No matter what season it is – radio does it best – how?
Tourist season can come and go, it can be the school holidays or big season holidays, temperatures can rise or fall – but the one constant – your radio station!
For example:
In Spring – the weather is changeable – and so are peoples moods, hot one day, cool the next, then wet and miserable. Being flexible and fast in Spring is the key.
In Summer – listeners are going to be hot and sweaty, looking for ways to cool off and relax. Think promos around this theme.
In Autumn/Fall – listeners are going to be seeing the colours of the world changing around them – time for you to be colourful too. Often bountiful for fruit – Autumn can produce some interesting ideas to tie in with seasonal promotions.
In Winter – Cold, wet, and in some places of the world – snowing – tie in the emotions and the temperature and you’ll have a winner.
Also, think of the pace of life – in summer for example, people are more likely to have more time to try different things – they have very different activities to say Winter. Summer audiences are likely to be more mobile. There are increases in activities like: Travelling, camping, hunting, out of town listening on your app. Remember also that TV stations tend to launch new shows in the Summer in the USA – so big name budgets may be available to do promotional tie ins.
In Winter your audience is more isolated, or captive, think cuddly and warm… And that helps you to frame your perspective for your promo.
We did a quick brainstorm around the office for some ‘summertime ideas’ (because we are already looking ahead) – these are just 4 basic ideas off the top of our head with no real thought put into them – but with some thought and a budget – they could be HUGE!:
Community Walk With Station Jox:
Some parts of your listening audiences would love the opportunity to share some time with your morning show team – why not let them on a simple walk, hike or on a picnic! This could be done in so many ways, we had a contest, sell tickets, or open to the public (always a dangerous idea, because it is so hard to cater for). You could raise money for charity by selling branded hats, water bottles, Frisbees or any of a hundred or so items – or just give away water and freebies from sponsors. Again grab sound bites or broadcast live – AND – share as many happy snaps as you can on the social media web pages of your station.
Community Garage/Yard or Swap Meet Sale:
You could do this several ways, from a giant venue to inviting listeners to register and set up a suburb sale on different weekends (or on the same weekend) with a list of all of the places the sale is on at on your website! If you did a giant venue sale then you could have all proceeds go to a local charity. Don’t forget to pop into a couple of the sites and record soundbites and vox pops – or to a cross to the studio or do your show live from the event.
Be Cool:
Surprise local businesses, callers, prize winners, people who drop in at the station, your hard working first responders, and more with cold treats, from ice cold drinks, to ice cream and more. You don’t need to shout about it – but just ‘be cool with your listeners’.
Fundraisers for other Organizations:
Partner with a non-profit organization, let’s you reach a part of the audience you might not reach normally – plus give you access to sponsors you didn’t know existed. Think outside the box and discover some organisation you didn’t know that exist in your area.
As you plan any of your seasonal promotions, remember that your goal should be to inspire people to listen, to encourage your listening audience into attending your event… and to keep them listening for longer.
Your promo tactics for a seasonal based promotion should then be like a welcome family friend – something that is fun to do – doesn’t hang around for a long time and tells a story that they can share.
