lima. Overall, the economy dictates the number of promotion positions available. When asked if today’s job market is robust, Foster says, “No, budget realities have limited the growth of this particular segment inside of the radio stations.”

Observed the late Ed Shane:

Some promotion managers consider themselves “marketing directors.” There are two levels of job responsibility for promotion people. Some are glorified “banner hangers,” who make sure the grunt work is done at a station promotion or a live broadcast. Others are true department heads who exhibit leadership and vision within their operations.

Indeed the promotion director’s responsibilities are manifold. Essential to the position are an understanding and knowledge of the station’s audience. A background in research is important, contends Grube:

Before you can initiate any kind of promotion you must know something about who you’re trying to reach. This requires an ability to interpret various research data that you gather through in-house survey efforts or from outside audience research companies. You don’t give away beach balls to 50-year-old men. Ideas must be confined to the cell group you’re trying to attract.

Agreeing with Grube, Foster asserts knowing the radio station’s audience is an essential part of the job. “They are the verb to the program director’s noun. They are in charge of activating the vision and communicating with the station’s P1 listeners (brand warriors),” says Foster about the relationship between the listeners and the promotion director.

Writing and conceptual skills are vital to the job of promotion director, says veteran radio executive Charlie Morriss:

You prepare an awful lot of copy of all types. One moment you’re composing press releases about programming changes, and the next you’re writing a 30-second promo about the station’s expanded news coverage or upcoming remote broadcast from a local mall. Knowledge of English grammar is a must. Bad writing reflects negatively on the station. The job also demands imagination and creativity. You have to be able to come up with an idea and bring it to fruition.

Chuck Davis agrees with Morriss and adds that, although the promotion person should be able to originate concepts, a certain number of ideas come from the trades, other stations, and consultants:

When this is the case, and it often is, you have to know how to adapt an idea to suit your own station. Of course, the promotion must reflect your location. Lifestyles vary almost by region. A promotion that’s successful at a station in Louisiana may bear no relevance to a station with a similar format in Michigan. On the other hand, with some adjustments, it may work as effectively there. The creativity in this example exists in the adaptation.

Foster says the job of the promotion director has changed:

It has morphed. The “old school” promotion directors used to seek out opportunities and partnerships that allowed stations to promote their brand. However, with the complexity of today’s marketplace this position has become more of a facilitator. We need to get back to being proactive and not reactive with this position.

Promotion directors must be versatile. A familiarity with graphic art is generally necessary, insofar as the promotion director will be involved in developing station logos and image IDs for advertising in the print media, on billboards, on social media, and websites. The promotion department also participates in the design and preparation of visuals for the sales area.

FIGURE 7.8
Cautionary words from a consultant

Source: Courtesy of Shane Media

FIGURE 7.9
John Lund

FIGURE 7.10
HDVMixer is redefining video productions for social media with HDVMixer Visual Radio Solution by INSOFT

Source: Courtesy of INSOFT LLC

The promotion director’s job should include an extreme comfort level with social media and how it is used to enhance engagement with the audience. Social media is the province of the promotion director because it extends the engagement of the station brand across new media platforms. Facebook creates conversation and connection between the station and its listeners, building excitement for a contest. Twitter allows instant updates on breaking news, contests, and promotional events.

The acquisition of prize materials through direct purchase and trades is another duty of the promotion person, who also may be called on to help coordinate sales co-op arrangements. “You work closely with the sales manager to arrange tie-ins with sponsors and station promotions,” contends Morriss.

Like other radio station department heads, it is the promotion director’s responsibility to ensure that the rules and regulations established by the FCC, relevant to the promotions area, are observed. This will be discussed later in the chapter, in the section “Promotions and the FCC.”

Of course, it is important that a promotion director maintains a high level of communication with other station personnel, particularly the program director and sales manager, who are almost always an integral part of a promotion’s execution and implementation. Everyone should be in the know about contests and promotions. Possessing the ability to work collaboratively with colleagues is another required skill in this position. “You must work well with a team but still be able to lead the station towards events and opportunities that will benefit the brand,” asserts Foster.

