Regardless of best intentions and detailed planning, sometimes things don’t go according to plan. When promotions or stunts go wrong, listeners remember. And it can be hard to overcome.
The Sacramento station that conducted the Hold Your Wee for a Wii promotion in 2007 couldn’t overcome the backlash. That’s the promotion that ended in the water poisoning death of a listener who was trying to win a video game system. Ultimately, they changed format.
Stations involved in active, outrageous promotions or stunts eventually have to deal with a problem. There are some things that can be done to prevent or mitigate the damage. And one way to protect your station is understanding why and how stunts go wrong.
Here are some examples:
