Radio Sales Café

Happy Friday, everyone!

 

Here is this week's poll question:

 

The holiday shopping season is here, and many towns are implementing "buy local" programs.

 

Does your community have such a program in place? 

 

What is your station doing to promote local shopping this holiday season?

 

Looking forward to reading your replies!

We have had a Shop Local program for several years.  We have a Shop Local program every Tuesday and Thursday.  The local group called, Beaverhead Business Builders, records the program.  All members of this group either own their own businesses or are the managers.  It is very successful.

 

Jo Ann Juliano

KDBM-KBEV

Dillon, Montana

We have a program for local radio stations that emphasizes shop local, support local, for more info just look at www.radiopreferred.com  or contact me [email protected] 

We have already starting running"shop local" ads. We have the 15 sec front with a 15 sec ad(paid) to follow.

We did phone sales to all the local businesses to get them on board. It worked fairly well.

I believe the front is an attention grabber-  Christmas bells/chimes really catches your attention.

 

 

Our stations have a "local" program that runs all year long, not just the holidays.  A number of years ago we started out with a "Downtown Proud" program.  We purchased a jingle package that encouraged shopping locally and downtown.  As the program gained in popularity we re-named and packaged it as "Shop ___________ First"!!  We run a combinations of 30's and 60's on all three of our stations. We then solicit businesses in the community and record the owner/manager saying:

eg:  "This is Mary Smith of Mary's Knickknack Corner urging you to Shop ______________ First"!  We use about three or four different forms of this and put three or four of these folks in each commercial.  We're a community of about 26,000 and a trade area of 65,000 and we know folks will shop out of town but we ask them to look local first!

 

 

Town centres in our area are really suffering with less than 60% occupancy.  We ran this earlier in the year to help boost sales with a negative aspect campaign.  we ran this for free and it generated business for us.

The DBA in concert with the county chamber of commerce started a 'Band of Locals' program a couple of years ago.  Yellow rubber wristbands (like the Lance Armstrong wristbands) with that name on them are sold at local businesses for $10  -  and by wearing or showing that you have one of the wristbands you are entitled to discounts or specials not otherwise available to customers. There's no end date - as long as you have or can show the wristband, you get the discounts.  They signed up about 30-35 businesses to participate.  The businesses have to buy the wristbands up front for something less than $10 and then sell them at their store or business locations. The special offers available change periodically, monthly, sometimes weekly depending on the business. The specials are posted at a page on the chamber and DBA websites.  The program has done so-so here  - this type of thing requires consistent marketing and POS which was never budgeted nor implemented.  Participating businesses are supposed to include 'ABC store... participant in the Band of Locals' in their advertising and regularly ask purchasers if they'd like a wristband - they really don't, there's no POS so the program has withered.  It's still running but has not really been as effective as it could have been.  The concept was lifted from another market where it reportedly did very well.  The difference is very likely because of no awareness promotion of the concept and lack of pushing of the wristbands at the store level.

We have a Shop Local program in our area that is promoted through the Chamber. This year there's a special emphasis and a little bit different twist, called "Shop Small". There has been a bigger focus on supporting the small to medium business owner. Our station definitely partners with the Chamber, so it's been an easy thing to be a part of and help support.

Small Business Saturday is November 29th and we have a campaign for this National day.  Targeting strip centers and giving each merchant air time with Live Remotes. Each merchant pays the same amount for the combo station remote and promotion. 

Our station group has had a "shop local" campaign in place for quite a number of years.  In fact, it has its own separate jingle  package that is now in its 3rd or 4th generation.  It runs several times a day 24/7 on all of our stations and is centered on "Shop (city name) First".  We run a variety of 30's and 60's and individual sponsors voice the donuts.  "This is _______, your ______ at _____ and we urge you to "Shop ____ First".  or something to that effect.  it varies by sponsor which keeps it fresh

I would love to read copy on a shop local ad that gives people real reasons to buy locally.  I heard one in a small town in Upstate New York recen;y that said something like Shop Local, but WalkMart, KMart and Target are NOT local.  This ads sping was to shop non chain or franchise businesses.  Talk about a confused message!

I agree, Chris.  The Band of Locals here seems to hand-select who can be included.  The local KFC franchisee who lives in town and employs around 50 was told 'no' to membership because she is not 'local'.  I thought this was the same thing you heard in New York until I found out the chair of the 'Locals' group is the local Sears franchisee (who employs 3). Go figure.... I noticed, too, some of the materials put out by the group are anti-big box.The message is mixed (as in mixed-up!)

'Local' to most people means, I think, money spent in-market as opposed to out of market or online. It all makes the local economy go 'round.