Fish Fry Face Off Drives Real Revenue and Community Engagement

The Idea

The team at KFGE-FM set out to tap into a popular local “bar stool” topic – Fish Fries. Throughout March and April, many local establishments host Fish Fry events, making it a timely and highly relevant conversation in their community.

To capitalize on the seasonal buzz, the team launched their first-ever Fish Fry ballot, giving their audience the opportunity to crown the best Fish Fry in the area.

The Execution

The KFGE-FM team created a ballot that allowed their audience to first nominate their favorite local fish fries from the end of March to the beginning of April. Then, they allowed their audience to vote for their favorite through mid April. To maximize participation, voting was set to once per day, encouraging repeat visits and ongoing engagement. A sweepstakes was also incorporated to further incentivize voting.

Promotion for this ballot was multi-channel, including strong on-air and digital support, as well as multiple Facebook posts to build awareness and drive traffic.

The team also leveraged Thank You emails to keep users engaged – prompting them to return and vote again, explore other live contests, and learn more about their sponsor, Ballard’s Resort, which hosts KFGE-FM’s annual fishing trip.

An ad for Ballard’s resort was placed in the category ad location on the ballot so every user scrolled past the ad as they participated in the ballot. And the KFGE-FM team made sure to include their promotions opt-in in an effort to continuously grow their email list.

The Results

The KFGE-FM team saw an overwhelming response from their community. Many of the local fish fries were so dedicated to winning, they created their own promotional posters and “bribed” attendees of their fish fries to vote with free ice cream sundaes.

The excitement culminated with KFGE-FM being invited to visit the winning Fish Fry, where they presented custom shirts to celebrate the victory.

Beyond engagement, the promotion directly supported revenue goals. By tying the ballot to their annual fishing trip and highlighting Ballard’s Resort throughout the experience, KFGE-FM successfully sold out their bus trip and generated $10,000 in revenue.

This campaign is a perfect example of how a simple, relatable “bar stool” topic can be transformed into a highly engaging promotion. By pairing local relevance with smart execution and sponsorship integration, KFGE-FM turned seasonal buzz into measurable results and a replicable campaign they can utilize year over year!