Earlier this week I was talking with one of my clients, Ben Strickland, owner of WBOX AM/FM in Bogalusa, Louisiana, about the promotions he’s planning for this summer. He told me about one that has worked out particularly well for his station for a number of years, and he gave me permission to share it with all of you.
The promotion centers around hurricane tracking charts. On the front of the chart, there’s a map of the area. When a hurricane approaches, the coordinates are broadcast over the radio, and residents can plot them on the chart and thus see the hurricane’s progress; instructions for doing this are found on the back of the map. The reverse side of the chart includes information about categories of hurricanes, safety tips, evacuation routes, and a list of emergency contact numbers. Naturally, the station also puts its logo and business information on the chart. Ben said that WBOX arranges a tradeout with a local printer, so the maps don’t cost the station anything to print.
For this promotion, WBOX offers businesses an ad package of two spots a day (sixty spots a month) for two months, June and July. When a client signs up for this package, he also receives the following for free: a business-card-sized ad on the hurricane tracking chart, a number of the charts to hand out to his customers, and daily mentions on the air for six months (through November) as one of the businesses where listeners can pick up a hurricane chart.
Ben says that there are usually twenty or so businesses that participate. He also is offering to send a copy of last year’s chart to any Radio Sales Café member that would like to see one: Simply send a self-addressed business-size envelope to:
Ben Strickland
WBOX AM/FM
PO Box 280
Bogalusa, LA 70429-0280
You can also call Ben at 1-985-732-4288 or email him at wboxamfm @ bellsouth . net (eliminate the spaces).