TYPES OF PROMOTIONS

There are two primary categories of station promotions: on-air and off-air. The on-air category will be examined first since it is the most prevalent form of radio promotion. Broadcasters already possess the best possible vehicle to reach listeners, and so it should come as no surprise that on-air promotion is the most common means of getting the word out on a station. The challenge confronting the promotion director is how to most effectively market the station so as to expand and retain listenership. To this end, a number of promotional devices are employed, beginning with the most obvious—station call letters. “The value of a good set of call letters is inestimable,” says former station manager Richard Bremkamp, Jr. “A good example is the call letters of a station I once managed which have long been associated with the term ‘rich’ and all that it implies: ‘Hartford’s Rich Music Station—WRCH.’”

Call letters convey the personality of a station. For instance, try connecting these call letters with a format: WHOG, WNWS, WEZI, WODS, WJZZ, WIND, and WHTS. If you guessed country, news, easy listening, oldies, jazz, talk, and hits, you were correct. The pre ceding call letters not only identify their radio stations but also convey the nature or content of the program ming offered.

Larry Miller adds:

Anything that can be made to spell “KISS” is always a favorite with listeners, starting with a KISS station in the Northwest back in the 1950s. Other similar calls include “Magic” for a soft AC, “Zoo” for a wild and crazy CHR or Hot AC, or “Rock” as in K-Rock. In Hawaii, calls that spell Hawaiian words have always been popular, such as K-POI. In the early 1970s, the ABC group of O&O FMs changed call letters to reflect “hip” or local culture with calls like KLOS in LA or KSFX in San Francisco or WRIF in Detroit or WPLJ (white port and lemon juice) in New York.

When stations do not possess call letters that create instant recognition, they often couple their frequency with a call letter or two, such as JB-105 (WPJBFM 105) or KISS-108 (WXKS-FM 108). This also improves the retention factor. Slogans are frequently a part of the on-air ID. “Music country—WSOC-FM, Charlotte,” “A touch of class—WTEB-FM, New Bern,” and “Texas best rock—KTXQ-FM, Fort Worth” are some examples. Slogans exemplify a station’s image. When effective, they capture the mood and flavor of the station and leave a strong impression in the listener’s mind. It is standard programming policy at many stations to announce the station’s call letters and even its slogan each time a deejay opens the microphone. This is especially true during ratings sweeps, when survey companies ask listeners to identify the stations they tune into. Rick Peters observes:

If your calls stick in the mind of your audience, you’ve hit a home run. If they don’t, you’ll go scoreless in the book. You’ve got to carve them into the listener’s gray matter and you start by making IDs and signatures that are as memorable as possible.

FIGURE 7.11
Slogans are used to brand and market the radio station

Source: Courtesy of Inside Radio

FIGURE 7.12
The slogan “the Buzz” is used on this station’s vehicle

Source: Courtesy of WBTZ

FIGURE 7.13
The KISS-FM van

Source: Courtesy of SCS Unlimited and KISS-FM

Jay Williams, Jr., observes that call letters are being used less and less in the digital age:

Stations identify themselves using their frequencies (92.5) today more than their call letters. This has become the case since the radio dial became digitized. The emphasis is now more numerical than alphabetical. Even the alphanumeric approach (Magic 92) has faded in favor of simply stating the station’s frequency.

It is a common practice for stations to “bookend”—place call letters and/or frequencies before and after all breaks between music. For example, “WHJJ: Stay tuned for a complete look at local and national news at the top of the hour on WHJJ.” Deejays also are told to graft the station call letters onto all bits of information: “92.9 Time,” “102.5 Temperature,” “102.5 Weather,” and so on. There is a rule in radio that call letters can never be over-announced. The logic behind this is clear. The more a station tells its audience what it is tuned to, the more apt it is to remember, especially during diary-based rating periods. In markets measured by the Portable People Meter (PPM), constant repetition of call letters is not necessary because PPM is based on proximity of the meter carrier to a signal, not on call letter recall. Stations in the top 50 markets reduced call letter mentions and other talk elements in response to the technology.

