To celebrate a three point rise for Kristen and Rod’s first survey together in Breakfast, MIX 106.3 is giving Canberra listeners the chance to win the biggest cash prize ever offered in the region, a cool one million dollars.
Content Director Mark Wiggett told radioinfo, “Previously we’ve offered $100,000 through Scotty and Nige on 104.7 and this time we thought we’d go one better.” Well, ten better, actually.
Although the first survey results, which gave Mix its best 10+ cume in 7 years, were released just last week, the Canberra market is already being surveyed by GfK for the next result due out on August 8.
Wiggett says that a million dollars should be enough to increase talk in the market, “The chance of winning a million dollars in a tough environment like Canberra where there are people losing jobs will create a buzz in the town.”
It’s not like a million dollars hasn’t been offered before. But that was in the five metro markets plus the Gold Coast . Canberra is the smallest market yet to give their listeners a tilt at such a life changing sum. How can they afford it?
The secret, of course, is insurance. And there are plenty of insurers ready to back such competitions.
Neither Wigget or Canberra FM’s affable GM Eoghan O’Byrne would be drawn on what it costs to insure a million dollars citing commercial confidentiality agreements to stay mum between the station and its insurer.
However, given that just one lucky winner will have one chance in 106 to win the jackpot, it’s a fair bet that the prize won’t go off – a bet that the insurance company lost in previous promotions in both Sydney and Melbourne through 2Day FM and FOX respectively. Having said that, the odds were different in those cases. The FOX winner had one chance in 80 compared to MIX’s listener having to contend with a one in 106 shot.
Our mail is that the going rate to insure a million for that sort of risk is between $20,000 and $30,000 depending on how the giveaway is structured.
The question for the station then becomes not: What happens if we lose a million dollars? But: Is 20 – 30k a worthwhile investment in a promotion designed to build cume?
To be part of Canberra’s biggest ever cash competition, listeners have to join the MIX Music Panel. To increase TSL, they also must keep listening to MIX 106.3 through the day and listen for their name to be called. If they hear their name called, they have just 3 minutes to contact the station and be one of only 106 people who will have the chance to win the big bucks at a special breakfast broadcast from Ainslie Football Club where one lucky fan will be selected to choose one of 106 bags displayed, one of which contains the million dollars.
The promotion will run for four weeks and will hopefully show up as increased audience in Canberra Survey 2.