Summertime – Fun Time!

Regardless of what part of the country you live in, North or South, East or West, for most, summertime is a fun time and a great time to launch and execute promotions for your business.

The next time you are planning a significant event or promotion, consider the power of live radio remotes. 

But let me also include a word of caution: If you’re not REALLY having an event or promotion, DO NOT have a live remote broadcast. Live remote broadcasts can be one of the most exciting and profitable traffic builders you can buy, if…  you don’t expect your remote to be the event but, use it to promote your event.

All too often advertisers depend on and expect radio personalities, station vehicles, tents, swag (prizes) and the immediacy of live broadcasts to create a successful event.  There is more to it than that!

Sure, a small percentage of people will show up simply for the “free stuff” and the excitement of having a radio station and personality at your business, but the goal of an event or promotion is really three-fold:

1)    Drive immediate traffic

2)    Increase sales for that specific event or promotion

3)    Increase awareness to your business

…and a bonus is reason 4) Residual business.  A well-executed event powered by a live remote broadcast can drive more traffic in the select days that follow the remote than it did the day of the remote.

The remote broadcast should not be about the radio station.  It’s key that the majority of the focus be on the specials you have for this specific event.  Giveaways and registrations are great and can add excitement, but make sure they play second fiddle to the business and the promotion.

At Federated Media, the company I work for, I have a couple of exceptions to all of this.

The first is Station Events.  With our 6 radio stations, through out the year, we have our events that your company can be involved with. Take for example the Rock n Brew event that had over 2 dozen brewers take part in an event at our downtown baseball stadium.  Our rock radio station 98.9 The Bear was the host station last month and we did some live remote breaks from the event that featured some of the sponsors and participants.  This is different from having a live radio remote at your business location.

Another example of a Station Event that I take part in is our Fort Wayne Job Fairs.  Again this event is hosted by Federated Media and we use the promotional power of all our stations on air and online to invite candidates to our event that we hold in the spring and fall each year.  About 30 companies pay to have a booth at the event.  

Here’s the other exception I’ve been doing successfully for the past several years in partnership with Doc Dancer Heating and Air Conditioning. Around the first weekend of March, a promoter puts on the annual Home and Garden Show at the Memorial Coliseum.  Over 100,000 people attend to visit the booths of over 100 companies and one of those companies is Doc Dancer.  Friday afternoon, we have our afternoon talk show, the Pat Miller Program broadcast live from the Doc Dancer Heating and Air Conditioning booth at the Home and Garden Show on WOWO Radio.  What makes this an exception to a traditional Live Radio Remote Broadcast is that instead of broadcasting from the business site of Doc Dancer, we broadcast from a huge event that Doc Dancer is a part of and where we know there are going to be a heck of a lot of people.

Live Radio Remotes are not for every business and there are certain things to keep in mind before saying yes.

If you would like to see a guide titled “12 Tips to Successful Remotes” click here, and Good Luck with your next event!