On-air contests are another way to capture and hold the listener’s attention. Contests must be easy to understand (are the rules and requirements of the contest easily understood by the listener?) and possess entertainment value (will nonparticipants be amused even though they are not actually involved?). A contest should engage the interest of all listeners, players and nonplayers alike.

A contest must be designed to enhance a station’s overall sound or format. It must fit in, be compatible. Obviously, a mystery sound contest requiring the broadcast of loud or shrill noises would disrupt the tranquility and continuity of an easy listening station and result in tune-out.

Successful contests are timely and relevant to the lifestyle of the station’s target audience, says Lima:

A contest should offer prizes that truly connect with the listener. An awareness of the needs, desires, and fantasies of the listener will help guide a station. For example, giving away a refrigerator on a hot hit station would not really captivate the 16-year-old listener. This is obvious, of course. But the point I’m making is that the prizes that are up for grabs should be something the listener really wants to win, or you will have apathy.

The importance of creativity has already been stated. Contests that attract the most attention are often the ones that challenge the listener’s imagination, contends Morriss:

A contest should have style, should attempt to be different. You can give away what is perfectly suitable for your audience, but you can do it in a way that creates excitement and adds zest to the programming. The goal of any promotion is to set you apart from the other guy. Be daring within reason, but be daring.

FIGURE 7.14
The WTOP news van wrapped with WTOP call letters, frequency, website, and logo

Source: Courtesy of WTOP-FM

On-air promotion is used to inform the audience of what a station has to offer: station personalities, programs, and special features and events. Rarely does a quarter-hour pass on any station that does not include a promo that highlights some aspect of programming:

• “Tune in to WXXX’s News at Noon each weekday for a full hour of…”

• “Irv McKenna keeps Nightalk in the air midnight to six on the voice of the valley—WXXX. Yes, there’s never a dull moment…”

• “Every Saturday night WXXX turns the clock back to the 1980s to bring you the best of the golden oldies…”

• “Hear the complete weather forecast on the hour and half-hour throughout the day and night on your total service station—WXXX…”

On-air promotion is a cost-efficient and effective means of building an audience when done correctly, says John Grube:

There are good on-air promotions and weak or ineffective on-air promotions. The latter can inflict a deep wound, but the former can put a station on the map. As broadcasters, the airtime is there at our disposal, but we sometimes forget just how potent an advertising tool we have.

Marketing expert Andrew Curran points to another area of promotion:

A stealth promotion might include members of the station database and is something that only the people eligible to win know is going on. For example, a station might announce a name three times a day for a chance to win $1,000. “We’d like to thank John Smith for listening to Classic Rock WXYZ.” Then this person would have 20 minutes to call in and win and since only he can win, he’s not competing with the whole city to get through on the phone. Plus, he feels important that he’s eligible to win a special contest from the station. In the end, of course, a great promotion makes people want to tune in to the station.

FIGURE 7.15
Billboards catch the attention of commuters

Source: Courtesy of Rock 102

Radio stations employ off-air promotional techniques to reach people not tuned in. One traditional form is using billboards. Billboards are a popular form of outside promotion. To be effective, they must be both eye-catching and simple. Only so much can be stated on a billboard, since people are generally in a moving vehicle and have only a limited amount of time to absorb a message.

Placement of the billboard is also a key factor. To be effective, billboards must be located where they will reach a station’s intended audience. Although an all-news station would avoid the use of a billboard facing a high school, a rock music outlet may prefer the location.

Bus cards are a good way to reach the public. Cities often have hundreds of buses on the streets each day. Billboard companies also use benches and transit shelters to get their client’s message across to the population. Outside advertising is an effective and fairly cost-efficient way to promote a radio station, although certain billboards at heavy traffic locations can be extremely expensive to lease.

