Does anyone do a "Best Of" business awards? When I worked for a newspaper, this was a big revenue builder for us. It brought in advertisers that might not normally advertise with us. I'm personally not a big fan of these, but they really appeal to the clients ego (which would make it a great promo). Since these promotions also are great for marketing the station giving the awards, it would be a win win for us. I would like to find a way for a business awards campaign, like a listener's choice awards, where listeners nominate their favorite businesses and vote on them. We could have an awards dinner that would double as a fundraiser for a local charity. I would like to do something that is a departure from the way these kinds fo promotions are usually done. Any ideas?
One stated losers are upset. That's true but when you have enough classifications, you can usually get all your clients to the #1 spot somewhere. We know it is not accurate as in a true survey that has the right sampling and demographic accuracy but who cares. In places I have seen this, you see the voted #1 awards framed and displayed with pride inside businesses. Businesses want to be the best and recognized for that no matter how the survey works.
I like the idea because it helps to secure future buys. If it's your listeners that voted them #1, how can they drop advertising on your station? It's a great starting place to earn a bigger than your share of the advertising pie. If you have more than two or three in a catagory, you need sub-catagories they can win. You don't have to have losers. There was a paper that did this and got 6 cafes to sign up. All 6 won. One was 'best over all' one was 'best lunch special' one was 'most family friendly' and the list went on. Did they just make them all winners regardless? I think so. In the scheme of things it really doesn't matter a whole lot. It's just a way to include pride and ego in the advertising campaign.
In one town that had a good deal of tourism the Chamber created the idea of a "Visitor Approved" designation and delivered a small wall plaque to 'winners'. In essence those businesses that participated won and by buying in got discounts on the chamber brochures they could buy ads in. They got a small check mark with 'visitor approved' in their ad. Our station copied the concept for weekend based ad schedules targeting those businesses the Chamber has awarded the 'visitor approved' designation. We created an hourly 90 second unit with 2 clients going in, a 30 second donut of a local attraction and then two more clients going out. It ran yearround and really bolstered our bottom line since many every day clients wanted weekdays, not weekends.
As Rick pointed out, how are the ratings? In small markets where ratings are not used, this is not a terrible idea. Lots of clients tend to not be that detailed on creating advertising campaigns. I consider this better than the prize packages you have to register at designated businesses. In such prize package promotions, they're always a few clients with a very low customer count that thinks radio doesn't work because the registration box is not full.
We are in a small unrated market, a locally owned and operated station that is a stand alone (no affiliated stations). I am fully aware of the pitfalls of such a promotion, especially the statistical invalidity of these types of awards. Perhaps I didn't make clear that I'm looking for a promotion with the qualities of a Best Of... promotion, like: Advertiser bragging rights, creating a buzz about the station, gaining non-traditional advertisers, etc. While I already sell lots of effective radio advertising packages, we want add to our revenue base. We have a lot of small businesses with either no advertising budget or an extremely small budget, so every promotion and package matters in this market.
One of the ways we picked up non-traditional advertisers is through a campaign that highlighted the work of local non-profits. Usually the business owner has one that pulls at their heartstrings and is likely involved. We'd run PSAs promoting the non-profit with business mentions stating they're working make the community an even better place to live. Most non-profits have an event or two a year and we were all over it to give it ample coverage and pick up extra revenue. This ranged from Blood Drives to the local animal shelter to stuff like breat cancer awareness and care for the elderly.
We ran a Shop at Home campaign with mere mentions in the text where we would indicate about 5 or 6 items that could be had from your friends and neighbors right in town. Some months, obviously, were tied to seasonal events. We found even in small towns the average consumer didn't know everything you could get right in town, especially the non-traditional advertiser.
Don't overlook the groups and agencies that help bolster local quality of life. The Economic Development board ran a campaign with us where local businesses that benefitted from their service paid for the spots and a small portion went to the board to bolster their effectiveness. We called them partners in blostering the quality of life locally. We ran short stories how the board helped new business locating to our town and emphasized how important that was by using the voices of those that benefitted from the service itself.
Thanks for your input Bill, I'll be running this past my boss.
