Most stations run promotions during ratings sweeps to grow their audience. Even as PPM has changed how we promote, one truth remains: if your promotion doesn’t grab attention, it doesn’t matter how it’s measured.
So, how do you make promotions work, no matter the ratings system? Start by remembering one simple rule: listeners don’t wake up hoping to enter your contest. They wake up hoping to get something.
Lead with the Listener Benefit
Always start with what’s in it for them. This is the classic difference between features and benefits. Features are nice. Benefits sell.
“Register online” is a feature. “Win free groceries” is a benefit—and dinner on the table tonight gets more attention than your URL.
Simplify Ruthlessly
If you can’t explain the promotion in one sentence—or two, max—it’s too complicated. Confused listeners don’t participate. They punch out.
Don’t Make Them Train for the Olympics
Avoid hoops, hurdles, and mental gymnastics. We all remember the crusty old GM who said, “It’s a big prize, so I’m gonna make ’em work for it.”
Bad idea. If the contest feels like homework, the audience will change the station and let someone else do the work.
Promote Like You Mean It
Radio is a frequency medium. One mention is a whisper. Repetition sells.
Major promotions should run multiple times an hour using promos, liners, live reads, quick mentions, and enthusiasm that sounds like you actually care.
Be Cinematic
A “$25 grocery gift card” sounds like errands. A “free bag of groceries” sounds like winning.
A “$75 restaurant card” is fine. A “three-course dinner for two” paints a picture—and pictures create emotion.
Don’t promote the card. Promote what it buys.
Stretch the Listening
The best contests create appointments. Schedule specific tune-in times throughout the day, so listeners know when to come back. You’re not just giving something away—you’re building a habit.
Thank the Winners
When someone wins, include a handwritten note from the air talent who awarded the prize. Thank them for listening. It costs almost nothing—and it creates loyalty that lasts longer than the contest.
Never Go Quiet
How do you end a big promotion? You don’t. You roll right into the next one. Momentum matters. Stations that stay promotionally active stay top of mind.
Lund’s Top 3: The Most Popular Radio Contests
These consistently perform, especially during ratings periods:
- Secret Sound
- Name Game
- Thousand Dollar Minute
Simple. Familiar. Effective.
Pic designed by Microgen for Envato Elements.
John Lund is President of the Lund Media Group, a radio programming consulting firm with specialists in all mainstream radio formats. Did you find this article useful? You can leave a comment below or email John at John@Lundradio.com.