Newspapers with large circulations provide a great way to reach the population at large. They can also be very costly, although some stations are able to trade airtime for print space. Newspaper ads must be large enough to stand out and overcome the sea of advertisements that often share the same page.

Television is a costly but effective promotional tool for radio. A primary advantage that television offers is the chance to target the audience that the station is after. An enormous amount of information is available pertaining to television viewership. Thus, a station that wants to reach 18- to 24-year-olds is able to ascertain the programs and features that best draw that particular demographic.

The costs of producing or acquiring ready-made promos for television can run high, but most radio broadcasters value the opportunity to actually show the public what they can hear when they tune to their station. WBZ-AM in Boston used local television extensively to promote its former morning personality Dave Maynard and its current sunrise news team. Ratings for the station have been consistently high, and management points to their television promotion as a contributing factor.

FIGURE 7.16A
A WTOP bus-back advertisement with DC Metro

Source: Courtesy of WTOP-FM

FIGURE 7.16B
Close-up of the advertisement

FIGURE 7.17
A station showcases its on-air talent

Source: Courtesy of WIZN

FIGURE 7.18
Boston Herald Radio newspaper ad

Source: Courtesy of Herald Media Inc.

In 2000, the Pew Research Center found that just a little over half of the U.S. population used the Internet. By 2016, the study found that 88% of Americans used the Internet. Accordingly, it is no surprise that the Internet and social media are the most frequent means of off-air promotion for stations in the late 2010s, and this trend will likely continue into the 2020s. Listeners expect radio stations to have websites that contain all types of information including bios and photos of the on-air staff, contest rules, and links to social media such as Facebook and Twitter so that listeners can follow their favorite radio stations via new media technologies and their smartphones. Inside Radio reports:

In addition to a significant on-air push, clients increasingly expect stations to promote appearances on Facebook, Twitter, and via their email database. But for stations doing dozens of appearances a week, that’s not always feasible, so some clients negotiate social media up front. Appearance recaps, including photos, are also seen as essential. So is effective communication between the account executive, the promotion department and the talent. Some agencies set up pre-appearance conference calls. Others dispatch an event coordinator to the store to work with the station team.

FIGURE 7.19
Internet adoption is high. Radio stations must utilize the Internet to communicate with listeners

Source: Courtesy of the Pew Internet and American Life Project Surveys

FIGURE 7.20
Mix 94.1 uses its webpage to promote the station using Facebook, Twitter, texting via smartphones, and other new media technologies

Source: Courtesy of NextMedia Group Inc.

Stations give away thousands of items annually displaying station call letters and logos. Among the most common promotional items handed out by stations are posters, t-shirts, calendars, key chains, coffee mugs, music hit lists, book covers, pens, and car litter bags. The list is vast. Some stations still give away expensive items to build larger audiences.

Plastic card promotions have done well for many stations. Holders are entitled to a variety of benefits, including discounts at various stores and valuable prizes. The bearer is told to listen to the station for information on where to use the card. In addition, holders are eligible for special on-air drawings.

Another particularly effective way to increase a station’s visibility is to sponsor special activities, such as fairs, sporting events, and theme dances, and to participate in parades and concerts. Hartford’s big band station, WRCQ-AM, has received significant attention by presenting an annual music festival that has attracted more than 25,000 spectators each year, plus the notice of other media, including television and newspapers.

FIGURE 7.21
The brand-new Ford Mustang 98.7 FM ESPN, New York, and All American Ford were giving away during various Team 98.7 events from May to July of 2016. This client-sponsored giveaway was free to enter and the winner was chosen during the annual 98.7 ESPN Beach Bash

Source: Courtesy of 98.7 FM ESPN, New York

FIGURE 7.22
Team 98.7 FM ESPN, New York, promotions assistants prepare to interact with fans at a sponsored live broadcast of the Hahn & Humpty show at Millers Ale House in Paramus, New Jersey. Customers were given the opportunity to watch the Hahn & Humpty show live as well as enter to win a brand-new Mustang

