One of the coolest promotions I’ve been involved in was being part of the weekly high school football games! We called it Friday Night Lights with (insert radio station.) The players and cheerleaders loved it and the fans in the stands got really into it!
First off, you need to figure out which schools you’re going to attend. This can be dicey because you don’t want to leave anyone out, and you want to hit as many schools as possible. Figure out what high schools are in your immediate listening area. Find out how many weeks the season is. Then go from there! Hit up the ones you think have the most listeners in your area. Find out who the Athletic Director is for each school and call them to make sure it’s ok you attend a game. A lot of times they’ll have a specific game they’d like you to be part of.
The week of the game starting Monday, announce what school you’re heading to that Friday. Post it on socials, website, anywhere you can. Invite the students to call in and “talk trash” about the opposing team. You can have a specific time they do this during the morning show. The more you mention it, the bigger the crowd, the happier the school!
At the game, park where they want you. With a promotions team, walk around and mingle. Ask the cheerleaders if you can cheer with them for a little bit. Get into it! Insert yourself wherever you can! Get lots of pics, especially with the mascot if they have one! If your station has a mascot, make sure he’s in attendance as well.
If you have the budget, shirts specifically for these games would be great. On the back you can have all the names of the high schools you’ll be attending. Pass these out every Friday. You can, also, have little footballs with your station logo on them to throw out.
You can do this for basketball games as well! Same concept. Always make sure you call the Athletic Directors and get clearance to be at the games.
If you want sales involved, you can add a sponsorship. Sports stores, shoe stores…anything that makes sense. Try to stay away from a sponsor that sounds forced. You want this promotion to feel authentic. Find a reliable screen printer to add as a sponsor and maybe you can trade out the shirts, have their logo on the shoulder of the shirt.
There’s a lot you can do with these types of promotions! They’re easy to execute and something I looked forward to every weekend.
Photo courtesy of FreePik