Friday Poll: How Does Your Station Participate in Your Community

    • 1373 posts
    June 26, 2015 12:33 AM PDT

    Happy Friday, everyone!

    This week's poll question was suggested by my sister and fellow administrator Heather Schwartz:

    How does your radio station participate in your community's 4th of July celebration?

    Looking forward to reading your replies . . . and if you have photos from previous Independence Day events, we'd love to see them!

    • 83 posts
    June 26, 2015 5:25 AM PDT

    This year our station is providing a musical accompaniment to the Fireworks display on the 4th.  We sold sponsorships & got a total of about $2000 in revenue.  We'll promote all this week of course.  The sponsors will be mentioned at the beginning and ending of the music track.   Prior to the start of the fireworks, we will feature Red Skelton's pledge of Allegiance, and Whitney Houston's National Anthem.  Music will be heard on radios, and on a large PA in the park.  The timing of the music is important, so one of our people will be on the phone with our studio operator.  When the finale begins, he will segue to the Stars and Stripes Forever which will accompany the finale.  Fun to do-people really like it-easy to sell.

  • June 26, 2015 7:32 AM PDT

    We are creating a fireworks soundtrack that will coordinate with the start of our "home town" fireworks because they all pretty much start the same time no matter where you are.  It's in conjunction with Festival Foods who sponsor our fireworks.  we are calling it "The Festival Foods Fireworks Soundtrack".  we'll promote it and it will be marches etc...

    • 1 posts
    June 26, 2015 9:27 AM PDT

    Our Town has the "Pops in the Park" where we utilize the amphitheater in our city park.  It is on July 3rd every year and one of the biggest productions in Texas. We have around 10,000 people in attendance each year. It is a great experience that goes on from about 6:00 - 11:00 with an opening band and lots of food vendors.  Our Symphony and choir play during the fireworks display .   Our station ties in to the sound board and broadcasts the music live and it sounds like the musicians are in our studio. We get sponsors for the live broadcast to help defray some of the cost.  It is a lot of work but a lot of fun. 

    • 1373 posts
    June 26, 2015 9:37 AM PDT

    From Steve Hopp:

    Our station participates in two different parades.  One in the morning, the other in the evening.  We throw speakers on top the decorated station van and play march music in the parade procession.  In that we are the local Baltimore Raven's network affiliate, we've arranged for the Raven's mascot, Poe, and a couple of Raven's cheerleaders to ride in the vehicles positioned before and after the van in the parade.  Businesses underwrite the costs through the Chamber of Commerce.

    Not a big money maker, but great for exposure.

    • 993 posts
    June 26, 2015 11:01 AM PDT

    For at least the last 20 years, our stations have partnered with local businesses to air messages in support of our community 4th of July celebration, donating at least half the revenue to the Chamber of Commerce to help pay for the fireworks program, which in recent years has been "synchronized to music" broadcast on one of our stations and played over the loudspeakers at the park where the festivities take place. Our mayor, who happens to be a longtime broadcast prof at WSU, voices the spots.

    Lots of people volunteer their time and talents, baking pies, manning the food concessions, etc. to help make our annual event as nice a celebration as any in the country.