If you follow Triton Loyalty’s Best Practices, you already understand that:
1) The networked prize closet items supplied by Triton Loyalty are designed to supplement and complement your own local affiliate prize closet, and
2) Most of your best prizes ware being used as contests (sweepstakes).
You also probably understand that members join for many reasons. Some will participate because of the chance of winning that contest with the big prize, others will save their hard-earned points to win an auction when it comes available. Some will earn and spend their points on games (Slot Machine, BlackJack, Scratch & Win) and some aren’t that interested in points as much as they are in participating and being a part of your online community.
Then there are those who want to use their points for a guaranteed reward, a payoff! This is what Trade-Ins (or Free Store) is designed for, an often neglected section of the program. This feature should be reserved for high inventory items, usually of smaller value. It’s the perfect place for tickets to a movie premiere or local event. Or how about for a box of popcorn at one of your events? The prizes may seem small to you, but represent value to your members.
As Fred Jacobs points out on his radio programming and marketing blog (JacoBlog) recently:
As the mindset of Americans continues to morph, the ways in which your listeners think, dream, and obsess may be undergoing important change…some of the fundamental ways in which consumers attitudes are moving may be flying under the radar.
The thinking in radio has always been bigger, better, best. One huge bigger-than-life prize… A recent New York Times story about changing consumption patterns suggests that Americans are spending money – and their time – in increasingly different ways. They are purchasing less entertainment, and instead, focusing more time on the family, in the community, and even at less expensive (or free) places, like museums.
Consumers are becoming less enamored with big, glitzy prizes. As many explain, taking off a week or more to take a vacation they won in a station contest could have job threatening consequences. And the tax hit they suffer from winning a multi-thousand dollar prize is often well outside their affordable boundaries.
This suggests rethinking the quality and quantity of prizes, and even the types of attractions that stations offer. Contests that offer a multitude of listeners the chance to win something of lessor value – movie passes or free lunches or a night out – might have more impact in today’s economy.
And as the focus shifts to experiences, rather than material expenses, stations often have incredibly valuable “prizes” to offer that are well within promotional budgets. These might include going backstage at a concert, sitting in with the morning show, attending a hockey game with a popular DJ, or even getting to attend a music meeting with your programming team.
With a little creative brainstorming, you can find dozens of ways to address this trend, and effectively use Trade-Ins to your advantage:
- Birthday Greetings. Most stations no longer give birthday/anniversary greetings, and for good reason…but a loyalty-focused feature could make your station unique and stand out by saying Happy Birthday to club members who spend points to hear their name on the radio during a designated appointment tune-in time. Set up a prize for each day of the year. Whoever purchases that prize designates the birthday greeting of the day! That person’s name can even be the appointment answer for awarding points to all members.
- Commercials. That’s right, commercials. For your members! Set aside 10-15 seconds for them to buy a commercial with points. They can promote their garage sale, car wash, small business, or sell their computer on the air. Set it up so they send you the ad via Mp3. Then schedule their ad at an appointment tune in times each day.
- Movie Premieres. If the movie companies ask you to give away tickets to a new film, do it through the free store and watch your redemption/attendance rates approach 100%. You’ll not only create terrific participation with your audience, the client will love you for it!
- Front of the Line Privileges. Using points for benefits is just as enticing (and many times more so) than getting a product. You can reserve front of the line advantages for listeners at theme park rides, popular movies, concerts, etc. Or work with a popular restaurant to allow users to get in without a wait by using their points.
- Requests. Let your listeners pick a song or two, or three, by using their points for the privilege. They get to play whatever they want inside whatever guidelines you establish. You create a feature that is promotable and interactive with the audience. If you have a special music feature at a specific time of the day (like an all request lunch hour), allow a member to purchase the first request each day. This makes it easy and natural to promote the feature and connects to loyalty.
- Meet Your Personalities. Don’t underestimate the star power of your air personalities. The chance to meet them, have a cup of coffee with them, and have a behind-the-scenes tour is a big winner. Some stations offer this to one listener per day or one per week, and they can bring up to four friends along. One station allows them to bring 10 friendts in to watch their morning show in action. They watch for an hour with a continental breakfast and coffee, and then come in to meet the crew at the end of the show and say “goodbye” on the air. They leave with a CD of them on the air that day. The next day, they get a digital picture emailed to them! Talk about word of mouth!
- Music downloads. Work with the record companies to offer MP3 downloads of new songs that are a priority for them. Don’t expect them to give you their Top 10 hits, but every label has a few artists that need to be marketed. You have the perfect means to do that … and your listeners will use their points to do so!
- Clues in station contests. Some stations run contests like “Secret Sound” or “Music Montage” or “Treasure Hunt”. These are great TSL contests but you can include your rewards program and offer a members-only bonus clue for points. An extra clue per week, or even one per day can work.
These are only a few ideas that you can use as thought-starters. Brainstorm it with your staff and you’ll find dozens of new idea for creating items using Trade-Ins.
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