These past few weeks – OK, maybe months – have been a roller coaster of information about the pandemic, the vaccines, and the return to “normal.”
Will we need a booster shot? Will there be another mask mandate…or worse? Can our hospitals take another wave of the sick…and dying? Will in-person events go on as planned?
If you were paying attention last week, it was another 7-day period of conflicting COVID news: rising infection levels in most states, increased hospitalizations, the Olympics are off to a shaky start amidst the pandemic, and anti-vaxxers are mostly sticking to their guns.
But there was one sign we may be making our way out of the woods.
Out of nowhere, the Rolling Stones announced the continuation of their twice cancelled “No Filter” tour. These stadium shows were first put on hold late in 2019 when Mick Jagger underwent heart surgery. Yesterday was his 78th birthday, and all reports indicate he’s hale, hardy, and ready to continue the tour. Obviously, the meds are working.
And then came COVID, and “No Filter” dates were cancelled along with everything else.
When the news broke last week the tour was back on, starting with 13 dates, everyone rushed to their computers and phones to see if their city was on the list. After all, a Stones concert in your town is a great experience, guaranteeing millions in revenue to the local economy.
This time around, the tour starts in St. Louis, makes its way to Detroit, and ends up in Austin. But looking over the itinerary and venues, there’s one stop that stands out because it looks nothing like the others.
On October 13, the Stones’ “No Filter” juggernaut heads into New Orleans to play that city’s iconic Jazz Fest. For the city fathers and mothers in the Big Easy, this is a true feather in their collective hats.
According to NOLA.com writer Keith Spera, the 51 year-old event had booked the Stones in 2019, but that date was deep-sixed when Jagger needed surgery.
For this year’s Jazz Fest, the Stones are front and center, a big win for festival organizers. Like the band appearing at Lollapalooza or Coachella, this is not your ordinary booking. And that’s what makes it so special.
Don’t miss The Rolling Stones on October 13, the first-ever Jazz Fest Wednesday!
Tickets on sale Friday, July 30 at 10AM.
Visit https://t.co/siDGJzjRZf for more information.#jazzfest pic.twitter.com/4HHrjbL3rW— New Orleans JazzFest (@jazzfest) July 22, 2021
How did they manage to pull it off? After all, Jazz Fest is an unlikely event for the Stones.
But they asked.
And the three word response?
“Mick said ‘yes.'”
When explaining this amazing booking coup, Jazz Fest’s producer and director, Quint Davis, explained, “It’s the biggest band in the world doing an American tour that nobody knew about. And they’re playing Jazz Fest.”
That story took me back to one of the most amazing radio promotions I had ever been involved with. Not in L.A., New York or Detroit. But in Richmond, VA.
Early in my consulting career, I was consulting Capital Broadcasting’s XL102, a truly successful station, programmed by a rambunctious PD, David Grossman.
There was noting subtle about David. He told you what he was thinking. If he disagreed with you, he got in your face, and he was not a quiet guy.
But he was a dreamer. A big dreamer. And he had great aspirations for XL102. He didn’t just want great ratings. He wanted the station to do big things.
David had a dream he could convince Yoko Ono to let him press a limited series of white vinyl copies of Lennon’s “Happy Christmas” in time for a Christmas promotion.
David knew a guy who knew a guy who supposedly knew Yoko. And once he had her contact info, David began to pepper her with letters and calls. From a distance, I thought this was at best a very long shot, and at worst a waste of time. After all, why would Yoko grant this request for a rock station in Richmond, Virginia, of all places?
David was relentless, and eventually convinced Yoko (and Capitol Records) to press 102 white vinyl 12″ limited editions of “Happy Christmas” to benefit the Central Virginia Food Bank.
That’s right – Yoko said “yes.”
Suffice it to say, it was one helluva promotion. No other station – WNEW-FM, KMET, or The Loop – all the big rockers back in the day, were able to take part in this.
Just XL102.
In an interview that took place in support of the fundraiser, Yoko was asked what made her finally decide to give her blessing to this project. Why XL102?
Her simple response said it all: “Because no one had ever asked before.”
Yes, I have a numbered copy of “Happy Christmas,” one of the few pieces of memorabilia that I’ve kept over the years – a great reminder of the power of a radio station and one programmer’s dogged pursuit to think big, and not be afraid to do “the ask.”
These days, there is a lot stacked against programmers and marketers in radio. Budgets have been decimated, contesting has been put on hold, research has dried up, and every manager has morphed into “Dr. No.”
In this kind of environment where many feel beaten down, you might not fault a manager for not even bothering to do “the ask.”
But that would be a huge mistake.
