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."