Contests and Desperation

By now, you've probably heard of the sad event in Sacramento. In a contest on KDND, contest participants had to drink a lot of water. One of them, a mother of two, died.

I'm not going to comment on the contest itself. A lot of others have, and the drama is ongoing.

But I would like to post a little reminder about contests. I'm inspired to think about this by a quote in the San Diego Union-Tribune. They interviewed Jerry Del Colliano, an experienced broadcaster who is now a professor at the University of Southern California. He said:

 "We're seeing more and more desperation on the part of radio stations as they chase a shrinking audience. The sad part of it is, contests stopped working a long time ago. I teach the next generation at USC, and they don't care about contests.”

A lot of people probably saw that quote and thought it was just one guy's opinion.

I'd like to amplify it. Both as a programmer and as a researcher, I've studied contests for about three decades. Mr. Colliano is correct. Contests don't work.

Okay, here is the fine print.

1. For certain audiences, contests can generate some interest on a short term basis. But you must remember, spikes in ratings that occur simply because of greed or curiosity actually hurt a radio station. Advertisers need stability. If they don't see it, they can't trust that you'll deliver the numbers they see published in the ratings report. There is a world of difference between a spike and genuine growth.

2. Promotions can work. And a contest can be part of a promotion. In the case of the Sacramento station, we might assume that video games are a part of their listeners' lifestyle. The key, then, would be to create an environment where habitual listening to the station enhances the emotions that the listeners feel about video games. In other words, as a station, you need to amplify the lifestyle experiences of the listeners. And this must be true of the average listener, not the average contest player. There is a big difference.

Does that mean you humiliate a listener? Is that a strengthening of the bonds between your station and the listener? No, of course not. Humiliating a listener is just a cheap shot.

I've seen adult stations with a high profile morning show hold golf tournaments. Listeners get to play a hole with the morning guy. If they wanted to take the "KDND approach", they might instead have a contest. Listeners line up 100 feet away from the tee. The morning guy takes 50 shots. Whichever listener is hit by the most golf balls wins. No, I'm kidding. Don't do that one!

3. Amplify the human experience. People come to you for positive emotions. It is sad when we don't tap into that. I was listening, last night, to a favorite station of mine. They are giving away a fabulous prize: a new home, new car, and a huge amount of cash. But on air, you hear endless detail about how to register, the sponsor, what the prizes are, when you can next participate...

What I didn't hear: beautifully produced promos that talk about how we all want the nice home, car and freedom of choice that this prize represents. The station could point out how lucky all of us are to be able to live here in ----, do our best, and pursue our dreams. And the station could admit that they are grateful for the listener's support and their support of the advertisers who are making this promotion possible. And the station could be excited about being able to say "thank you" to even a few listeners through the qualifying prizes, and of course through the dream prize. And then the station could make it all very entertaining. There is a world of great theatre of the mind possible, but how often do we hear it?

I don't mean that as a criticism of this particular station. It is one of my favorite stations, the prizes are fantastic, and it is all very professionally done. The contest is better than the vast majority, and no doubt program directors from all over the world are taking notes! No, my criticism is of how we settle for less creativity than we are capable of.

But it is an example, I think, of the truth of Mr. Colliano's statement. As they are done, most contests/promotions really do much. They irritates people who hear about them, it may seem, more than they hear the music they came to the station to hear. Very little of this generates emotions. Very little of this strengthens the bonds between the station and the listener. Very little of this makes the listener feel better about themselves and where they live.

No matter what you do, the kind of promotions that involve a sponsor giving away a single (or even a small number of) big prizes are a weak basis for a promotion. But many stations need these in order to secure large contracts from the advertisers. So you simply must paint pictures that tap into the emotions that people get from listening to you. And even that is not enough.

5. The way you participate in the contest must also be interesting. It must be interesting to listen to the station describe the contest, describe the prizes and to hear the contest unfold. Contests where people have to sing, or write a song, or answer interesting questions have the potential to be as entertaining as the song they replace. But songs where you are the 9th. caller, have the correct birthday, match the last three digits of a license plate (or dollar bill, etc.) are boring. They represent real laziness on the part of the people who put them on the air. We can do better. With the competition we face today, we must do better.