The person in history who perhaps is most credited with making requests against all odds is Mahatma Gandhi. He is credited with this timely quote:
“If you don’t ask, you don’t get.”
You just never know.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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I always find gold when reading your insightful pieces. I needed this one today, thank you.
ok.
I’ll ask.
As you may know, I host, write & produce BEATLES WEEKLY, a 1-hour syndicated radio program.
I do it because I LOVE The Beatles.
Soo..
That white vinyl copy of “Happy Xmas(War is over)?
I’d love it, Fred.
Not 102 copies.
Just 1, thank you.
😉
ps. I’ll pay for shipping 😆
Nice of you to ask, JC. 🙂
Because the worst they/anyone can say is no. Nice.
Exactly, Tim. And it’s not so bad right?
TWA started flying out of St. Louis non-stop to Gatwick in 1988. We asked the TWA sales marketing rep in our area about the possibility of our morning show helping to promote this new route. That began a series of five more morning show trips to England/Scotland during the 90’s even after TWA was taken over by American.
On one trip a train conductor asked about the radio station sweatshirt I was wearing. That lead to me asking how we could do a radio show on a train platform. Which we did a year later in Brighton England.
Amtrak asked for a promotion. We asked, could we do our morning show on the City of New Orleans Train (long before wi-fi)? We did it between Memphis and Yazoo City Mississippi one morning.
The hotel in Chicago during the shooting of the final scenes in The Fugitive movie was another remote location we got by asking. There are several others including our biggest ask.
Our G.M. said let’s try The White House. We asked. Our G.M. went through two dozen hoops over 9 months and got the yes in the Fall of 1998. We broadcast for two mornings on the lawn of the White House right where you see all the TV reporters do their stand-up shots. Did we have the president on the air????……..no. But Wolf Blitzer, Ann Compton and a host of others were our interviews. Including the funniest with legendary White House reporter Helen Thomas.
BTW, ALL”the asks” came from a morning show in Market #212.
Fred, you covered our move to new studios a few years ago. Where we did our morning while walking the 30 blocks to our new digs. The mayor walked with us and so did a local television station’s morning show. Simple asks.
Ironically this morning on the air I made an ask and got a yes. We are moving studios again this fall. We’ll be doing on our show this time on “The Raminator”. Which happens to be Dodge Ram’s Monster Truck Team based just North of us in Thomasboro.
Yes, we’ve received a few answers in the form of a “no” down through the years. I’ve been very blessed to be surrounded by so many great co-workers that have made some very fun radio happen based upon asking.
Ultimately, these asks have made for some wonderful memories that I cherish.
This^^^!
This is inspiring, Mike. And when you consider market size, it confirms what we know. Timing, courage, and (of course) luck are major factors here. Thanks for the reinforcement!
Guns n’Roses concert in Bogota in november 1992 was a huge success and Axl loved being there. After “Spaghetti Incident” he just ‘dissapeared’. But then we knew that GNR were going to play Rock in Rio in January 2001 and tried to reach him.
We called the hotel he was staying in Rio. His assistant answered his room phone. We told her we were calling from Bogota and wanted to talk with him and we heard him yelling “Colombia, yeah!” in the background. Then he picked up the phone and we got his first interview in years.
In Colombia we have this saying: “He who does not cry does not get breast milk” (“El que no llora, no mama”). We asked and Axl responded, and we had a great chat with him.
I think I love that Columbian saying better than Gandhi’s. Thanks for the story, Tito.
Ask me how I obtained 5,000 tickets for the original 3 nights 1984 Jackson’s Victory Tour at RFK Stadium in DC. Michael Jackson was at his peak on the heels of Thriller. Most Stations in America were happy just to get 50 tickets for giveaway when the tour was near them.
How?
I went into Pepsi pitching 10,000 tickets believing I could get them.
Of course then he caught his hair on fire, the tour was delayed and DC was cut back to 2 nights, but WAVA still was given several thousand tickets – many more than all the other DC Stations combined – and something I’ve never heard of any Station ever attempting.
Randy, right on the money. If you believe in the power of your brand (and yourself) AND you think big, wonderful things can happen.
Just remembering a time when one of my radio heroes, Dean Goss, let me hang out with him while he was on the air one night at KCBQ. Bob Hope was going to be having some special on TV and he thought he’d call and try to reach him to let him plug his special. Sure enough, Bob Hope DID call–from of all places–the GREAT WALL OF CHINA!! Seems like yesterday. Still amazes me to have witnessed the whole thing. Sometimes, it’s as simple as the words of the Bible in James 4:2, “ye have not, because ye ask not.”
When you’ve been through some of these crazy “asks” that became realities, you begin to respect the power. Thanks for the “brush with fame” reminder.