Source: Courtesy of 98.7 FM ESPN, New York

FIGURE 7.23
WTOP advertises at Nats Park during a Washington Nationals baseball game

Source: Courtesy of WTOP-FM

FIGURE 7.24
Don La Greca, Michael Kay and Peter Rosenberg (left to right) during a client-sponsored live broadcast of The Michael Kay Show at a P.C. Richard. The event was free to the public and allowed fans to watch and listen to The Michael Kay Show simulcast on the YES Network

Source: Courtesy of 98.7 FM ESPN, New York

Personal appearances by station personalities and interaction with listeners by the radio personalities are always effective means to reach listeners while utilizing forms of off-air promotion. Remote broadcasts from malls, beaches, and the like also aid in getting the word of the station out to the public.

One last means of marketing a station is offered by Jay Williams, Jr., Co-Founder of DMR/Interactive and President of Broadcasting Unlimited:

Promotion and marketing have never been more critical. In the current economy, stations have to do everything they can to draw and hold an audience. Direct marketing through mail and/or by telephone is a very cost-effective way to target an audience and to keep a station in front of radio listeners, especially during rating periods. Telepromoting is becoming more prevalent. Directed or targeted marketing makes sense because stations must be more effective with what they have. The business of radio is changing. Audiences are fragmenting, brand loyalties are eroding. Mass marketing is losing its impact. Person-to-person or individualized marketing delivers tangible results.

The late Ed Shane concurred with Williams, adding:

Direct marketing is the wave of the one-to-one future. Connections through Facebook, Twitter, and other social media allow stations easy access to listener ideas and feedback. Engagement through social media, when used effectively, will achieve the same result as direct mail, telemarketing, and database management.

FIGURE 7.25
WTOP scoreboard advertising at the Verizon Center during a Washington Capitals hockey game

Source: Courtesy of WTOP-FM

FIGURE 7.26
WTOP served as a media sponsor for the 2013 National Memorial Day Parade

Source: Courtesy of WTOP-FM

FIGURE 7.27
San Diego’s The Mighty 1090 doing a live remote

Source: Courtesy of Broadcast Companies of America

FIGURE 7.28
Walrus 105.7 FM doing a live remote that gives listeners a chance to win

Source: Courtesy of Broadcast Companies of America

FIGURE 7.29
Social media such as Facebook is used to give listeners an opportunity to win prizes on the radio

Source: Courtesy of Broadcast Companies of America

FIGURE 7.30
A tweet from the official 98.7 ESPN Twitter account promoting the Ticket Tuesday sweepstakes executed during The Michael Kay Show. This contest cues listeners to call in and win tickets to NY sporting events

Source: Courtesy of 98.7 FM ESPN, New York

FIGURE 7.31
Ed Shane

PROMOTIONS IN THE DIGITAL ERA

With a nearly 90% adoption rate among Americans, the Internet has had a profound impact on the way radio stations promote themselves in the late 2010s. The technological advances that have accompanied the Internet have made some promotional strategies antiquated while other, newer strategies have been found to be very effective. DMR/Interactive’s senior Vice-President/Co-Founder Catherine Jung says, “For the most successful radio stations, the Internet has become a visual and interactive element of the brand. Many station sites now offer unique entertaining elements like videos, best-of podcasts, blogs and more.” DMR/Interactive’s Chief Executive Officer Tripp Eldredge adds:

It has also provided a powerful way to target current and new listeners. As a result, promotions that simply relied on ‘be the nth caller’ are giving way to digital registrations with instant-win components and frictionless sharing. That said, there continues to be a surprising amount of stations that have not evolved to the listener-centric, interactive approach. They tend to view the Internet as simply an extension to their transmitters.

Charlie Morgan, SVP/Market Manager of Emmis-New York, explains social media’s role in branding and promotions from the management perspective. He says:

New Media/Social Media is definitely playing an important role in building brands and is a part of our station and talent’s marketing efforts but it has not caused me to re-evaluate management or sales strategies. It is simply a way to augment and amplify the relationship with consumers.

