When Netflix launched Squid Game, a dystopian South Korean drama about contestants in a survival competition based on traditional children’s games, it quickly became the streaming service’s biggest debut ever. The phenomenon reverberated throughout social media. According to Shareablee, the social media monitoring service:
“Squid Game, Netflix’s recent international release, has reached every corner of the social media universe since it’s launch. Engagement on content mentioning Squid Game reached a peak on October 6 with 8.5 million actions in one day, and engagement has stayed in the millions throughout October. The show has also been trending on TikTok as a top challenge with 44 billion views, on YouTube as a top video tag with major channels like SNL creating content, and on Wikipedia where it has remained in the top viewed articles. ”
Here’s the Saturday Night Live parody of Squid Game:
https://youtu.be/vWdHPMhy270
One of radio’s strengths has always been its ability to tap into the pop culture zeitgeist. So what did radio stations and personalities around the world do with Squid Game? I posed that question to regular readers of the Jacobs Media blog, and here’s what they told me…
Julian on the Radio
Julian on the Radio, who can currently be heard on 99.7 NOW in San Francisco, MOViN 92.5 in Seattle, and LIVE 95.5 in Portland, among other stations, created this meme:
Mix 96.7 (CHYR-FM), Windsor, Ontario
Jay & Tori of Mix Mornings on Mix 96.7 in Windsor played their own version of the Squid Games, including “Extreme Jenga…to the death!”:
The Morning Mashup on SiriusXM
The Morning Mashup featuring Nicole, Stanley T, and Ryan Sampson on SiriusXM’s Hits 1 channel, produced several Squid Games memes, including two that promote their “Age Game” benchmark feature:
96.5 Wave FM in Wollongong, Australia
Squid Game is a worldwide phenomenon, and stations around the globe have capitalized on it. Jade, Straney & Damien of Wave FM in Wollongong, Australia used the hit show as a platform to inspire discussions on social media. As an American, I haven’t got the slightest idea what many of the responses mean — “Gum Boot Throwing, ” “Yabby Racing,” and “Wheelie Bin Cricket”?! — but the post clearly got listeners’ imaginations fired up.
Mid-West Family Marketing, Springfield, Missouri
In one episode of Squid Game, the participants must carve a shape out of dalgona honeycomb candy without cracking it. Some radio companies used this episode as an opportunity to show off their logos. Here’s an example from Mid-West Family Marketing:
Q107 (CFGQ-FM), Calgary, Alberta
Q107 is Calgary created a video meme based on this scene using a Rolling stones logo:
@q107calgarysclassicrock Yeah, we’d 100% die in Squid Game.#radio #classicrock #fyp #fypシ #foryoupage #squidgame #dalgona #squidgamenetflix
The Dave & Mahoney Show
The syndicated morning radio show also played off of this scene:
101.1 The Bounce (KCZE-FM), Phoenix, Arizona
Many radio stations took advantage of Squid Game‘s popularity to promote their own contests. Here’s an example from The Bounce in Phoenix:
99.3 CFOX-FM, Vancouver
CFOX in Vancouver used Squid Games popularity as an opportunity to engage in guerrilla marketing: Julie Mangat of Corus explains:
“We printed up about 2,000 Squid Game-inspired cards and placed them on people’s windshields, with a number to call on the back. When called, they reach an automatic recording that, at first, sounds like the show, but then we launch into info about our new ratings promo that starts Monday.”
The gambit paid off, with their stunt getting covered by DailyHive and inspiring a Reddit thread.
Live 95.5 (KBFF-FM), Portland, Oregon
Live 95.5 in Portland adapted their cash content to create a guerrilla marketing opportunity based on the Netflix hit. Amanda “Ice” Habrowski explains:
“We printed out thousands of Squid Game cards with a Google Number and placed them around Portland like we were opening a nightclub; invited those who found the cards to leave their name and birthdate if they wanted to participate in the game, which is now our now cash contest. The voicemail is a recorded promo, so those who call know how to play and who was responsible for leaving the cards. We received hundreds of calls and texts, creating curiosity around the city! Def the most excited I’ve been about a promotion in a really long time.”
I would like to know who in Portland printed out Squid Game-esque business cards, because seeing this after watching the entire show over the weekend was…startling. pic.twitter.com/AFY2G1brU3
— Hope Levy (@hopealevy) October 13, 2021
Mix 106.3 (WGER-FM), Saginaw, Michigan
Mix 106.3 in Saginaw centered their cash giveaway around Squid Game. They also printed cards with a phone number on it:
Moments like these allow radio broadcasters to unleash their imaginations and have some fun. For many, these types of creative opportunities are the reason they fell in love with this business. Did your radio station take advantage of Squid Game? If so, send me a link!
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