Radio Sales Café

From RSC member Roger Burke, with Crista Broadcasting in Lynden, Washington:

"To summarize my approach to Radio: I work hard to write great creative. I believe a good idea is the missing element to many campaigns, either in branding, or, promotionally.

"I am presently seeking such an idea/tie-in. I am working with a 19 store fast food chain whose owner has told me, 'if you come up with a great idea that gets people in my stores I'll buy.' This sounds like a put-off. But I've worked with people long enough to know he'll do it.

"His best Radio promotion was with a fuel supply franchise, (I can't remember name). In summary, every tank full of gas, earned a voucher good for a meal at (advertiser). The fuel vendor paid $1 for each meal to offset the cost for the advertiser. It was a win/win/win. Advertiser spent an absurd amount of money to make it work, but it was a slam dunk. I have the opportunity to do something for him, but find myself wanting to present only the best idea. Anyone have one handy?"

Roger,

Since his best promotion was the tie-in with a fuel franchise, he's given you a valuable clue - a partnership with another business. With this in mind, you might want to look at your account list with a view toward facilitating a similar cooperative venture.

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Another possibility:

Recently I learned of a high school theater class raising money by waitressing at a local restaurant. Don't have all the details, but it's not hard to see how this would benefit the restaurant client. These young people have friends, fans and family that would support them by springing for a meal at the restaurant to help the group. Everyone wins.

Find a number of such groups and you could fill a succession of weekends (or whatever), one group at a time. Your station does the external publicity, the groups serve as your inside champions, and the restaurant becomes a focal point of community involvement. What's not to like about that?

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What about putting together a birthday (or anniversary) promotion. Listeners email/fax you their birthdays. you draw one each day to win a meal at the restaurant. Most winners will bring a friend or family, so the client gets some extra business. Yes, I know it may sound a little shmaltzy, But divide your local population by 365 and you have the average number of birthdays being celebrated each day. The people who don't win the free meal are sent an email coupon for a discount or other "consolation" prize, adding to the client's potential sales. Additional benefit: you both get email addresses to build a database for future promotions.

HTH.

RS

Use a busy mom approach....get in get out and get your family fed and be at the game (events) on time.

Tie the promotion to current events in the community (sports, fairs, markets, art, music). "Show your ticket to a local event get a discount" kind of concept. This is good branding for the chain, local support, and will drive traffic while they are already out and about. With gas prices the way they are and the green push, people plan their trips with greater thought. "Why not get a buy one get one free after the show?"
Local Sports: "Joe's burger hut is pulling for a victory for Gibbly High School Soccer team this Friday. With a win all fans get a buy one get one free after the game." Lets hope they win.....something like that might work.