When is a promotion more than a promotion?
When it cascades into the talk of the town.
So it seems to be for the folks at US 93.3, er… US ?3.3, who “lost the 9” in their station name and are on a hunt to recover it with the help of the Ft. Wayne community.
This is a story, not simply a promotion. And one which invites interest and participation (what the digital folks call “engagement”) from thousands of listeners.
It is a campaign woven across every platform, even including some very clever videos modeled after a certain NBC TV show set in an office.
Here’s a recent chapter:
I talked with Oasis Radio Group Ft. Wayne GM/Director of Programming Phil Becker about this promotion, er, story. How big it is, how it works, and how effective it is. And even how he has converted radio clients (“partners” in very smart Oasis-speak) into paid product placements in his videos.
This is a pretty remarkable illustration, 100% locally grown, of what happens when smart and creative radio folks set out to do something big and fun and noisy and impactful and community-based and effective – for their clients, their brands, their consumers, and – I’m predicting – their ratings.
Check out this conversation with Phil Becker:
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For more info on the effort you can visit the “Find the 9” website which looks an awful lot like what the station’s website used to be.
Congratulations to Phil and the whole crew at the “Station Formerly Known as US 93.3” for an adventure well conceived and well executed – with twists, turns, mystery, and clues aplenty.
P.S. Phil’s conference room is called “The Idea Factory.” What do you call yours?
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