Radio advertising has been around since the 1920s, but despite the emergence of television, the internet, and social media, radio remains a powerful force in media consumption and reaching consumers. Americans still turn to ‘the wireless’ for talk and music on their daily commute or to run in the background on their computer monitors.
Does Your Brand Need Radio Giveaway Ideas in the Age of Instagram?
Yes. Radio promotion ideas, including giveaways, remain a vital part of modern marketing strategies on a global scale. According to MediaTracks, 92% of Americans still listen to the radio, and that includes teenagers and millennials whose smartphones are now an extension of their arms.
If the radio is still audible, there’s value in utilizing those waves to your company’s advantage.
5 Tips for Amazing Radio Giveaway Ideas and Techniques
Here are some radio giveaway ideas to help you plan and run successful radio promotions.
1. Set The Right Target
Every radio station has its own demographics. Radio stations known for country music are going to draw a different crowd than alternative rock audiences. Jazz listeners tend to want different things out of life than heavy metal appreciation groups, and any promotion needs to use that airtime to reach the intended market.
Research the radio stations in your target location and do your own market research with existing customers about their preferred music or stations. Radio stations that attract your target consumers will probably have different time zones that target different audiences, as well. Running a giveaway during a morning radio show is likely to have different outcomes than an evening news segment.
2. Air the State and Federal Rules Before You Form a Plan
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulates radio contest structures against fraud, bribery, and other illegal acts. Keep their rules in mind when planning your giveaway, especially if it is a quiz game or a contest. Chat about your radio giveaway ideas with a sweepstakes administrator because if the grand prize is over a certain value threshold, you not only need to ensure the winner completes the appropriate IRS paperwork, you will also need to report the prize value to the tax authorities.
3. It’ll take more than Battle of the Sexes to Engage Your Audience
The participant’s role in the giveaway can be as simple as fifteen seconds of fame as the show’s twelfth caller or more active participation. The giveaway might require them to know the product’s slogan, answer trivia questions correctly, share an experience or participate in another activity.
The actions that your consumers take should be aligned with the goals of your marketing campaign and resonate with the specific audience you want to reach. For example, if the goal of your campaign is to raise awareness of a new soft drink flavor, contestants might enjoy explaining why they like that flavor, name it, or finish the poem, “Roses are red, our new flavor is blue….”
If you want your audience to be on the lookout for your product throughout the day, hire a mascot to walk around the city and have people call in and report its location to win a prize. The secret is to use the giveaway to promote the behavior that you want from the audience.
4. Take Risks and Win Hearts
Your radio giveaway ideas should stick in the minds of listeners long after the jingle fades. One way to achieve this is to have the callers or the radio host do something shocking or surprising as part of the contest. A great example of this technique is “Two Strangers and a Wedding,” in which two contestants who do not know each other agree to get married in order to win prizes.
A great promotion called “Live in it to win it” was one example of a memorable event from FM radio station 92.7 WICU in Erie, Pennsylvania. The contestants had to live in a car all day (with lunch breaks) for longer than any of the other contestants. Another example is the “million-dollar head in the sand” promotion where contestants dig on the beach for buried plastic heads to try and find the one with their own face on it for one million dollars.
Giveaways that push the contestants to interact with the product in unusual ways are doubly beneficial because it engages the contestant with novelty and simultaneously demonstrates the versatility of the product. However, the antics of the contestants should not harm or put anyone in legal jeopardy. For example, in 2001 Catherine McGowan successfully sued for £8,000 (worth about $16,000 today) when she won a “car,” only to be given a model toy car instead.
5. Leverage Social Media Advertising with any Radio Interaction
In this age of social media, a stunt gone wrong can travel much further than the original promotion, but a campaign that’s impactful has unlimited potential to highlight your brand for the right reasons. Radio promotions reach far beyond their time slot on local radio stations, and social media helps this feature significantly. Encouraging influencers, contestants, and others to share and comment on the radio station giveaway will promote your brand in powerful ways that may surprise you.
Creating a unique hashtag for your promotion with other relevant hashtags will also help your radio giveaway ideas trend on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, and other platforms. Blog posts and articles covering popular reactions to your giveaway will also generate buzz and prompt commentary that can form the basis of your follow-up campaign.
The National Sweepstakes Company team understands radio promotion because we’ve been working in the digital and marketing industries since the 1980s. Our company integrates radio marketing seamlessly with online marketing and social media events for streamlined and effective promotions that cater to your business needs and comply with the laws. Call us at 888-744-3217 today for a free consultation and find out how we can help you craft polished, legal radio giveaway ideas.