{"id":1552,"date":"2019-05-23T11:24:14","date_gmt":"2019-05-23T01:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bprworld.com\/?p=1552"},"modified":"2019-05-23T11:24:14","modified_gmt":"2019-05-23T01:24:14","slug":"stunt-based-promotions-whats-too-far","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/news\/stunt-based-promotions-whats-too-far\/","title":{"rendered":"Stunt Based Promotions – What’s Too Far?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Tanya Simpson<\/em><\/p>\n

With a career spanning over 25 years in the radio industry, most recently as Brand Partnerships Director for Nova Entertainment, Tanya Simpson is one of Australia\u2019s most experienced radio promotion and marketing professionals. Tanya is now offering her considerable expertise as an independent consultant and BPR is delighted to welcome her as a contributor to the NUDGE.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Radio stunts have been a part of the medium for years \u2013 way back when Orson Welles aired War of the Worlds in 1938 or when an announcer at XEAK, San Diego \/ Tijuana played “Mope-itty Mope” by The Boss-Tones for 72 hours straight in 1961. With the relentless stream of content online and via social media, radio stations (and TV) are looking for new ways to grab attention \u2013 and therefore ratings \u2013 and have certainly upped the ante on stunts in recent years.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, a Hot AC station in Australia ran a contest with a female listener having her labia pierced live on air (and also filmed for social media) \u2026 to win two tickets to a Cardi B concert in Barcelona.\u00a0 The contest mechanic was to pledge something that would impress the breakfast hosts and her entry was chosen as the best. \u00a0If you\u2019re brave enough to listen to the audio, you\u2019ll hear her high-pitched screams coming from a neighbouring studio as a beautician pierces her live on air.\u00a0 Too much?\u00a0 Engaging content?\u00a0 Pure shock factor? Cume and TSL driver? Probably a little of everything.<\/p>\n

Do promo stunts work? It depends on your objectives and let\u2019s be honest, they can go either way. We\u2019ve all heard horror stories. It\u2019s important to flesh them out thoroughly and proceed with caution.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re considering running a promotional stunt, ask yourself a few questions before you start pulling together over enthusiastic listeners and your hard-working promotional teams.<\/p>\n

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Know your audience<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Is a stunt or prank something that your audience will think is funny and great content (they want to share), or do they see it as immature and stupid?<\/p>\n

Generally, formats with younger demos are more open to stunt-based content, however older audiences can sometimes be open to this type of promotion if it\u2019s done in a good, kind hearted way.\u00a0 Melbourne\u2019s Gold FM had grandmas kicking balls on a footy oval to win Grand Final tickets and have invited a listener into their studio to host the breakfast show as a dying wish \u2013 a mixture of stunt and promotion like this is well received by listeners.\u00a0 Talk or easy listening formats generally stay away.<\/p>\n

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Is it legal?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Make sure you\u2019re not breaking the law or putting your listeners in a situation where they may be fined or arrested.\u00a0 Asking them to do anything illegal puts you and your station at risk, so be sure that every detail is signed off by your legal team and ensure your terms and conditions are water tight to avoid bad publicity and a day in court.<\/p>\n

Double check the prizing you are offering as different states \/ countries have differing rules for what is deemed a suitable prize, particularly with alcohol and holidays.\u00a0 If you are required to apply for a permit or licence, contact your local permits offices or gaming authority to get advice.<\/p>\n

A contest called Bank, Bury, Burn featured a winner with $10,000 which could, with the spin of a wheel, be buried in a hole, banked in their account or burned.\u00a0 Burning or destroying money in Australia is actually illegal as the Crimes (Currency) Act 1981 prohibits deliberate damage and destruction of money and breaking this law can lead to detention or a fine.<\/p>\n

Your legal team are your best friends \u2013 use them.<\/p>\n

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Is it safe?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

Nobody wants to injure or harm anyone, so cross check every part of a stunt to ensure your listeners and staff are safe.\u00a0 This covers everything from use of machinery or equipment to transport and travel.\u00a0 If your stunt involves listeners eating specific types of food, check for food allergies and if possible, have a first aid person or medic on standby just in case.\u00a0 That $300 callout fee is a much better option than a listener ending up in hospital \u2013 or worse.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s recall the horrifying story of a woman who died from water intoxication in a Sacramento stunt called “Hold Your Wee for a Wii” to try to win a Nintendo Wii for her children.\u00a0 Contestants had to drink large amounts of water every 15 minutes for the first hour, then larger bottles as the stunt progressed.\u00a0 It probably sounded harmless and fun in the product meeting, but a quick check with a medical team might have saved this listener\u2019s life.<\/p>\n

Another horror story from Birmingham saw a radio station fined \u00a315,000 for a contest which involved listeners sitting on blocks of dry ice \u2013 only to need skin grafts and weeks of hospital treatment for frostbite from the stunt. \u00a0Assuming, it was you-know-where.\u00a0 Ouch.<\/p>\n

Cover yourself.\u00a0 Use experts in their field \u2013 doctors, emergency services, technicians \u2013 anyone that can give you clear direction and solutions on how to avoid a disaster which gets you on the local TV news \u2013 for the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n

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Could it be seen as unethical?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

A stunt might be safe and legal, but is it ethical?\u00a0 Will you receive backlash from your audience and the general public?\u00a0 A huge issue for many listeners is wastage, particularly with food, so be sure that any products you use in the stunt can be re-used or recycled.\u00a0 Destroying items for the sake of content can provide a negative outcome when your listeners suggest that the used car or piece of furniture could have been donated to a person or community who needed it.<\/p>\n

Consider the social conscience of your audience.\u00a0 What do they care about?\u00a0 What makes them angry about the world?\u00a0 This will help you manage your moral compass.<\/p>\n

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How will your clients and partners react?<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n

If your clients aren\u2019t aligned to this type of content or are conservative, ensure that their ads and sponsorship packages are nowhere near the stunt \u2013 either on air or online.\u00a0 No one wants to lose revenue because a client didn\u2019t want to be associated with a stunt and pulled their budget.\u00a0 That\u2019s a very uncomfortable conversation to have with your GM.<\/p>\n

A great stunt can create a little bit of \u201cOh, they can\u2019t do that<\/em>\u201d and a lot of \u201cOh, I need to listen to see what happens<\/em>\u201d.\u00a0 Consider the somewhat controversial radio promotion from a few years ago, Two Strangers and a Wedding and the furore that caused by seemingly mocking the sanctity of marriage.\u00a0 It\u2019s now become a massive ratings winner for TV as Married At First Sight and is still causing controversy, now for different reasons \u2026 but it\u2019s pulling huge numbers in both share and revenue.<\/p>\n

Radio stunts can drive Cume and TSL \u2013 just do your homework and always ask \u201cWhat If?\u201d.<\/p>\n

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Game enough to watch the Cardi B stunt?\u00a0 Here it is \u2026 block your ears:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.kiis1065.com.au\/shows\/kyle-jackie-o\/kyle-and-jackie-o-cardi-b-super-fan-vagina-pierced-concert-tickets-please-me-competition<\/a><\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Tanya Simpson With a career spanning over 25 years in the radio industry, most […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorised"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/bprworld.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/aircrafts-airplane-airshow-51359-Medium.jpg?fit=821%2C768","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1552"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1552\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1558,"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1552\/revisions\/1558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/bprworld.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}