The Christian O’Connell Show turns garbage night into billboards

With all eyes on the next radio market in Melbourne Kyle & Jackie O’s arrival this week, ARN stablemate, GOLD FM’s The Christian O’Connell Show, has entered the marketing fray: eschewing the sold-out billboards and instead taking advertising to the curb with “garbage signs.”

Kyle & Jackie O and SCA rivals Fifi, Fev and Nick both launched multimillion-dollar campaigns this week in the tug-of-war for Melbourne’s breakfast share. All over the city, punters can spot branded billboards, bus shelters and even transport vehicles.

GOLD has taken a different approach. Listeners of The Christian O’Connell Show can register online to have their bins cleaned by The Bin Butlers and covered with a sticker to promote the show.

“We have been told that there is no more marketing money for this show this year. It’s all going in the right direction Kyle and Jackie O,” said O’Connell.

“That’s fine. I’m thinking, what are we even going to do? Yesterday was my trash night and as I take out my big old trash bin, I think this is all I can ask you for right now. This is what we’ve ended up with has come: a kind of stinking, dirty army of the rebel alliance.”

ARN main connections Lauren Joyce added: “The Christian O’Connell Show is all about the listeners and our most successful marketing to date took place where we engaged them. This is another example of that. By giving them the opportunity to be ‘bin-fluencers’, we turn their loyalty into advocacy and provide a reminder of the show every time they go to the bin.”

Baking plates

Kyle and Jackie O’s marketing campaign asks Melburnians to tune in and form their own opinions about the show, feating sensational headlines and quotes from competitor media personalities. From the printed version onwards, a TVC has been added to the campaign.

SCA’s The Fox launched ‘Melbourne’s Biggest Party’ campaign for a breakfast show Fifi, Fev and Nick.

As a sequel to from Mediaweek report that Kyle and Jackie O’s The Melbourne expansion came after rival SCA offered the pair a national breakfast during last year’s contract negotiations. Dave CameronSCA’s chief content officer, said the idea that the network would replace all its strong FM breakfast shows – especially if they have a long-term deal – is “simply categorically untrue and fundamentally crazy”.