FBi radio plea: Ask Richard and win $50,000
May 16 2009, 2:45 pm | | 29 Comments
FBi radio station has asked CB to encourage the creative community to get behind their www.askrichard.com.au campaign.
It’s simple, they want people to ask Sir Richard Branson for $1,000,000 to save FBi radio station. The person who has the most creative (or effective) entry will win $50,000 for themselves – as well as feel good about saving FBi.
29 Comments
I’ve just had a look at the website. The best ideas are already done.
I’ll call him tomorrow but one answer I’ll need is: Why?
So let’s see. This is a competition with a prize that may not even exist as the promoter doesn’t even have it to give away. Is that even legal?
A quick check of the terms and conditions reveals that Richard Branson, the guy who they’ve volunteered to fund their radio station and their promotion, knows nothing about it. And he’s unlikely to care.
Here’s my hot tip. If you have an idea that will make Richard Branson give away a million bucks, don’t surrender it to a radio station, use it for yourself or your own business.
This is a tight-arsed promotion where the radio station promises everything but risks nothing. And in the end, nobody wins.
A clever ad perhaps?
What i reckon is…
Regardless of the T’s & C’s Richard knows all about this. He’s already agreed to it and agreed to part with the cash. A million bucks is nothing for the amount of PR he and Virgin are getting out of it. Especially since FBI are encouraging listeners to put on special events etc to get his attention.
There’s probably a fair few people in Australia who could get in touch with Branson with one phone call, bagging themselves the 50K.
Plus there’s no way he’d agree to donate a million to a radio station if they were going to give 50k of it away to some punter as part of the ‘Hey Richard’ comp unless it had been planned out before hand.
That’s what I ‘reckon’ that is. That it’s a pretty smart ad campaign for Branson, and FBI. Thus everybody wins.
I could be wrong of course, I was once back in 1985.
here’s the thing – have any of the contributors here actually listened to FBI? possibly not. have a listen and get how genuine they are and cut out looking for an angle. its so advertising and so boring. its just possible that FBI is a station with integrity, class and I believe they are very worthwhile keeping alive. if they don’t get some serious backing they will die and that would leave Sydney FM very much the worse off. given that triple j have totally lost the plot.
Hi Mr Bullshit Detector. You are a very negative person, and quite dull too.
A competitiopn where no one wins???? You obviously haven’t listened to FBi – a station that plays very cool music for young Sydney people. They have ran out of money. They have come up with a clever idea (risk free to them as you so cleverly point out) and ask a rich guy for cash- in a clever way.
If you are clever enough to come up with an idea that unlocks the million (which judging from your email you are not) then you get 50k, FBi stays on the air, lots of people have good music to listen to, and Branson feels good about donating money. Surely this is a case of everyone winning (not no one winning)
I know nothing about this except for what I just saw on the site – but it’s an interesting idea and it would be great if we could find a way to get someone to fund it. Judging from your email you are not going to enter, and being so negative I doubt you could ever do anything all that positive in the world. The more i think about you the more upset I become – you are a really negative person.
You’ve inspired me to get on the bandwagon and help try and get that cash.
They deserve to stay on the air, not sure that this the way to go about it but worth the shot.
What might come out of it is that another rich benefactor hears about this effort and steps in to fill the breach.
Who are these people bashing fbi??? one of the last grass roots media org’s left. one that actually has a shred of credibility and runs on countless volunteers and is in very serious trouble at the moment.
I think they have a great idea. If you can inspire philanthropy through a clever idea or campaign, you a- save a radio station, b- get paid quite well, c- get kudos and recognition for yourself and or agency & d- quite possibly gain the attention of richard himself which may be the best career move you ever make.
It’s a terribly cynical world. Let’s try to support the people that are actually doing things for our community for free.
FBi are cool.
If this works, are they bought out by Virgin Music? Is this so Richard can start his Virgin Radio empire without needing a license?
Will you have to swipe your credit card every time you want to hear some top 40 music from Virgin Records or listen to annoying in flight ads for Virgin LA?
I think this could kill FBi, and definitely doesn’t make them ‘independent’ anymore.
Screw this comp.
A great idea from the best radio station on the airwaves
Travellig around the world surfing and skiing. It would be very cool. Richard could you pay for that too.
>>
More like the 50yo virgin that everybody’s slept with, but no-one will admit to.
$1m will keep our whole creative department in Coke for the weekend. We’ll even throw in a campaign that doesn’t use an idea so outdated it makes Branson look cool.
FBi is to cool for North shore beer swilling advertising creatives.
If FBi is so shit-hot, why do they need $1 Million?
Obviously not enough people are listening to it.
Their own site says they get 219,000 listeners across a week.
Which is less than 30,000 a day.
Which is shithouse.
so 1.17
whats your problem?
that’s a very negative, provocative, useless post
why bother sending it?
or are you unemployed, sad and bitter?
I happen to know the market for FBI is Gen Y and many live in Surry Hills, which I don’t believe is on the North Shore.
It’s a cool idea which should have some interest to Richard as the two share the same target audience. The thing is, Richard already has more of that audience than FBI does… so why would he care?
While you’re at it can you ask Sir Richard to pay off my credit card..ta.
What’s the matter 1:17 PM, Leo’s and Clems reject your book mate? Oh well, I’m sure Saatchi’s will still take you on, just give your book another scrub and tell them how uncool the North Shore is since you stopped living there. If you’re lucky, you might even learn how to spell, too!
Sydney radio is a small market. That said, a million backs would help float FBI for about 12 months. The what?
Secondly, is asking a rich guy for money something the rich guy’s never had before?
Get in line.
Or sell out to Austereo. It’s the same thing.
Not buyin it.
I’m a random visitor to this blog outside your ad circle. I found it whilst searching for Fbi Radio.
Wow i’m so amused by your bitching and carrying on that I’ve forwarded this blog to loads of people outside this industry so they can laugh at your expense.
You are all advertising knobs. Gutless pricks hiding under anonymity. Just shut the puk up and do your job. I’ve never met such a bunch of whinging pricks in all my life.
God help us if you laid bricks for a living.
Wankers….
Hi All,
The creatives within the advertising industry are some of the smartest, creative and inventive group of people in Australia. FBI is a great station that many of you listen to during the day. Please throw some creative energy (or cash!) behind this campaign in order to help save FBI.
11:05 what’s your name and why are you so special?
This campaign/idea has already put FBI on the radar of a lot more people.
Maybe it’s the journey not the destination – or can’t you think beyond your 30 sec retail spot?
Good luck to FBI – mainstream commercial radio does my head in and I’m guessing many of the whiny bitches above are responsible.
A very clever idea from one of the virgin agencies.
Let’s develop an idea that sells the virgin brand, provide a framework for which members of the public, even agency creatives, will provide the ideas and we take the credit.
I’ll be interested to see how the FBI audience responds to the news when they discover it’s a clever virgin promo.
Will they appreciate the creativity or will they yell ‘sellout’
wow. fbi thinking up their own campaign which works all on their own. Gosh, imagine if everyone started doing this. You might be out of a job. Having to work for a living… terrifying, eh?
I love agency “creatives” accusing others of selling out. brilliant stuff. go fbi.
I love the north shore. It’s like walking around in your very own royalty free stock photography album.
Virgin radio? Nar, it’s been fucked for years.
I hear richard is coming into chat on Monday at 8.00am.