This nifty article on the ins and outs of successful radio promotions comes from our friend Jay Mitchell, editor and publisher of the Small Market Radio Newsletter. Check out his website here.
About Promotions—Annual & Otherwise
Herewith, some random thoughts about organizing and controlling your promotions:
ANNUAL PROMOTIONS
1. Take pictures. Post them. File them. They’ll be a big help in selling the following year. They’re also excellent to help sell regional accounts based outside your signal.
2. Make notes at the completion of the promotion and file them, while they’re fresh in your mind. That’s the best way to improve the promotion the second or third time around.
3. Make a list of advertisers who said, “I wish I’d been in on that.” You’ll need them next year, because 20% of this year’s customers won’t be in on the promotion next year for one reason or another.
4. Do a post-mortem on the promotion when completed. Everyone involved should meet to discuss What went right? What went wrong? What should we do next time?
CREATE A MEANINGFUL COMMUNITY TRADITION. If you sponsor fireworks, a raft race, a fund-raiser, a tennis tournament, or even a sales promotion, do it every year. The first time you put on a promotion requires the most work. Make it a little easier on yourself next year and repeat the promotion.
The second and succeeding times are always easier to bring off. You have the experience of having done it once. You learn from your mistakes. The public and news media have already heard about it and the awareness level will be higher this time.
PROMOTIONS DO NOT ALWAYS GENERATE PROFIT. Most will negatively impact your bottom line if the direct extraordinary expense exceeds 20%.
A GOOD TEST BEFORE A PROMOTION IS UNDERTAKEN
A. Business that would not be running if it were not for the promotion: $ _____
B. Less prorated share of the cost of the promotion: - $ _____
C. Subtotal A: $ _____
D. Increased business from advertisers who would be on anyway but will spend more
because of the promotion: $ _____
E. Less prorated share of the cost of the promotion: - $ _____
F. Subtotal B: $ _____
G. Customers who must be included in the promotion but won’t spend the
extra money, less their prorated share of the cost of the promotion: $ _____
H. Impact on bottom line (C+F-G): = $ _____
BEFORE DOING A PROMOTION, MAKE A LIST OF ALL OF THE EXPENSES the promotion will generate: extra hours by office personnel, delivery and pickup of registration slips, printing, extra insurance coverage, etc.
LARGE CASH PRIZES DO NOT SEEM TO BE WORTHWHILE FROM A COST/BENEFIT STANDPOINT. State lotteries have made huge winnings a common occurrence in recent years. A $100 bill will probably serve the same purpose as a $1,000 prize.
USE A ROUND HALF-GALLON ICE CREAM TUB WITH LID AS A CHEAP, REUSABLE REGISTRATION BOX. Cut a hole in the lid and affix a station bumper sticker to the side. Total cost: about 50¢.
BETTER THAN FLOWERS. For grand openings and other client events, a better idea would be for the station to do a complimentary short (5-15 minutes) interview with the business owner or manager. Send a CD, USB drive or MP3 file of the broadcast to the business person as a keepsake and a lasting reminder of the station’s interest.
BUMPER STICKERS are one of radio’s most inexpensive promotional tools. You can cover your costs and probably make a profit by sharing the bumper sticker with a local business. You can get extra mileage by tying in with a worthy cause, or by fostering community pride with a civic slogan.
THERE ARE THREE FACTORS INVOLVED IN GETTING BUMPER STICKERS ON CARS:
1. Volume. Ideally, print as many bumper stickers as there are cars in the market. With a typical 10% penetration, that means your sticker will get onto one car in ten.
2. Distribution. Be sure your stickers are available at plenty of outlets.
3. Incentive. Unless you have a unique format that generates lots of passion (Rock, sometimes Country and Oldies), listeners are motivated by greed when it comes to putting a sticker on their cars. Offer lots of prizes or special discounts.
-- from the August 19, 2013, issue of the Small Market Radio Newsletter
