TheBuzz
TheBuzz
When the bottom line
is not at the topThe usual radio station promotion involves a "come on down" pitch offering listeners opportunities to win stuff if they come to the opening of the XYZ Store. Chances are that listeners will also spend money at XYZ Store to help offset the money it spent on the radio advertising which brought them in the door.
On contemporary Christian music-formatted KAIM-FM this past weekend listeners were encouraged to visit Covenant Books & Coffee on Palolo Avenue Saturday afternoon to commit to spending $26 a month -- not at the store, but for sponsorship of a child through World Vision, a Christian international relief and development agency.
KAIM Program Director Michael Shishido acknowledged the plan was "the complete opposite of a radio station promotion. We're asking people to come down and give something up."
The station, which calls itself "95.5 the Fish" and the store offered listeners "stuff," in exchange for child sponsorship including a "fish" tote bag, T-shirt, CD, a bag of Waialua coffee and 50 percent off menu items.
"I didn't have any expectations," Shishido said, but "we got five people sponsored."
The radio station is owned by California-based Salem Communications Corp., which developed a partnership with World Vision, Shishido said.
"This is just one of dozens of promotions across the nation that Salem radio stations are doing," he said. "We'll be doing more."
To put the five sponsorships in context, Shishido said the effort over the weekend came on the heels of another recent but differently executed sponsorship drive.
For a day and a half in April, Colorado-based child-sponsorship organization Compassion International "essentially bought the commercial inventory," Shishido said. When the station stopped the music it wasn't for regular commercials but for child-sponsorship appeals. The 19-hour drive netted more than 200 sponsors pledging a commitment of $28 a month.
The Compassion International-sponsored programming was a local effort not driven by KAIM's corporate offices, he said.
Covenant Books & Coffee did receive an uptick in business, according to Manager Kevin Kondo. "I guess from them talking about it (on the air) lots of people came in because they heard about us."
The bookstore and coffee shop is owned by and is a ministry of the Honolulu Bible Church, led by Pastor Robert Field, who is also president of the company. Vice President Gordon Yee, coffee shop chef Dave Yoshimura and Kondo are all members of the church.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin.
Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle,
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210,
Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached
at: eengle@starbulletin.com