CPR Promotions Street Teamers Archives

When Promotions Attack #6: The Time A Platinum-Selling Artist Performed For 11 Kids In A High School Auditorium

Posted by: Paige Nienaber In: Promotions, Street Teamers 07 Oct 2020 Comments: 0

I’ve always looked back at my career in Radio with lots of very happy memories. But as I continue with this blog, I’m beginning to have blocked memories crawl to the surface. PTSD will do that to you. As my Hutterite German father once said, “Feelings are bad. Bury them deep and never speak of them again. Focus on the harvest. The potatoes don’t pick themselves.”

So, yes, there were a few Mary Richards Parties along the way. The Production Director at WLOL used to refer to failed promotions as “Mary Richards Parties” because on the MTM show, all her parties were disasters.

In early 1987 I was the Promotion Coordinator at Emmis’ late, great, helped-pay-for-the-Mariners CHR, WLOL in the Twin Cities. And Programming had been really fortunate to have established a relationship with Limited Warranty, which was a local boy band with an EMMENSE and rabid following who would go anywhere and do anything to see the guys. It helped that they were very talented and also, well, good dudes. Read more…

Can I Have A T-Shirt?

Posted by: Paige Nienaber In: Business of Radio, Promotions, Street Teamers 14 Sep 2020 Comments: 0

For about a month in college I tried telemarketing which, if it’s possible, crushed my beaten-down self-esteem even more.

It was brutal.

I remember one client the firm was working for wanted to send free diapers to people and they’d somehow procured a subscription list from Parenting Magazine. So we had a pretty good list of contacts for people who might want some.

It should have been easy. You’re a new parent? We’d love to send you a free box of diapers and when you’re done with them, just fill out a card and mail it back telling us what you thought.

Easy peasy.

Outside of being in Little League, I’ve never been screamed at so many times in my life. Read more…

The ’10 Questions A Day’ Theory Of Street Teaming

Posted by: Paige Nienaber In: Business of Radio, morning show, Promotions, Street Teamers 15 May 2018 Comments: 0

I don’t think anyone is not at least remotely familiar with the soul crushing experience of sitting on hold for 30 minutes and finally being connected with “John from customer service” and being told that he doesn’t have the answer to your question. I mean, that’s kind of his job, right?

And it doesn’t have to be trying to get something fixed, it can just be getting a simple answer to a question about a product or a service or a schedule or a timeline.

We kind of forget that the street team, are in 2003 terms, our Directors of First Impressions. They are far more likely to be approached and asked a question about the programming or promotions of a radio station than anyone else on the staff. So it kind of behooves them to have the answers. Read more…

The Kent Dorfman Guide To Getting A Gig

Posted by: Paige Nienaber In: Business of Radio, Interns, Promotions, Street Teamers 14 Feb 2018 Comments: 0

When I go around and do Street school with the radio stations every spring and train in their promo teams, one of the things that I highlight at the very beginning, is that when you meet somebody on the street they interviewing you for the job of being their favorite radio station. There are 1 million books on how to get a job and how to do interviews but the one thing that they all seem to agree on is that you have about eight seconds to get the deal done. Eight seconds to get their attention in a positive way and if you achieve that, you will have their attention for the rest of the interview.

That’s really good criteria for when you’re trying to get a job. If there is one position open and 800 people driving hard for the hoop, what are you going to do to be that person, that applicant, that will get their attention for more than eight seconds?

The Cool Carl Paranski Theory Of Cool

Posted by: Paige Nienaber In: morning show, Promotions, Street Teamers 19 Jan 2018 Comments: 0

There was a morning guy who I was working with who I think might have thought he was in a different field. It wasn’t just the name or the hair or the bio or the photos: it was the whole presentation. He was that kid in high school who was trying hard to be cool.

With age comes wisdom. And liver spots.

Looking back at high school you realize that really, there were maybe one or two people who were actually cool. And they were cool because they didn’t try to be cool. They were kind of above all that stupidity. They were just themselves and if you didn’t like them, well, that’s alright.

There were some people who were cool for their accomplishments like sports or debate (my mom said I was super cool because I was able to effectively defend the Smoot Hawley Tariff Act) but the shine wore off.

Cool? That’s just something you are.

An Ode To James Garner

Posted by: Paige Nienaber In: Business of Radio, Street Teamers 02 Mar 2017 Comments: 0

an-ode-to-james-graner-cpr-promotions

People who have known me for any length of time know that I would run across a crowded freeway for a bratwurst, I made my first million by creating and trademarking the term “Adult Super Store”, I actively search out and chronicle travel filth, and I’ll fight anyone who disagrees with me that “The Rockford Files” was the best damn TV show ever.

In fact, my Freshman year in college was in Los Angeles and on Day One, I borrowed a car from someone in the dorm to drive out to Paradise Cove and see the Rockford trailer. And…it was gone. Filming had cancelled before it was begun because of a contract dispute. I was crushed. Much like Angel when his Caddy, Lucille, was firebombed by the mob.

Oh. Yeah. I had a point.

In the movie “The Great Escape”, James Garner’s role was ‘the scrounger’. The person in the camp who was good at getting you what was needed. Stolen ID’s. Digging tools. Travel documents. He stole or permanently borrowed whatever he could scrounge for the escapers.

Great stations usually have a scrounger. That person on the staff who is so stupidly connected that they can get you whatever you need. Read more…

The word on the street teamers

Posted by: Paige Nienaber In: Business of Radio, Interns, Promotions, Street Teamers 26 Jan 2017 Comments: 0

It’s early in the First Quarter but it’s also time to check on how are you doing in terms of bulking up for the Summer. Because when it comes to concerts and other huge community events, whoever has the most bodies wins. And with a couple of the big companies changing policies, it’s going to need to be more of a creative use of what you have.

The first concert that Kevin Callahan went to after taking over at KSON in San Diego was Dierks Bentley. iHeart had a two employee Country station in the market and they showed up with 63 bodies. They had to come from somewhere and not break and policies. Clearly someone there had put some effort into rounding them up.

Here, again, is my mathematical equation for how many interns/street teamers you should have when the end of May hits. In a market the size of Memphis or Vegas or Portland or Charlotte? 25. You’ll lose three immediately. Either to paying gigs or to disillusionment. You’ll be down to 12 by the 4th of July and around August 1st, they’ll start shedding away as college looms, they burn out, die or are arrested. You’ll usually limp into September 1st with five or six lifers. (Hire them Immediately)