FIGURE 7.32
Stations promote their on-air talent as a way to draw in listeners

Source: © 2017 American Broadcasting Companies Inc.

Relying on the Internet and social media technologies has required stations to modify organizational structures at both single stations and clustered stations to technologically support the new promotional approaches. DMR’s Chief Operating Officer, Andrew Curran, notes:

Having unsuccessfully experimented with adding “webmaster” to the station engineer’s duties, most have now evolved into a two-level model. The infrastructure and technology is developed and deployed via a corporate group. They set standards, evaluate technology, and implement the tools and best practices. At the local station level, there are usually a few people designated as the “digital team” whose primary responsibilities span from sales to programming to marketing. In a few large-operator cases, it’s a completely separate group operating relatively separately from the local station.

Many social media promotions are used by stations to communicate with listeners effectively. Jung asserts, “Many have experimented with rewards programs, song research panels, text messaging, and mobile apps to extend their brands into these areas.” Determining successful and effective Internet promotion strategies can be challenging owing to the uniqueness of the technology. “In fact,” Eldredge says, “the challenge is defining and measuring success. Traditionally, the definition is related to ratings increases and revenue growth. Because there are now so many more variables, operators have a much more difficult time distilling out what components or tools are effective.” Curran says,

We guide clients with an overall philosophy of identifying and engaging across many touch points with who matters most to your format and station brand. With that in mind, technologies such as social media platforms and apps that provide fans with the opportunity to create and share content along with the ability to connect with each other fuel the most engagement and sharing activity.

Jung adds:

Several clients of ours used the shared-participation gaming to create a bridge between traditional promotion and the social sphere. For example, the game of concentration was used to create a groundswell of participation and connection across social media, digital, and on-air. The shared participation of helping each other with the game created a deep and real connection between the participating listeners. The powerful outcome was that these listeners all credited the station with helping them create these amazing new relationships.

FIGURE 7.33
Station websites get lots of visits from listeners and they are primarily seeking information about contests, concerts, and promotions or they stream the station on their personal computers

Source: Courtesy of Jacobs Media

Smartphones are in the hands of nearly every consumer. It’s important for radio stations to determine how to effectively target these consumers because not all demographics use all features of smartphones. For example, Jung observes,

Part of the answer here depends on the format. For youthful formats like CHR and Hip Hop, texting and mobile is a large part of their focus with promotions. It’s a smaller percentage, but growing for most other formats. Like everything, it’s important to know your key listeners and how they engage with smartphones. What they would like to see. Now more than ever, it’s important to be listener-centric.

For users of smartphones and social media technologies, the simple act of sharing content is important to consumers. Curran notes:

On another level, many listeners who were not participating enjoyed watching the content and sharing created by those that were. This organic content generation provided a unique asset for the station and its listener community resulting in record-level sharing across the social networks, great content that could be repurposed on the air, and record ratings for the station.

As communication has become so much more interactive, with the listener/consumer (the old broadcasting, top-down model) increasingly becoming a participant/content provider, radio will best adapt to this change by empowering the listeners. Eldredge suggests:

The more that station brands can empower the listeners to create, express, and share with other listeners, the more powerful the station brands can become. When listeners start to connect with other listeners through helping, creating, sharing, etc., they credit the station for that relationship-building. Stations that help listeners build relationships and enhance the relationships they already have will set themselves apart from the old-guard of “we broadcast, you listen.” Similarly, programmers and air-talent that deeply understand their core listeners will naturally be able to respond and evolve their products and offerings more effectively. Knowing the life of the core consumer has never been more critical as you decide where to invest your limited time and money.

Employees working in the twenty-first-century radio station promotions department must not only be technologically savvy but also have a keen understanding of people and their use of technology. Eldredge asserts,

A key skill is being able to know how to deeply understand the listeners, particularly the most important listeners of a station-brand. The ability to know tools and strategies to discover and synthesize listeners’ tastes, activities, preferences, sharing patterns, etc. will set you apart because most stations and groups are simply employing tactics without setting a listener-centric strategy.

