The latest Olympic event. BBQ. Some of us may become athletes yet.

Riiiders!!

My friend Trev just send me an article that included some really neat stuff. I liked this idea in particular....

“B105 wants to meet every listener, one neighbourhood and one listener at a time.” For months on end they had neighbourhood block parties where their entire morning show would be on location. They invited people from the neighbourhood to talk about why their place was so special, features, great places to hang out etc. B105 dominated Brisbane for many years based on this one promotion. You can think global but you must be local to win the hearts and minds of your listeners. Street or listener parties work!

I also read this today. It struck me as excellent guerrilla marketing.

November 29 at Credit Union Centre

Southern rock legends ZZ Top understand RIDER PRIDE, as they have toured Western Canada they have witnessed the groundswell the Green & White have generated on their march to the 97th Grey Cup. When the band witnessed the Saskatchewan Roughriders win in the first Western Final hosted at Mosaic Stadium at Taylor Field in 33 years they decided they wanted to host the ultimate party for Rider fans in Saskatchewan. What better way than to show the 97th Grey Cup live on their 20' W x16' H LED HIGH DEFINITION VIDEO SCREEN!

The game will be shown in its entirety and immediately after the game the trio of Frank Beard, Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons will take to the stage to have the greatest Grey Cup after party in recent history!

Riiiders!!

Got this on Facebook this morning from my old friend Mike Hardy. For any old DJ who use to smoke (hands up everyone) this rings as true.

Led Zeppelin biographer Charles R Cross, claims that 100 radio presenters "literally... swore" that they aired "Stairway" because it was the "perfect length" for a cigarette break."The song became successful by accident," Cross told the New York Post. "[I] had 100 DJs swear to me that they only played the song because ...they needed a long break to go and smoke a cigarette"...well go figure...cute story anyway....lol

"Canadian Railway Trilogy" and the "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" gave us the same amount of critical time to grab a dart. Ah. The old days.

Recently published on the site "Inside Radio". This speaks to the size of the prize concept and how you choose to give things away.


The line at a recent KFC free meal giveaway was so large the restaurant chain had to cancel its promotion.



Consultant Fred Jacobs says, "I used to beat up a station for giving away fast food coupons. I said that's not big enough to give away as a prize, but I've totally rethought that. Fast food coupons are not a bad prize at all." Jacobs says anything a station can do to make a person's life a little bit better -- whether it's a free meal or a "Family Fair" -- will be appreciated. Anything not open to the general public such as a station-sponsored movie screening is even more valuable.



Skimpy prizes require more creativity. In the prize closet, bigger is better because as consultant Alex DeMers says, "You're going to catch bigger fish with better bait." Not every station however can give away $1,000 an hour these days so it's more important than ever to focus on how prizes are given away as much as what the gift is. For instance, two tickets can be turned into a "blind date" promotion splitting the prize between two winners -- creating more buzz.



Zapoleon Media Strategies recently completed a study of prize values, and while it cannot make the results public, Guy Zapoleon tells Inside Radio listeners aren't completely desperate. "Obviously a bag of French fries doesn't cut it, but a $10 gift certificate, free MP3s, free gas and those sorts of things do -- it's all about how well a station sells the prize." Zapoleon recommends lower-valued items be given away at station events or remotes rather than on the air. He says, "Anything your gut tells you is too cheap isn't going to do it." DeMers adds, "It's not the prize, it's the context. If that's all you have, the challenge is coming up with a compelling way to give it away."

Spent an hour this morning watching old Bugs Bunny cartoons with Jake. It's interesting that a 7 year old in 2009 would be just as interested in these as I was when I was 7 back in 1968. That's a spread of 40 years!!


It made me wonder why some things are so sticky and timeless. Why do some things seem to last forever, and others come and go. I may be wrong but it might have something to do with these 3 points.....

• Slapstick has always been funny and it always will be.


• There is a certain comfort in seeing all the jokes coming.


• There is a clear line between good and bad. Bugs and Elmer. The coyote and the roadrunner. The lines are easy to see and the good guy is easy to like.

Now time to switch football. I mean cartoons are fun, but, come on.

One of my favorite authors in Mitch Albom. If you haven't read any of his stuff, do yourself a favor and try it out. I guarantee you'll really enjoy it. I picked up his latest book today and here is what it's all about....

Albom’s first nonfiction book since Tuesdays with Morrie, Have A Little Faith begins with an unusual request: an 82-year-old rabbi from Albom’s old hometown asks him to deliver his eulogy.

Feeling unworthy, Albom insists on understanding the man better, which throws him back into a world of faith he’d left years ago. Meanwhile, closer to his current home, Albom becomes involved with a Detroit pastor – a reformed drug dealer and convict – who preaches to the poor and homeless in a decaying church with a hole in its roof. Moving between their worlds, Christian and Jewish, African-American and white, impoverished and well-to-do, Mitch observes how these very different men employ faith similarly in fighting for survival: the older, suburban rabbi, embracing it as death approaches; the younger, inner-city pastor relying on it to keep himself and his church afloat.

As America struggles with hard times and people turn more to their beliefs, Mitch and the two men of God explore issues that perplex modern man: how to endure when difficult things happen; what heaven is; intermarriage; forgiveness; doubting God; and the importance of faith in trying times. Although the texts, prayers and histories are different, Albom begins to realize a striking unity between the two worlds - and indeed, between beliefs everywhere.

In the end, as the rabbi nears death and a harsh winter threatens the pastor’s wobbly church, Albom sadly fulfills the last request and writes the eulogy. And he finally understands what both men had been teaching all along: the profound comfort of believing in something bigger than yourself.Have a Little Faith is a book about a life’s purpose; about losing belief and finding it again; about the divine spark inside us all. It is one man’s journey, but it is everyone’s story.

When I'm finished the book I'll let you know what I think of it.

By the way. The cold smoked steak last night was brilliant.

I like to cook. I like almost everything about it. Deciding what to make, selecting the flavors that go together, chopping and simmering, reducing and blending, it's all good. I recently discovered cold smoked meat. Here is the deal...

• "Cold smoking" Smokehouse temperatures for cold smoking should be maintained below 100 °F (38 °C). In this temperature range, foods take on a rich, smokey flavor, develop a deep mahogany color, and tend to retain a relatively moist texture. They are not cooked as a result of the smoking process, however.

I have cold smoked rib steak set for a dinner party tonight. I'm unnaturally excited. Have a good weekend!!

One of our Golden West Radio sales consultants passed this along. The version she sent said clients. I've adapted it to say listeners. Both apply equally.

• We are committed to providing our listeners with quality service.
• There is nothing more important to our business, than our listeners. They ARE our business.
• Listeners are not dependent on us. We are dependent on them.
• Listeners do not interrupt our work - they are the purpose of it.
• We are not doing listeners a favor by serving them, they are doing us a favor by allowing us to do so.

Nothing high tech or flashy in this message. We have heard it dozens of times before, but it may be the single most important thing for broadcasters to wrap their collective heads around. If we get this, we'll make good radio for our listeners and our clients.

I've heard it said that context defines experience. 5 minutes spent doing something you love passes like seconds, but 5 minutes in the dentists chair can seem like an hour.

The football game Saturday night in Regina was very enjoyable for me not just because the Riders won (yes, that's good news) but also because of where we got to watch the game from. Right behind the Rider bench. In row one, mid-field. We got to high 5 players after the win.

Context defines experience. That's why establishing context is very important on the radio. Sound familiar?

By the way, it was pretty chilly Saturday night in Regina. Evidence the gathering around the propane heater.