Radio remotes, oh joy
Gearing up for Christmas our store is having a series of radio remotes on a succession of Saturdays. The week before last the Beat was in, last week it was CFOX and this week again it was the Beat. Now a radio remote essentially is where a radio station sets up at a business and does call ins from said business, plays music there and that’s about it.
I’m of the opinion that these just don’t work. Our business on these radio remote days seems to be slower than typical and I think in a mall location the loud music actually drives away customers. Try telling this to the higher ups though, they seem to think remotes are mana from heaven.
So my question is if you’re driving around and hear the DJ saying that he’s broadcasting live from Business X, do you feel magentically drawn to stop in and watch him talk into a microphone? If so what station are you listening to and are you a ten year old, because they seem to be the only people impressed with meeting local radio DJs.
At the museum I work, we get some radio stations that come by and they bring in lots of people if they announce a prize to the first visitors to arrive on the scene.
I’m not sure that a radio remote works well in a mall. But I do know that they work quite well for some other businesses. In Vancouver, compared to smalled cities, I think it’s even harder to have a successful radio remote on the day of the remote. The airwaves reach long and far, and not everyone is going to drive from Port Moody to Vancouver to stop by your little store. Prizes do always work well though…