Curran adds, “In addition, promotions teams often work across the cluster, so you have to be able to understand and generate success across multiple formats.”

SALES PROMOTION

Promoting a station can be very costly, as much as half a million dollars annually in some metro markets. To help diminish the cost of station promotion, advertisers are often recruited. This way both the station and the sponsor stand to benefit. The station gains the financial wherewithal to execute certain promotions that it could not do on its own, and the participating advertiser gains valuable exposure by tying in with special station events. Stations can actually make money and promote themselves simultaneously if a client purchases a substantial spot schedule as part of a promotional package. Says Larry Miller, “An effective promotional campaign should try to include a sales component, in part to help allay the costs of advertising. If it’s done right, it will bring in new business for the station.”

There are abundant ways to involve advertisers in station promotion efforts. They run the gamut from placing advertisements and coupons on the station’s website to joining the circus for the day, for example “WXXX brings the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ to town this Friday night, and you go for half price just by mentioning the name of your favorite radio station—WXXX.” The ultimate objective of a station/sponsor collaborative is to generate attention in a cost-efficient manner. If a few dollars are made for the station along the way, all the better.

As stated previously, the promotion director also works closely with the station’s sales department in the preparation and design of sales promotion materials, which include items such as posters, coverage maps, ratings breakouts, flyers, station profiles, and much more.

A challenging economy and increased pressure from media other than radio has made advertiser participation in promotion vital. Consultant Ed Shane said that he regularly cautions his client stations to make sure advertiser involvement doesn’t override the needs of the station: “We often lose ‘ownership’ of our promotions because our enthusiasm for getting a sponsorship clouds our view of the goals we set out in the first place. Promotions should be a win-win partnership.”

BUDGETING PROMOTIONS

Marketing expert Andrew Curran opens this section with his views on the challenges of finding resources to promote a station:

In my experience, since revenue growth in radio has been relatively flat in recent years, marketing budgets are often the first thing to cut, especially in the third and fourth quarters of the year when a company needs to hit its financial numbers. In addition, it seems that stations seem to get the most marketing money when the ratings are down and instant results need to be delivered to get revenue up. Certainly this makes for some tense campaigns and often—if the promotion is successful and ratings go up—marketing dollars are moved to another station that is in need of help rather than allowing the original station to strengthen its position with additional marketing.

Obviously, cost projections are included in the planning of a promotion. The promotion director’s budget may be substantial or all but nonexistent. Stations in small markets often have minuscule budgets compared with their giant metro-market counterparts. But, then again, the need to promote in a one- or two-station market is generally not as great as it is in multi-station markets. To a degree, the promotion a station does is commensurate with the level of competition.

FIGURE 7.34
Stations showcase their on-air talent

Source: Courtesy of Herald Media Inc.

A typical promotion at an average-size station may involve the use of newspapers plus additional handout materials, such as stickers, posters, buttons, and an assortment of other items depending on the nature of the promotion. Television and billboards may also be utilized. Each of these items will require an expenditure unless some other provision has been made, such as a trade agreement in which airtime is swapped for goods or ad space.

The cost involved in promoting a contest often constitutes the primary expense. When WASH-FM in Washington, D.C., gave away $1 million, it spent $200,000 to purchase an annuity designed to pay the prize recipient $20,000 a year for 50 years. The station spent nearly an equal amount to promote the big giveaway. Most of the promotional cost resulted from a heavy use of local television. In the early 1980s, KHTZ-FM in Los Angeles spent more than $300,000 on billboards and television to advertise its dream-house giveaway. The total cost of the promotion approached half a million dollars. The price tag of the house was $122,000. Both of these high-priced contests accomplished their goals—increased ratings. In a metro market, one rating point can mean $1 million in ad revenue. “A promotion that contributes to a two- or three-point jump in the ratings is well worth the money spent on it,” observes Rick Peters.

