There’s a quiet little policy lurking in the back hallways of many radio stations that sounds good on paper, but quietly erodes the effectiveness of your contests and the enthusiasm of your fans. It’s the rule that says, “You can only win once every 30 (or 60… or 90) days.” The thinking behind it is to give “everyone a chance.” To “spread the love.” To “let someone new win.” Or even, “I’m tired of the same prize pigs winning all the time.” But in reality, this noble-sounding rule punishes your most passionate fans—your P1s—while rewarding the disengaged. And that’s not just bad policy. It’s bad business. “Letting Others Win” Is Killing Your Contests.

Why “Letting Others Win” Is Killing Your Contests

At the heart of this well-meaning but misguided strategy is the assumption that the goal of a contest is fairness.It’s not.

The goal is to manipulate the ratings system by engaging with the right listeners (meter carriers and diary respondents)

Contests and promotions are tools to increase listening by rating respondents, encourage repeat tune-ins, drive appointments, and capture attention. They aren’t supposed to be a social experiment in audience equity, yet many stations continue to restrict winners, which effectively tells their most important, engaged, enthusiastic fans:

“Hey, thanks for loving us so much… now sit down and let someone else play.”

Imagine if a coffee shop told its best customer:

“Sorry, you’ve bought too many lattes this month. We’re going to hold your punch card until the new guy comes back.”

Or if Southwest Airlines told frequent fliers:

“You’ve used your Rapid Rewards too often. We’re giving your next seat to someone who doesn’t fly us as much.”

Absurd, right? Yet that’s exactly what’s happening in radio.

Who Are You Really Trying to Reach?

Blocking recent winners from playing again doesn’t increase the number of players. It only increases the chances of a regular player winning and being banned for 30 days.

The reality is that casual listeners rarely participate. But that’s okay, because casual listeners rarely participate in the ratings process.

Contests are for the players, the prize pigs, the ones who always enter, who listen longer, and who show up to every event—they’re the ones who ring the ratings bell. They’re the ones who create the sense of momentum and excitement.

And they’re the ones you’re benching, like the PD who proudly told his team:

“We had a woman win four times in six months. So we changed the rules so she couldn’t win again.”

You know what that woman was? Engaged. Active. Loyal. You know what she became after being disqualified?

Gone. To another station who will let her play and win. What if she has a meter?

But Doesn’t It Look Bad If the Same People Win?

Only if you present it that way.

If the same handful of names keep getting called out on the air, the problem isn’t their loyalty—it’s how you’re structuring your contest.

That’s an execution issue, not a listener issue. You can fix that by offering different ways to win, like texting to win, entering online and listening for their name, or adding game elements that entertain your audience and inspire broader participation. These tactics keep active contest players engaged and reset the playing field.

The Real Equity in Promotions: Opportunity, Not Outcome

You don’t need to rig the game to let more people win. You need to make the game so good that more people want to play. Fairness isn’t about artificially rotating winners. It’s about giving everyone a shot by promoting clearly, explaining how to win, and making it easy and fun to participate.

If a superfan wants to win again, and they’re willing to keep showing up, calling, entering, and listening? That’s not a flaw in the system—that’s the entire point.

Letting Others Win Is Killing Your Contests. Don’t punish your fans for loving you too much.

Pic designed by AtlasComposer for Envato Elements.

Tracy Johnson is a talent coach and programming consultant. He’s the President/CEO of Tracy Johnson Media Group. His book Morning Radio has been described as The Bible of Personality Radio and has been used by personalities worldwide. Tracy is also the creator of  Radio Content Pro an AI-powered show prep service that addresses all three of these triple threat filters by putting stories in radio speak and giving you teases, on-air copy, responses, phone topics, social copy by platform, blog copy and more.