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Prize Pigs? Contest Hogs?

A

ajkillian

Guest
Okay, okay, okay...

I'm the new guy on here. This is my first post, after all. However, I want more information on the so-called "Prize Pigs" (a.k.a. "Contest Hogs"). Their existence is masked in intrigue. They eat their young. And they dart in between the shadows, scavenging from remote to remote--seeking that elusive pair of passes to the upcoming movie premiere, free bumper sticker, or the latest God-awful Britney Spears CD.

Seriously though, who are they? How many contests do they "win" a year? What effect do they have on radio stations and the promotional efforts of local stations? And how much do they piss off radio station personnel?

Rumor has it that in Knoxville, they band together, looking out for one another by assigning each other different stations for different contests, and split any bounty they win among the group members.

It's a strange phenomenon, and I want the input of some of the folks on this board. Plus, it would make one hell of a Metro Pulse feature.

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

All the best,
~Aaron~
 
> Okay, okay, okay...
>
> I'm the new guy on here. This is my first post, after all.
> However, I want more information on the so-called "Prize
> Pigs" (a.k.a. "Contest Hogs"). Their existence is masked in
> intrigue. They eat their young. And they dart in between
> the shadows, scavenging from remote to remote--seeking that
> elusive pair of passes to the upcoming movie premiere, free
> bumper sticker, or the latest God-awful Britney Spears CD.
>
>
> Seriously though, who are they? How many contests do they
> "win" a year? What effect do they have on radio stations
> and the promotional efforts of local stations? And how much
> do they piss off radio station personnel?
>
> Rumor has it that in Knoxville, they band together, looking
> out for one another by assigning each other different
> stations for different contests, and split any bounty they
> win among the group members.
>
> It's a strange phenomenon, and I want the input of some of
> the folks on this board. Plus, it would make one hell of a
> Metro Pulse feature.
>
> Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
>
> All the best,
> ~Aaron~
>

Well, I'm not going to mention any names but there is someone who's name crops of quite often on several stations in the market. I'm told this person (hell I'm not even gonna give up their gender) is Yoda's age and wins contests whether they're "call in to win" or "register on site". And I have heard that this person has organized their family members into some sort of syndicate to win contests.

Allegedly they have speed dial training camps, regular finger excersie classes, and training on listening to at least three radio stations at once.

One station sent an employee into one of these camps undercover to learn their techniques. Trav-E-Trav hasn't been heard from since.

One person alleges that they've conducted detailed research on when stations typically do their contests and have this plotted out on huge graphs that take up one entire wall of their home. Allegedly these "contest time" graphs are accurate to within +/- two minutes.

They're cunning and if you encouter one of these people, DO NOT look directly into their eyes or you will be turned to stone, kinda like the hands of the Vols WRs but I digress.

Hope that helps.
<P ID="signature">______________
Free Lil Kim
April 29, 2005 5pm What a glorious day it was
</P>
 
> > Okay, okay, okay...
> >
> > I'm the new guy on here. This is my first post, after
> all.
> > However, I want more information on the so-called "Prize
> > Pigs" (a.k.a. "Contest Hogs"). Their existence is masked
> in
> > intrigue. They eat their young. And they dart in between
>
> > the shadows, scavenging from remote to remote--seeking
> that
> > elusive pair of passes to the upcoming movie premiere,
> free
> > bumper sticker, or the latest God-awful Britney Spears CD.
>
> >
> >
> > Seriously though, who are they? How many contests do they
>
> > "win" a year? What effect do they have on radio stations
> > and the promotional efforts of local stations? And how
> much
> > do they piss off radio station personnel?
> >
> > Rumor has it that in Knoxville, they band together,
> looking
> > out for one another by assigning each other different
> > stations for different contests, and split any bounty they
>
> > win among the group members.
> >
> > It's a strange phenomenon, and I want the input of some of
>
> > the folks on this board. Plus, it would make one hell of
> a
> > Metro Pulse feature.
> >
> > Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
> >
> > All the best,
> > ~Aaron~
> >
>
> Well, I'm not going to mention any names but there is
> someone who's name crops of quite often on several stations
> in the market. I'm told this person (hell I'm not even
> gonna give up their gender) is Yoda's age and wins contests
> whether they're "call in to win" or "register on site". And
> I have heard that this person has organized their family
> members into some sort of syndicate to win contests.
>
> Allegedly they have speed dial training camps, regular
> finger excersie classes, and training on listening to at
> least three radio stations at once.
>
> One station sent an employee into one of these camps
> undercover to learn their techniques. Trav-E-Trav hasn't
> been heard from since.
>
> One person alleges that they've conducted detailed research
> on when stations typically do their contests and have this
> plotted out on huge graphs that take up one entire wall of
> their home. Allegedly these "contest time" graphs are
> accurate to within +/- two minutes.
>
> They're cunning and if you encouter one of these people, DO
> NOT look directly into their eyes or you will be turned to
> stone, kinda like the hands of the Vols WRs but I digress.
>
> Hope that helps.
>


Yeah, that's what I'd heard, too. Just checking to make sure.