The promotion director works with the station manager in establishing the promotion budget. From there, it is the promotion director’s job to allocate funds for the various contests and promotions that are run throughout the station’s fiscal period. “The idea is to control the budget and not let it control you. Obviously computers have been a big help in this respect,” states Marlin R. Taylor, who also contends that large sums of money need not be poured into promotions if a station is on target with its programming:

In 1983, the Malrite organization came to New York and launched Z-100, a contemporary hitformatted outlet, moving it from “worst to first” in a matter of months. They did a little advertising and gave away some money. I estimate that their giveaways totaled less dollars than some of their competitors spent on straight advertising. But the station’s success was built on three key factors: product, service, and employee incentives. Indeed, they do have a quality product. Second, they are providing a service to their customers or listeners, and, third, the care and feeding of the air staff and support team are obvious at all times. You don’t necessarily have to spend a fortune on promotion.

Larry Miller agrees:

A really good promotion director can do effective promotions without spending a lot of money. First, utilize ‘on air’ promotions; second, trade out for stuff like contest prizes and newspaper advertising. You can do a lot for very little through a combined effort with programming.

Since promotion directors are frequently expected to arrange trade agreements with merchants as a way to diminish costs, a familiarity with and understanding of the station’s rate structure is necessary. Trading airtime for use in promotions is less popular at highly rated stations that can demand top dollars for spots. Most stations, however, prefer to exchange available airtime for goods and services needed in a promotion, rather than pay cash.

FIGURE 7.35
The Federal Communication Commission takes violations of contest regulations very seriously and those violations can result in huge fines

Source: Courtesy of Radio World and Paul McLane

PROMOTIONS AND THE FCC

Although the FCC has dropped most of its rules pertaining to contests and promotions, it does expect that they be conducted with propriety and good judgment. The basic obligation of broadcasters to operate in the public interest remains the primary consideration. Section 73.1216 of the FCC’s rules and regulations (as published in the Code of Federal Regulations) outlines the dos and don’ts of contest presentations.

Stations are prohibited from running a contest in which contestants are required to pay in order to play. The FCC regards a lottery as any contest in which the elements of prize, chance, and consideration exist. In other words, contestants must not have to risk something to win.

Contests must not place participants in any danger or jeopardize property. Awarding prizes to the first five people who successfully scale a treacherous mountain or swim a channel filled with alligators certainly would be construed by the FCC as endangering the lives of those involved. Contestants have been injured and stations held liable more than once. The station in California that ran a treasure hunt resulting in considerable property damage incurred the wrath of the public, town officials, and the FCC. In a more tragic example of poor planning, a listener was killed during a “find the disc jockey” contest. The station was charged with negligence and sustained a substantial fine.

Stations are expected to disclose the material terms of all contests and promotions conducted. These include the following:

• entering procedures;

• eligibility requirements;

• deadlines;

• when or if prizes can be won;

• value of prizes;

• procedure for awarding prizes;

• tie-breaking procedures.

The public must not be misled concerning the nature of prizes. Specifics must be stated. Implying that a large boat is to be awarded when, in fact, a canoe is the actual prize would constitute misrepresentation, as would suggesting that an evening in the Kon Tiki Room of the local Holiday Inn is a great escape weekend to the exotic South Seas.

The FCC also stipulates that any changes in contest rules must be promptly conveyed to the public. It makes clear, too, that any rigging of contests, such as determining winners in advance, is a direct violation of the law and can result in a substantial penalty, or even license revocation.

FIGURE 7.37
Lauren Lynch Flick

Source: Reprinted with permission courtesy of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

FIGURE 7.38
Stations are expected to make contest rules clear to the public

Source: Courtesy of Shane Media

Although the FCC does not require that a station keep a contest file, most do. Maintaining all pertinent contest information, including signed prize receipts and releases by winners, can prevent problems should questions or a conflict arise later.

Stations that award prizes valued at $600 or more are expected by law to file a 1099-MISC form with the IRS. This is done strictly for reporting purposes, and stations incur no tax liability. However, failure to do so puts a station in conflict with the law.