One of the standard marketing techniques that radio stations use to attract listeners is to run promotional give-a-ways. Last week I was lucky to win one of these promotions. KLO-FM, aka 103.1 The Wave, was running a contest for listeners who heard an audible clue to call in an be lucky caller number seven.
The week before the prize was a $100 gift card and the chance to win a Las Vegas trip (that would have been nice). On the Thursday before the contest ended, I was caller number six in one of the entries. At first I was excited because usually when you try to call in on one of these promotions, so many people are calling in that all you get is a busy signal. So when it started ringing I got excited. The person answering the phone (it wasn’t Andrea even though the audio clip happened during her show) said “I’m sorry you are caller number six.” Dang it.
The next week 103.1 The Wave was running a contest for Mother’s Day at Lagoon, an amusement park in Utah that first opened in 1886. If you heard the audio clue of every mom ever (she was threatening to turn the car around if the kids didn’t settle down) and was caller number seven, you could win a family pack of four tickets. This prize had a higher value than $100 by far plus taking my family to an amusement park was something we badly needed. So I listened for the annoyed mother. Surprisingly enough, on the second day of the contest the I was actually able to make it through. The phone rang and Chet Tap (the morning DJ) asked me who I was. After responding (and we follow each other on Facebook so he knows about my attempt to win the week prior) he told me that I was once again caller number six. Gah!!! At least he played the recording on the radio before talking to the lucky winner.
Wednesday work duties prevented me from calling in. But Thursday I waited for the audio clues again and made my attempt. Busy signal, busy signal, busy signal. What the heck, let’s give it one more try. Ring. What? Ringing? Chet Tap comes on the phone again and I’m expecting to hear, “caller number six”, but instead he said “Finally. You made it as caller number seven.” Woot!!!!! After taking my information I dragged my wife downstairs so she could hear me win on the air. She’s excited because we haven’t been to Lagoon in a few years so this was a great Mother’s Day gift for her. The photo above is when I went down to the offices to pick up the passes. Yes I asked for permission to remove my mask and no one was near me while I was taking the photo.
I listen to the radio for a good chunk of the day, about 8-10 hours. In the car while driving or when working. In fact I’m listening to 103.1 The Wave while I’m writing this blog post. The music can play in the background without dragging my attention from what I’m working on. I also like the randomness of the music plus the structure of the regular shows (80’s at 8, Sets with Andrea, Mister’s Theme Park and especially the punk/industrial/goth themed Unrest on the Seventh Day). I found 103.1 The Wave just after it launched in 2016 and loved that they focused on just playing the music. I had felt abandoned by the local alternative radio stations. Either the format was dropped by their management or the DJs became so annoying that I had to stop listening. Sure, there were the local rock stations that were good, but they just didn’t scratch the itch of the alternative music from the 80’s, 90’s and 00’s. I’ve estimated that about 98% of the songs played on The Wave don’t give me the urge to reach over and change the radio station. If they could drop “The Reason” by Hoobastank that number would probably rise to 99.9%. That song is like nails on the chalkboard. The rest of the time I’m listening to an old favorite, a song I hadn’t heard in a long time, or music that I just won’t hear on the other stations.
So thank you 103.1 The Wave, not only for the Lagoon tickets for Mother’s Day, but just being a soundtrack in my life. The music is great and the DJs make the station enjoyable. Keep it going.