Engaging fans and making the most of the complementarity between radio and social media

This week’s egtabite illustrates how radio and social media compliment and amplify each other. The Finnish youth-oriented station Loop, launched by Nelonen Media, worked hand-in-hand with the major confectionery company Fazer to launch a campaign that would run simultaneously on air and on social media, engaging Loop’s fans and listeners.

Concept

To promote the launch of the new product Fazer Remix MAD Party Bag (a mix of liquorice, chocolate and gum candies), Loop decided to make use of the station’s strong social media presence, which includes 40,000 followers on Facebook and 52,000 followers on Instagram, and organise 100 simultaneous house parties across Finland. Loop100, as the campaign was called, created the “biggest house party ever” on 1 October 2016, with the parties live streamed on social media and radio.

Loop launched a 3-week campaign on the radio to promote this large party. Listeners were asked to share what kind of Loop100 house party they would organise via an online form, and the selected 100 were sent party boxes (sponsored by several other commercial partners in addition to Fazer, such as Valio Hörppy, Subway, Cosmopolitan and Forsman Tea).  On the day of the party, LoopCrews – which included Loop radio hosts, Finnish artists and YouTube stars – visited several house parties and live streamed their visits on their social media accounts. Mercedes-Benz drove the Loop Crews to the parties, with style. Crews also brought an extra big party bag to the visited parties full of Fazer Remix MAD Party Bags and Valio Hörppy ready-to-drink juices.

Loop also developed several fan activations, so-called MAD party tricks, such as Loop’s MAD shower time on Snapchat – snapping someone taking a MAD candy shower, or Loop’s MAD horns – in which radio hosts asked everyone listening to Loop in the car to honk their horns.

Results

Loop100 was very successful and created massive engagement on social media: over 1 million views on Snapchat, almost 500,000 followers reached on Instagram and a total Facebook reach of over 15,000. Fans shared pictures, videos and live streams of their house parties. Loop100 won the Finnish RadioGalaa award for the “the best radio event 2016”.

The client was very happy with the results: “Fazer Remix MAD sales figures have been great. We are very happy with the co-operation with Loop. This was not just about one great party night. Loop100 was a several weeks’ radio campaign with a consumer competition and very special social media activations. We are very much looking forward to continuing exciting co-operations with Loop!”, commented Senior Fazer Confectionery Brand Manager Kati Länkelä and Social Media and Content Manager Matti Markkola.

Why does this matter to egta members?

As marketing budgets continue to move to social media campaigns – both for big international brands as well as for small businesses – radio needs to look for effective ways to tackle this trend. As this campaign proves, the combination of radio and social media is a powerful one that allows stations to make the most of their fan communities and amplify radio campaigns. Stations with strong social media presence can easily activate and engage their fans with smart, innovative concepts like Loop100.

By taking the initiative and integrating social media in their offers, radio broadcasters can open doors to buyers and their advertising clients, who might have focused only on digital and overlooked the value brought by radio.