As we turn the corner into November, it’s almost time for listeners to turn their thoughts to giant turkey dinners, giant lines at stores, and the giant pain that a four-day weekend dominated by family can cause. Hopefully, your personal experience will be a memorable one, but for your audience, the Thanksgiving Weekend is a big one. With all that in mind, here are some thought starters to get your station into the holiday – and subsequent shopping spirit. They all have sponsorship potential as well – give us a call if you want to talk about the possibilities.
On-Air Promotions
Flip Us Your Bird
Cooking the Thanksgiving bird can be one of the most exciting or harrowing experiences of the year for home cooks (especially those who have attempted to deep fry a turkey). Have listeners send you a photo or video of their turkey. The following Monday, the best-looking bird wins sweet cooking gear. The worst #turkeyfail could win cooking lessons or a consolation meal at a local restaurant. Or use Twitter: tweet us your bird, making sure to dream up a hashtag that includes your station brand.
Support Local Businesses
Another way to give thanks this season could be wrapped around one of the most important types of advertiser radio has: local direct clients. Started in 2010 by American Express, Small Business Saturday (November 26) has grown into a large annual event that highlights independent businesses. It may be a great opportunity to pair with local merchants’ associations on a promotion or create sales package that take advantage of available inventory after Black Friday sales fall away.
No Lonely Thanksgivings
Host a Thanksgiving dinner for people who aren’t from the area and can’t make it home to see their families. Listeners could submit their stories to get invited generating some great on-air content or it could be open to the public. Be sure to tie in sponsors for the location, food, prizes etc.
Health Over Shopping
Many guys would say they’d rather have a prostate exam than go shopping on Black Friday. Let’s put it to the test (so to speak). Have guys pledge to get a checkup if they don’t have to go shopping. Call their wives and make the case that health comes before shopping. This could be a chance to partner with a big hospital or other healthcare provider in town to offer exams. Promoted properly you could also get press coverage for a unique approach to promoting men’s health, and of course, you could get a hospital to sponsor the effort.
The Thanksgiving Wishbone – Virtual or Real
Since not everyone gets a shot at the wishbone, use a virtual one on the air as a trigger for giving out prizes before Thanksgiving. There is also a company in Seattle called Lucky Break that sells wishbones in bulk (100 for $60) which would be great for a tournament and/or live appearance. This could be done on-site at a grocery client with turkeys for the winners or at a bar event. There could also be an online version your listeners could play on your site.
Do Something Good
First and foremost, this holiday is about being thankful, which with some preparation, is a theme your station could take to heart. Do something that shows your station is truly thankful to be a part of the local community. Try to create a special moment that will inspire people and be shared by your audience. This could be a great opportunity to press coverage and reach some people outside your existing cume.
While this WestJet stunt would require more resources than most stations have available, it’s a great example of doing something surprising and attention getting. Since these types of campaigns need to be personalized for each station, let us know if you’d like help brainstorming a concept that fits your market.
Tweetsgiving/Thankstweeting
Let your listeners know that you give them thanks for all their support and on Thanksgiving you’d like to do a huge follow back. Have them tweet the station on Thanksgiving Day and let them know you’ll follow them back as a way of saying “thank you” for supporting the station.
Free Rides
Between the fact kids are home from college and there’s a long four-day weekend, there’s going to be a whole lot of drinking going on. Uber recently announced that they are selling gift cards and these would make the perfect gift during this long week (as well as through the month of December) and will help keep your listeners, and others, safe.
Texting for Turkeys
With the average cost of a 16-pound turkey hitting $23.04 last year, giving away turkeys is a great way to ease the burden. For a twist, consider giving them away through text messaging where listeners are prompted to text “turkey” every time they hear the turkey sound effect.
Recipes are a great way to use Pinterest to drive listeners back to your radio station’s website. Have your DJs take photos of their favorite Thanksgiving dishes and post them on Pinterest. In the description for each photo, link back to a page on the station website that has the full recipe for the dish in the photograph.
Shop from Home (Or the Office)
Cyber Monday continues to grow every year. Create a page on your site dedicated to the day with links to your advertisers and other big discounts. Sell a sponsorship of the page and promote that it’s available as an aid for your listeners who will be shopping instead of working.
App(y) Thanksgiving
With new iPhone and Android models coming out it’s a great time to be promoting the value of your app. Start with the Thanksgiving weekend and remind people they can stream the station on your app while they wait in line for Black Friday deals, or while they are stuck at the relatives, or when they have to do the dishes, or when they need to rake leaves or… you get the idea.
Video Message
Put together a short video with each staff member thanking listeners for being fans of the morning show, the radio station, the Workforce, etc. embedded in an email that goes out to the entire database. It’s the perfect time to give thanks to the people who are fans of your station.
Holiday Quiz – “What Thanksgiving Food Are You?” We can’t stop taking those quizzes on BuzzFeed. It’s frequently like “What kind of animal are you?” or “Which action hero best represents you?” So, create your own that’s themed to the holiday. It’s easy to do, fun for your social channels and it could be a unique way to add “organic discussion” or “DJ chatter” about an advertiser through sponsorship of your quizzes or by building one related to their product. Here are more details on how to build a quiz.
