Moneyball: How Much Contest Cash Do You Need?
A sign from the latest NuVoodoo study says the economy isn’s as strong as some economists might try to convince us. Data from our 24th Ratings Prospects Study, fielded last month and including responses from 3,188 people ages 14 to 64 nationwide, indicates people are still feeling the pinch of post-pandemic inflation. In times of greater consumer confidence, we’ve observed lower percentages willing to play for $500 contest prizes on the radio. However, our latest data shows more than two thirds of our sample saying they’d play for a $500 contest prize.
You’d be correct to note that about four in five are lured in with the contest prize ratcheted up to $1000. But savvy managers and programmers always look for the biggest bang for their buck and know that more contest occasions correlates to increased interest in the contest and a better chance of success in the ratings.
At least 68% are interested in $500 contest prizes. The number climbs to 71% among those most likely to participate in ratings methodology (labeled “RPS Yes” in the chart below) and stays at or above that level among subsets of that ratings-likely group based on generation or ethnicity. What shifts a few points is the additional percentage whose interest could be grabbed by upping the contest prize to a grand – including an extra 12% among ratings-likely Millennials (ages 28-43) and an extra 11% apiece among Hispanic respondents and White/Asian/Other respondents (labeled “WAO”).
While $500 is a great prize, $1000 is better. And we’ve observed in past studies that many radio station contest players do, in fact, “comparison shop” station games searching for a bigger prize and a better perceived chance of winning. Though when we pair off a local station contest with $500 prizes against a national group contest with $1000 prizes, the local game with its smaller prize carries the day handily.
So, as long as your crosstown rival with its group contest and hourly $1000 prizes heavily promotes the fact that their local listeners are playing against listeners of all the other stations owned by that company nationwide, your local contest with the smaller prize should carry the day – note that we said SHOULD. The reality is that most listeners are unaware of group contests on the radio.
As shown in the chart above, 59% aren’t aware of group contesting on radio stations across our entire sample. And among the remaining 41% who are aware, most don’t care about it or think it’s GOOD. Bad feelings net out to 3% overall and drop to 1% or 2% among ratings-likely Gen Zs (ages 14-27 here) and Millennials. Even among the worth-their-weight-in-gold subset of ratings-likely heavy listeners (labeled “RPS Heavy”), fully half say group contesting is good and only one in twenty thinks it’s bad. Those are tough odds.
If you’re pitted against a large group broadcaster that runs national contests, you have options. Maybe you can pool resources across your cluster, running your own “group contest” with co-owned sister stations in your market? You could use an insured prize to offer a five-figure possible payout as your contest title and combine that with frequent $100 instant prizes that qualify for a shot at the big one.
Or you can meet your group broadcaster competition on the beach, relentlessly pursuing your point of differentiation: ALL your winners are from YOUR MARKET. Make every winner a real, relatable person for listeners. Where they live. Where they work. The places they love in your market. The things they have in common with your other listeners. What they’re going to do with this extra hit of cash. It takes effort on your part to record and slice up these interviews, but it’s the extra shot of relatability and the proof of performance – you really give away contest cash to local people – that can help lift your promotion. For more information, contact Leigh Jacobs at Leigh@nuvoodoo.com.
