“Letters To Dave”: The Sales Promotion That No One Entered
If I looked back at my biggest disasters (and there would be a lot to choose from), they were all done “as requested” by the client. These were promotions that I should have stood my ground and said, “This isn’t going to be good. Let’s fix it and pitch them something that will work for them AND us.”
The Time Dan Seeman (Probably) Saved My Life
During my formative years I was incredibly fortunate to work at WLOL in the Twin Cities. The station was a monster and the talent in the halls was ridiculous. And not just on-air but just across the board from Traffic and Production to the Business Office and Engineering.
KDWB’S SHOT SEEN ‘ROUND THE WORLD
On Wednesday August 1, 2007 at approximately 6 pm, the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi in downtown Minneapolis collapsed, killing 13 people.
At the exact moment of the collapse, downtown Minneapolis went silent, bells rang, Alli, with her live phone bowed her head….and a stringer for the Associated Press happened to point, shoot and her photo ended up being the image that ended up in print and digital media around the world.
The Time We Had 23 Pairs Of World Series Tickets
It’s not easy to be a Minnesota Sports Fan. Life on the tundra and a Lenten diet of lutefisk (jellied cod soaked in lye) have toughened us and have helped make late season collapses easier to suffer through. So we try not to get our hopes up and...
Possibly The Winner Of “The Worst Sales Story…Ever”
If you get a bunch of Programmers together, inevitably someone will bring up the time some AE agreed to do something atrocious or committed the station to doing something that, well, was a really bad idea. It can be soul crushing to see a station just waste a million dollar prize for a seemingly tiny sales opportunity knowing the insane lengths that people will go to try and just PURCHASE concert tickets.
“Dead Air”: The Movie That Never Existed
I celebrate April Fools like some people celebrate Christmas: it’s MY holiday. It celebrates everything that forms the core of my belief system. And I did some good ones over the years. When I was at Kiss 102 in Charlotte there was the Coliseum...
Paige Nienaber’s Excellent Adventure
Promotions as applied to Radio, gaming or anything else requires that you know the audience and what they would actually pay money for. Beefy tee “fun run shirts” aren’t going to move the needle in 2023.
The Time KGGI/Riverside Moved To Iowa
If I had a Mantra (and I really do need one)(plus an affectation like a monocle or a walking stick) it would be that I hate to see stations miss opportunities. We have all of these opportunities that present themselves, and how many have you actually seized on and done something with? Great radio stations dig and scavenge for opportunities.
The Helmer Johnson Theory of Morning Show Characters
We spend so much time trying to create stuff when our answers might be in the audience. You just need to have the radar up for these people who, for a minute, might be passing through your orbit. And then get their number and find a way to use them. Listeners are truly an untapped resource for content and when someone “unique” calls in, grab them and hold on. You might have hit Gold.
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