Seriously though, the entire existence of prize pigs perplexes me. How do they get together? Where do they get together? Are their watches synchronized? Are they a mobile entity? Where do they shop? Are they screwing me (and the rest of Knoxville's listening audience) out of any big prizes? If so, which ones? And how the he11 are they doing it?

I'm pretty good at winning contests, but I wait my 30/45/60 days (depending on the station) until I win again. And yes, I must admit I have dialed the phone when I was inelligible to win again. . .and handed it to my wife so that she could win instead.

I've heard some of these people have multi-line systems going with rapid redial and a heart monitor. I play these contests the old-fashioned way--just a phone and a redial button. Sure, I may grab the cell phone and have it going, too. But why not? We pay $45/month for it, so why shouldn't I use it, too? I haven't invested in the speed dial systems that I've heard are around. But that seems excessive for a pseudo-addiction.

Besides, I don't want to put myself in the same category as the prize pigs/contest hogs--even though some may be tempted to. I'm just a HUGE fan of Knoxville radio. I listen to WKVL (now WFIV) as much as I listen to WNFZ. I listen to the Point and Star as much as I do the B. I call-in to Marc and Kim as much as I do T.K. and Kristen (now Ashley). I stalked the Fugitive and was ten minutes late catching her. I have over 104,000 Point Pal points. I've graduated from Big R's College of Classic Rock Knowledge (twice--guess that makes it a Masters...?). I've won 2:20 trivia, identified the song in Chipmunkery, beaten the toaster and answered TK's IQ. I guessed correctly what was in Toddzilla's pants, answered the Celebrity Birthday Trivia question and made my gender proud by winning Her V. Him, Marc V. Kim. I've guessed the Mancow Mystery Movie (syndicated show, I know!). I was a victim of a Monday Morning Mugging, and I've put in the last request on Road Rage. Plus, I've expanded my CD collection with Free Music Friday.

Am I missing anything? Oh, yeah--a life. :) Maybe I'm a prize pig after all. Damn.

All the best,
~Aaron~
 
> > >>
Maybe if the Stations in E.TN weren't so D**n cheap, we could afford the
prize pigs....and maybe convert them into loyal listeners. How humiliating is
it to be on a remote and only have Eastman credit union Rulers to give out to
people who stop by to see you. Wow that should build Listener Loyalty...
With most stations Syndicated or automated atleast 2 days a week..maybe a GM could take some profit out of his pocket and get a station some worth while
Merchandise to give to people...T-shirts in the dead of winter seems to work well for us??????? Lotta thought there. Our weekends are sold out, and there's nobody in the building for 48 Hours...where is that profit going?
I'll bet someone can tell me, cause it's not on my paycheck. It's Pure Money in the Bank....just not my bank. Give the Prize Pigs their Trinkets and set stiffer rules for the Big Stuff (if You've got it) like Cars, Big money etc.
<P ID="signature">______________
Is This Thing On....Check 1-2</P>
 
Those are some really good points. I like your idea on setting stiffer rules. Journal Broadcast Group in Knoxville does something like that already. If you win something valued less than $75, you can't win again for forty-five days. If it's between $75 and $500, you have to wait sixty days. And if the prize is over $500, you have to wait a year.

The only thing I don't like about Journal is if you win on one station, you can't win on the other stations for the waiting period. THAT makes no sense to me. And I've noticed more and more broadcast groups are starting to do that. It really weeds out the prize pigs, but if you listen because you receive those incentives, you're less likely to listen if you can't win, right?

I guess too many have abused the system around here. Oh, well. I'm still winning occasionally. And yes, you're right--a ruler is a crappy thing to hand out at a remote. The station should at least spring some CD's. They get a ton of those for FREE anyway.

All the best,
~Aaron~


> > > >>
> Maybe if the Stations in E.TN weren't so D**n cheap, we
> could afford the
> prize pigs....and maybe convert them into loyal listeners.
> How humiliating is
> it to be on a remote and only have Eastman credit union
> Rulers to give out to
> people who stop by to see you. Wow that should build
> Listener Loyalty...
> With most stations Syndicated or automated atleast 2 days a
> week..maybe a GM could take some profit out of his pocket
> and get a station some worth while
> Merchandise to give to people...T-shirts in the dead of
> winter seems to work well for us??????? Lotta thought
> there. Our weekends are sold out, and there's nobody in the
> building for 48 Hours...where is that profit going?
> I'll bet someone can tell me, cause it's not on my paycheck.
> It's Pure Money in the Bank....just not my bank. Give the
> Prize Pigs their Trinkets and set stiffer rules for the Big
> Stuff (if You've got it) like Cars, Big money etc.
>
 
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