ARE YOU SMARTER THAN A DJ? This could be on-air call-ins or on-site at a sponsor location. ¶Get a local educator to come up with the questions, so it is unbiased; get Staples, Wal-Mart or some other typical back-to-school shopping site to sign on as sponsor. The sponsor buys a schedule and kicks in gift certificates for the winners for back-to-school shopping. ¶Of course, there are no losers. If the DJ wins, the gift certificate goes to a local program that purchases school supplies for the needy. If the person (could be a child or adult) competing against the DJ wins, their gift certificate goes to the same charity and they get a station T-Shirt, fast food or ice cream gift certificates. Of course, if the person wins they get the sponsor’s gift certificate. Listeners register at sponsor sites or on the station website.
BARBEQUE ON THE BIRD. Give away a full-service Father’s Day barbeque, complete with a La-Z-Boy recliner and a new barbeque grill for Dad. Listeners register by saying why their dad is a most deserving to win. Grand Prize and first and second place winners are selected by volunteer judges.
BUST INTO SUMMER. Invite listeners to register for two free bus trips—an inexpensive way to have summer fun—to attractions roughly two hours away. Sponsors receive added-value mentions during promotional announcements, plus point-of-purchase registration materials. The promotion runs eight weeks.
CAR SHOW. It’s a story right out of American Graffiti. Our local Classic Chevy Club has held a car show in a local park for many years. The night before their show, they do a “cruise” which includes a stop by the radio station parking lot, where we do a live all-request Oldies show that night. We sell sponsorships with commercials running in the broadcast of the car show. Along with these sponsorships, we have full-blown sponsorships of vendors participating with food and other goods, car detailers, parts stores and other auto-related types of businesses, insurance companies and more. ¶Our Oldies show has become a street dance in the middle of all the classic cars. Sponsors provide prizes; we sell and give away “car show” t-shirts, balloons, hats and other things along with collectors dashboard plaques which each car entry receives and collects; we even have a “listener appreciation” award (an actual trophy and cash) that the spectators vote on their favorite car.
