Every year, the same thing!
Do you know these sentences?
“What are we doing for Christmas?”
“Do you have christmas jingles? Do we add bells?”
“Do we play Christmas songs? Mariah Carey, is that enough?”
“Anyway, Christmas is only for kids!”
“It’s the end of the year, I’m tired!”
“Anyway, I’m just waiting for the holidays!”
“Play some best-of, it’ll be fine!”
“Who cares, there are less listeners!”
We have certainly all pronounced at least one…
Imagine, going to Disneyland and there, every year you find the bare minimum? That would make you dream? Would it make you want to go back?
Personally: not at all !
How many people post on social networks that Christmas is their favorite time of the year? So many!
So what if we made this period even stronger and this month even more magical for your listeners?
Christmas on the radio is like organizing Christmas with your family!
In 5 steps, here’s how to make this Christmas special for your listeners!
Step 1: Christmas Decorations!
As a family, that’s what we do first! We take the garlands and balls out of the closet and go buy the tree!
On the radio, it’s the same thing!
Your music, your jingles, your interventions must smell like Christmas! Step by step, beginning in November, start putting it all together.
The Christmas TV movies start in early November on TV and they’re hitting the airwaves! Why not start gradually during this period on the radio?
For your sound design, be creative. When you go to see the store windows, do you prefer them to be completely decorated or to be identical to the usual with just a garland to make it look pretty?
2nd step: The advent calendar
December is magical with the family: every day a surprise behind a door on the Advent calendar. This one is more and more varied: chocolates, beers, cheeses, perfumes, teas,…
On the radio, we are adapting this tradition! Prepare in advance a schedule with surprises and very regular events for your listeners.
It is not a question of making a “too predictable” schedule, but rather of getting into this dynamic of daily surprises in order to prepare something new, in the sense of the day and unique for your listeners.
Here are a few examples of events:
– Your favorite artist sings with a gospell or children’s choir
– Solidarity challenge: during your show, each calorie lost by the host on his bike is equal to 1€ donated to an association.
– Ranking of your listeners’ favorite Christmas songs
– Games with listeners, hosts and artists on social networks
– Special show about a Christmas cult movie (Love Actually)
TV channels often put very big programs before the holidays: it’s their own advent calendar and therefore really marks the strategic importance of this period to develop affect with the public.
3rd step: The gifts
In family, whatever the gift, the most touching thing is to make it personal and offer it with the heart. It’s exactly the same thing on the radio: the more you target your listener, the more you understand what he is expecting and how to please him! Think about it rather than offering the same gifts that you already hear everywhere else.
Also think that a “homemade” gift is priceless: no one else will be able to do exactly the same.
Here are a few examples of relevant gifts:
– Trips in Santa Claus’s country
– One night alone in Disneyland
– Reunite a family that can’t afford it
– Win your entire Christmas list
– We offer you your Christmas decoration
– Christmas trees / chocolates every 3 minutes,…
– Meeting with favorite artists
– 1 year of shows, concerts…
Remember also that the end of the year is also solidarity: do not hesitate to create something in this sense.
4th step: Preparation of the meals and welcoming of your guests
This is the time when you are looking for what to put on your party menu and how to keep your guests occupied.
On the radio, it’s about finding the right content, the right topics that will make your listeners feel at home and have a wonderful holiday. Also never forget to welcome their regurlaly !
Here are a few examples of entertaining and relevant topics for your target audience:
– Perfect gift for your mother-in-law / someone you just met
– Moments of discomfort in family meals?
– Highlight of the year party at work?
– Favorite moment this year?
– Holiday couple’s holiday mess?
– Your very own tradition?
– The unlikely thing your children asked you for for Christmas?
– The favorite toy of your childhood?
– The best Christmas surprise?
– Your most memorable Christmas?
– Worst gift received?
– Do you receive gifts on Christmas Eve or on Christmas Day ?
Bring these topics up gradually in your interventions to switch to 100% fairly quickly after the beginning of December.
5th and last step: Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
All this preparation that has been going on for weeks is really living now. It’s up to you to make these magical moments with your family!
It’s the same thing on the radio: the last step can last a little longer than a meal, but that’s when you have to feel Christmas come alive in your program: jingles, music, content, gifts,… Give everything in the last days so that the magic of the end of the year touches your listener.
And then, what do we do?
Again: just like family. We thank our listeners/family for the fabulous moments we’ve spent the last few days and months.
After in real life, we make good resolutions. On the radio, it’s pretty much the same, except that we make them real and concrete. Rather than making good resolutions, let’s tease out some great concrete operations that will be happening in the next few weeks!
Christmas with the family, in the media, in stores is based on the same thing: a mix of traditions and a few new things!
So don’t hesitate from one year to the next to keep what works well and also think about renewing yourself and creating fresh content every year!
Get involved with your hosts to make this period as festive as possible.
Even more so after this difficult year, let’s make Christmas a positive, unforgettable and magical event, with only one obsession: the emotion and pleasure shared with our listeners!
For even more information and concrete ideas about your Christmas content, send me an email: vincent.soulet@gmail.com
