It’s all about looking for something that hasn’t been done before, and that will get people talking.
Ideas, Ideas, Ideas
Snapped
Because sometimes when it’s over, all we have are our photos. And sometimes matchbooks and rashes.
The Service
Ideas, Ideas, Ideas
The best new ideas available.
clients
A selection of our valued clients we are thrilled to have been involved with.
Paige Nienaber
Evil Genius
Following a long brainstorming call with stations, I’ll often get asked “Geez, where do all those ideas come from?” It’s not a simple answer.
At the age of two I was deemed “The Smartest Toddler In Minnesota History” by my mother and the Standardized Testing Division at St. Olaf College. The next couple of years were a blur of seminars and symposiums where the audiences were wowed by my acumen and sheer brilliance.
By four and with the nudging and mentoring of a kindly old professor at Georgetown, I’d focused my attention on paleontology and a quest to refute the Sauropods vs. Ornithopods theory that only vertebrates were capable of scavenging.
On a hot summer day, on a dig in Utah, an unsecured tip on a college interns rock pick hit me askance on my head while I was wiping the late morning sweat from my brow.
I came to with club nights and bar nights and morning show stunts and a myriad of cash contesting ideas running through my head. Plus the sudden ability to figure out what a 6% tip on a lunch bill would be. Boom. It had to be Radio, which is where I’ve been ever since that 8 year stay at Children’s in St. Paul.
And now you know the rest of the story.
CPR Services
The sole purpose of C.P.R. is to provide the PD’s, Promotions staff and Sales people with the best new ideas available. And there aren’t a lot of those floating around the industry anymore. It’s all about looking for something that hasn’t been done before, and that will get people talking. When their competition is doing Win It Before You Can Buy It, our stations want to look beyond 1982 and try to find the new Millenium’s version of that tired old promotion.
In Miami, Power 96 did “Steal It Before You Can Buy It” and had listeners “hacking into Ticketmaster” where they downloaded concert tickets. C.P.R. clients have always been seen as being on the cutting edge of marketing. If there’s a hot new idea in Radio, historically it’s often been at one of our stations. We also recognize that every station and every market is different, and we take that into account when tailoring campaigns for the clients. What would work gang-busters for 97.5 K-Rock in St John’s, would fall upon deaf ears with the audience of 106.1 Kiss-FM in Dallas.
This is a market exclusive service.
It’s all about ideas. Whoever has the best ideas usually wins.
Ideas, Ideas,
Ideas.
Your cluster would receive 24/7 access to Paige Nienaber and C.P.R.’s VP/Fun ‘N Games. I’m available to clients for problem solving, brainstorming and idea generating. This works for both Programming and Sales. If the PD needs 50 ideas for Thanksgiving, I have them and deliver them through (almost) daily e-mails called Promotions Paiges. If it’s 4:30 pm on Friday and you’re looking for a hook for Halloween Weekend; call Paige. Conversely, the Sales Managers and AE’s can call me at any time for help with client driven promotions. A hair salon has an advertising budget and needs something by five? Call Paige. I work closely with the National Sales Managers, helping them to re-tool and re-work some of the horrible stuff that comes from the agencies. This helps them in delivering quality promotions to their clients that not only works for them, but also works for the station. (What a concept.) This works for the PD because he/she won’t be driving into work and hearing client-sponsored “Milk Trivia” on the morning show.
It’s all about ideas. Whoever has the best ideas usually wins. Unless they’re playing a lot of stiffs. This is an industry that is mired in Family Four-Packs, key-turning car giveaways and on-air weddings for Valentines Day. Which is why the service works for the stations that are progressive enough to realize that it’s what’s between the songs that make’s all the difference in competitive battles.
Mentoring
I serve as a coach to the Promotion Directors in the chain, many of whom came up through the system as assistants and this is their first director’s gig. I often will fly in and spend time with them as they seg into the position. I also spend extra time with them on the phone, working with them and helping them as they get settled.
Additonal Bennies
Each day’s eblast to the clients is added into a password protected database that can be accessed and searched using key words. So, if you are meeting with Bob The Car Dealer (because all car dealers are named “Bob”) and he wants to do something with back to school, whip out your device and have twenty ideas immediately available.
All of this. Like having a Marketing Director whose only job is to be creative. And at a fraction of the cost of having a van driver. Gee. You couldn’t do this in Russia. Which makes me so proud to be an American.
Brainstorming and Traveling
One of the regular functions of my job with C.P.R. is market visits. These are multi-day stops where I spend time individually with the Promotion Director, Program Director and Sales Managers, and also do a cattle-call where the AE’s all get 30 minutes each with me, plowing through pending avails and problem clients. I also get away from the station with the airstaff and focus on new features, bits, contests and promotions for their individual shifts. The visit wraps up with a mega-away-from-the-station brainstorming session where we plan out 6 months ahead of time. This is usually done at the hotel pool, a bar, the PD’s house or anyplace that’s conducive to creativity.
In the Spring, I’m on the road doing Street School at CPR stations. This is a day-long seminar focused on teaching the promo staff and summer interns how to represent the station appropriately and effectively while out in the community. Customer Service training for lack of a better term.
Testimonials
Joey Tack, Program Director,
Hot 104.5/Knoxville
You know how sometimes you can’t, no matter how hard you try, open a jar of pickles? It’s just stuck. But then you grab a wet, dirty dish rag to help get a grip on things and VOILA — pickles! Paige Nienaber is the dirty dish rag of radio promotions. Whenever we’re stuck and need that ONE idea to unlock a killer promotion, he comes through!
Margaret Loubser, FM
Senior Manager – Programming Radiowave 96.7
Some may wish to keep him in a box but Paige operates best outside of it. Think of any promotion or on air stunt that’s been a huge success and chances are they’re the brainchild of Paige.
He has a powerful and creative mind and knows how to roll out the concepts effortlessly. He understands how the on air side of a station works and knows exactly how to create water cooler talk.
Paige has been a great addition to the Radiowave team .
Best thing is he has two amazing daughters with a great sense of humor and if he really wants to provide the world a great service he’ll train them to take over from him so that radio NEVER has a dull moment.
M. Lewis Sauerwein,
VO’s
You ask many questions and yet you still fail to answer much. I spent my time answering you questions here, and even at the suggestion of my fellow patriots that I am wasting my time. Well, at this point- I must agree with them. Plus, the one comment you made (which was removed btw) where “you were laughing your ass off” at all this is reason enough for me to block you from entering any further comments. If you see this all as some sort of JOKE- then we don’t need any more of your comments. It is YOUR attitude among so many in the USA that has caused this country to go straight to hell morally and ethically. You should be TOTALLY ASHAMED of yourself. You are a disgrace Paige Nienaber to the USA and to God. Good luck with your idiocy – YOU’RE GONNA NEED IT. Now- get the hell off my post- parasite.
Your station could be here!
Get In Touch
It’s all about looking for something that hasn’t been done before, and that will get people talking.