Catch Our Turkey
For Alternative stations and other formats that talk to Millennials, hold a Snapchat-based contest. Promote that during specific hours you will be sending a picture of the station turkey for listeners to catch. Then send a picture of a station-branded turkey that lasts just two seconds and give prizes to someone who captures a screenshot of it.
Album Sides
For some people, it’s the sides that are even tastier than the turkey itself and if there was ever a day for a Classic Rock station to feature album sides all day long, it’s Thanksgiving Day.
Don’t Get Plucked!
Partner with a mall to give away front row parking appointments on the Friday after Thanksgiving. People could register via text or on a web page that also offers coupons and ads for retailers at the mall. You could also have members of your staff or Rock Girls run a valet service for charity. Make sure you hire an actual valet service to park the cars and only have your staff help collect donations.
Thanksgiving Hangover Helper
The night before Thanksgiving is one of the busiest nights of the year for bars which must mean there are plenty of Thanksgiving hangovers. Prior to the holiday have your morning show take suggestions from listeners for their best hangover cures.
Turkeys of the Year
By hashtag, Facebook, web poll or phone call have listeners vote on the year’s biggest losers. Depending on your market it could be a series of polls with local nominees that could earn the station some attention and buzz. You can also have listeners call in to identify sound bites from the biggest “turkeys” of the year. If they correctly guess the voices of stars from failed movies, TV shows, etc., they win a prize.
The Aftermath
Once the guests leave it’s up to gossip about the family. Have listeners submit their stories of holiday disasters – burnt dinners, awful houseguests, drunk uncle, etc. – with prizes for the worst. This should generate some good material for the air and a sponsor opportunity to provide solace for the worst story.
Twerky Dinner
Can’t beat a good pun. This could take any number of forms, from a jock hosting a Thanksgiving-themed promotion at a local (strip) club to listeners submitting their own twerking videos of their cranberry sauce as it comes out of the can and shakes. (Thanks to the team at CJAY.)
PieFest
Since pie (pumpkin, apple and otherwise) is a central food item on this holiday, why not grab some local celebrities or morning show members to withstand the brunt of some listeners, who of course get to throw a pie for a donation to charity
Alice’s Restaurant
Purely for Classic Rock, this song has become a staple for some but still could become a new tradition for others who have never played it. Last year marked the 50th anniversary of the song. It’s 18 minutes long so it’s quite a commitment to play on the air (but hey, it’s Thanksgiving Day) so a tribute page could be built honoring this iconic song with as well as information, lyrics, an interview with Arlo Guthrie and you can even give away the DVD of the 50th anniversary concert that ran on PBS.
What I Shouldn’t Be Thankful for, But Am!
Listeners call in and talk about the things they shouldn’t be thankful for but actually are. Examples include breast implants, Viagra, Jack Daniels, cigarettes, bacon, daily fantasy sports, and other politically incorrect stuff.
Get Rid of Your Stuffing
Weight loss competitions are the topic of national television shows, so consider hosting your own version. Have listeners volunteer before Thanksgiving for a weigh-in. Work with a local gym and keep track online of who loses the most weight between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. Take before and after pictures and have your legal department prepare legal releases.
Thanksgiving Takeover
As a means of saying thanks to your listeners, let them take over the station on Thanksgiving Day (or the day after). It could be driven by Perfect Playlists, a Pay for Play for Charity, using listener voices in sweepers, or even having a variety of listener guest DJs all day long.
So, Are You Dating Anyone?
For single people making the trip home, bring in two models (female and male) or incredibly good-looking station staffers so listeners can drop by the station (or a mall location) and have some casual pictures snapped to take back home for answering the inevitable question. Be sure to get reactions from anyone who plays along after the weekend.
Happy Thanksgiving
Since a number of people take to the roads for Thanksgiving, consider giving away tanks of gas the day before the holiday.
Thanks-taking
All you hear around Thanksgiving is give, give, give, but all weekend long your listeners can take, take, take prizes from your prize closet. This could include them taking gift cards you purchase from Best Buy or Amazon, and/or taking control of your music with a Perfect Playlist Weekend.
The Running of the Turkeys
If you’re looking for something completely different (and at least partially stupid) and you have an interest on getting on the local news on what will be a pretty slow news day, have your morning show work with a local farmer and hold a race outside the station or in a public place (with permission of course).
Jock Food Fight
Pit jocks against each other in a food drive battle. Have them do remotes from the food bank or sponsoring retailers and then encourage listeners to top the previous shift. The jock who generates the most food gets a donation made in his/her name by the station.
Turkey Bowling
An old standby, if it hasn’t been done in your market it’s still an attention grabber from television stations. Do this at a bowling alley and let the frozen gobblers fly. Another way to go (and possibly generate some revenue) is to do this at a grocery store and have listeners “bowl” down the aisles and hit canned goods or 2-liter bottles.
