The Holidays Can Be Fun... REALLY!

Here come the holidays. When I talk to PDs and Marketing Directors about Christmas, they usually grumble. Too much Christmas music, vacation schedules to be covered and oh those darn client promotions. But I think Christmas can be the best time of the year to connect with your listeners. Call me crazy, but I love Christmas on the radio. Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree makes me smile every time I hear it.

 And I think this year especially can be an awesome time to create a real difference for you and your listeners. The Marketing To Moms Coalition’s most recent survey showed that moms are worried. They are worried about the economy and they are worried about the future. Here’s your chance to use the Law of Attraction and create a radio station that is positive and brings the feeling of community back into the holiday.

 So, let’s shake up that snow globe and dream about the most connected Christmas yet! Here are some of my favorite ideas to turn your station into an uplifting, fun and attractive place to spend the holidays. Remember, it is all about connecting!

 •An ongoing theme right now is giving back to the community. One of the most inspiring and well attended gift fairs I’ve been to is the Gifts For A Cause fair. Invite local non-profits to create gift certificates for things that will help their cause and create gifts that mean something. For example, the food bank sold certificates that provided a holiday dinner for a family of four or baby food for a month, the animal shelter sold certificates that provided cat food for a month to a shelter cat or a week’s worth of food for a litter of puppies. This type of fair can be done as an event or on your website and it is full of good will. It is the perfect feel good gift and the connection level is huge.

• The Buy of the Day. Cash is tight for everyone and retailers are looking for any idea that will bring in traffic. Create a gift Buy of the Day on your website. It is a great way to steal newspaper money and will provide an insider bonus for your listeners.

• Send out your own Secret Santa. Have Santa show up to pay someone’s bill at the grocery, their purchase at the gas station, put money in peoples parking meters, bring cookies to listeners at work, show up at office holiday parties and ring the bell for the Salvation Army. Make your Secret Santa visible everywhere doing something nice for the community.

• This year, make your 12 Days of Christmas all about helping with the stress of the holidays. Include things like a clean house for Christmas, a personal chef for a week, someone to wrap all of your gifts and a girlfriends Christmas party at the spa. Find ways to make your listener’s say “aha”.

• Food.  We all love it and the holidays are a time to share it. Create a board on your website where people can share their favorite cookie recipes. Pick out a few people and invite them in to share them on the air with the morning show. Cookie swaps are huge connectors, trust me on this one.

• The Shopping Elf. Create a place on your website for listeners to share great website for deals and a place for local small business people (who are also listeners) to share their unique gift ideas. Women love to share their finds and you will be surprised how many local people make great stuff. Once again, they are connecting through you!

This is a great time to bring your listeners together, let them connect and help create a mood that makes your station attractive. Be the place people want to hang out because it is fun and positive. Do what Sirius and XM can’t do, what an iPod can’t do, reflect back what your listeners need right now and you will become part of the connection. Create word of mouth because you are touching them in ways only local radio can do. It’s one of the intangibles that makes radio what it is! And the there is no better time than the holidays to make it work for you.

 

 

Comments

[Laurie Neumann]

You have some really great ideas here. It is a shame that Christmas has turned into something people dread and can't wait until it's over.

If we keep it simple, don't overspend, and remember the true meaning of the day, it can still be a wonderful time.

And I love Christmas music!