It may be too late to execute this promotion in time for the holidays…however, we can flip it to be something to start the new year. You can give a less fortunate family a new beginning for the new year! We’ve all heard of the Adopt a Family promotion. You can switch that to an Adopt a Wishlist! Take write-ins or call-ins with suggestions on a family who could benefit from this. This is a great way to take phoners. Keep in mind, don’t mention the family name on air, or anything that could allude to who the family is. You want to make it as anonymous as possible, but also tell the story of who the family is. This is a fine line to walk. We want to showcase why this family was chosen while keeping their privacy.

Even though the name of the promotion is Adopt a Wishlist, it doesn’t have to be solely the Amazon wishlist you buy from. This is a great opportunity for sales to get involved. Find out what the family needs…clothes, groceries, school supplies, pet food, a furnace fixed. Whatever their specific needs are, cater your giveaway around them. There needs to be a budget kept in mind. That will more than likely take some time so this may be a longer promotion to be carried out. This doesn’t have to be done at the very beginning of the year. I know most companies are pretty much shut down now, so this will have to be pitched at the beginning of next year. This can be promoted on air at the beginning of February. February is, technically, the beginning of the year so the tag line, “A New Beginning for the New Year” still works.

As far as presenting goes, again, we need to respect the family’s privacy. You can definitely ask if they mind you filming, but if they would rather stay anonymous, make that happen. There’s
nothing more cringey than when those social media “influencers” shove their phones in the less fortunate on the streets’ faces and talk about how they’re going to “change their life” by giving
them a haircut and hotel for the night. That’s not what this is about. In fact, your listeners will respect you more if you respect the family’s wishes.

If they do want to keep private, do a solo video with the on- air staff talking about what they felt when speaking with the family and how they ended up helping the family. The raw emotions and sentiment from the staff will capture the listener’s attention. This goes much further than a camera in the face of an uneasy family.

Again, these are jumping off points. You can take this any direction you want. The main takeaway I’d like to reiterate…respect the family’s wishes.