Turkey Shoot
This can be done in one of two ways. If you have a local basketball or hockey team (pro or college), team up with them at halftime during one of their games to try to make a free throw or goal with a turkey. Those who make it win a basketball or hockey prize package or a free turkey dinner. You could also tie-in with a local sports anchor to garner TV coverage.
Staff Football Game
Get the staff together on Thanksgiving Eve (or Thanksgiving Day) for a flag football game against a team of local celebrities, sports stars, or even police and firefighters. Sell tickets for charity, and have an auction of memorabilia as well.
Drumstick Giveaway
Give away drumsticks (the non-turkey kind) autographed by famous drummers. Start working now and as bands come to town, have the drummer sign a stick or two. You may want to keep this one in mind over the next year as well. eBay is a great place to buy drumsticks.
The Turkey Testicle Festival
Some people actually believe that nothing tastes better than fried turkey testicles! Patterned after the original Turkey Testicle Festival in Byron, Illinois, this could become a staple and great event for your station in years to come. Festivals similar to this have found that they sell out their tickets weeks in advance. Find a location, add in some sponsors such as a grocery store, a beer company, get a band and you’re off. And yes, you can buy them for just $5 a pound.
Leftovers Weekend
Make this the time of year when you open up the prize closet and give away everything you have left over from past contests – gift certificates, CDs, T-shirts, etc.
Charity / Good Will
Military Families
If you’re collecting food for the holidays, consider giving it to military families in need. Or have the audience adopt them and take care of their needs, both material and emotional.
iThanks
This requires a sponsor who will provide an iTunes gift card to every listener who makes a donation in support of our troops overseas. Work with the local military offices or the USO in your town and they can help you distribute the gift cards and food items.
Workforce Holiday Bonus
A great twist on the Workforce Payroll is to give money to a winner and to a charity — $50 for you and $50 for local food bank.
Food Drive/Marathon for Meals/Meals On Wheels
A classic – promote a high traffic location where you set-up a semi-trailer for food collection and have listeners drop off cans, boxes of food, cash, etc. All donations will be distributed to local food banks or a charity. A station jock vows not to leave until the trailer is full. You will need an empty truck and an RV for the jock to live in.
Turkey Tuck
Have your turkey neck removed by a plastic surgeon. Sign up online with a picture showing off your lovely wattle to win. But make sure you’ve got all your legal angles covered.
Thanks for Giving
Listeners send in videos of themselves thanking the troops that are posted on your website and forwarded to local military offices and/or the USO. This has potential to not only be a good thing to do, but could also generate local press. Another option could be to set-up a camera at the station or at a shopping mall, where listeners could come down and have their video recorded.
Black Friday
Day After Thanksgiving Shopping Spree
Known as the biggest shopping day of the year, perpetuate that image by giving away a shopping spree at a mall and let the lucky winner shop ’til they drop and cover it live. Shopping malls and other downtown shopping district organizations have marketing budgets that can support this and generate revenue for the station.
Car Spotters
Have interns in the parking lots with pads of paper writing down car locations for shoppers. When the shopper is done, they check the piece of paper with your logo to see where they’ve parked and get a free notepad to keep track of who’s naughty and nice.
Valet Parking
Set-up a station sponsored valet parking system at a local mall.
Golf Cart It
Have a couple of golf carts set-up with the jocks or staffers as valets.
Shoppers Cheat Sheet/Wish List
Listeners who are stuck for gift ideas fill out the “WXXX cheat sheet,” describing the likes and dislikes of the people they want to buy gifts for and email it to the station. You can post the lists and have other listeners offer suggestions. For a great example of a Wish List, check out what Amazon.com has done.
The Personal Shopper
For Black Friday, run a morning show contest for a week or two prior where the prize is having the morning show pick you up at dawn in a limo with coffee and bagels and drop you off with the morning show at a local mall. Have the jocks carry the packages around, wait in the check-out lines for you, etc., and have someone record it all so it can go right to YouTube and your website.
Back in Black Friday
Nothing says Thanksgiving like AC/DC, so consider giving away AC/DC Boxed Sets on the day after Thanksgiving or the more cost effective method of simply giving away copies of the Back in Black CD.
Back in The Black Friday
On Black Friday give away gift cards or coupons all day long every time you play a song or an artist with the word black in it. Obvious fits, depending on the format include:
Pearl Jam |
Black |
Steely Dan |
Black Friday and Black Cow |
AC/DC |
Back In Black |
Scorpions |
Blackout |
Led Zeppelin |
Black Dog, Black Country Woman, and Black Mountain Side |
Doobie Brothers |
Black Water |
Metallica |
Fade To Black and Blackened |
Beatles |
Blackbird |
Hollies |
Long Cool Woman (In A Black Dress) |
Rolling Stones |
Paint It Black |
Santana |
Black Magic Woman |
Ram Jam/Spiderbait |
Black Betty |
Soundgarden |
Black Hole Sun |
Los Bravos |
Black Is Black |
Rob Zombie |
Black Sunshine |
Van Halen |
Black and Blue |
Sevendust |
Black |
And, of course, anything by Black Sabbath, Black Crowes, or Blackfoot.