Posted: Dave Denes 29 June 2009
When the news suddenly hit that Michael Jackson had passed away, media outlets and companies around the globe quickly reacted. Radio stations altered their playlists, Ebay put up a link sending buyers directly to all his memorabilia for sale, iTunes posted a tribute page and within hours the top 2 albums became "The Essential Michael Jackson" and "Thriller" respectively. MTV even interrupted their regular programming to just play Michael Jackson videos which I believe, may be the only event big enough in the last 15 years to inspire them to start playing videos again.
There were several M2O partners that did an exceptional job of handling Jackson's untimely death. Two that I would like to highlight include:
1. Dave Robert's team at KNIN in Witchita Falls utilized the ECO "Forums" tool. Dave's night personality, Tony immediately upon hearing the news posted a thread entitled "Michael Jackson, the King has Fallen." Members responded quickly and shared their thoughts and memories on "The King of Pop"! One member wrote "Michael Jackson definitely was a bit odd, but you have to admit he was one of the great ones....someone you will remember. God bless him and his family." Many of the postings were shared on-air which created powerful radio and connected the station to the members, giving them the ability to extend the power of the microphone.
If you're not already, I strongly urge you to activate the "Forum" feature. The topics are plentiful and are generally not as morose as MJ's passing. Currently, on KNIN there are 38 different topics ranging from "Transformers 2" to Summer Vacations. Forums allow you to create dialogue with your members which will ultimately strengthen the bond you have with them. For more information on creating forums within ECO Click Here.
2. KSFM in Sacramento used the "News Letter" feature to inform their members that Michael had died. The letter had a link (bread crumb) that members could click for more information about the death which lead them back to the KSFM website. It also invited them to listen to the station throughout the weekend for a special programming tribute. The way KSFM utilized the "Newsletter" tool was perfect. They informed their members of very relevant news and highlighted a benefit of the station.
Other creative partners responded by:
- Voting through a survey on best MJ songs of all time, followed by tribute all weekend
- Dedicating songs through POLLS
- Signing a "goodbye Michael" message board in forums
- Uploading pictures, comments and memories of Michael on personality pages
- Made MJ an auto-friend, and turning his auto-friend page into a tribute, filled with videos and audio (YouTube had every one of his > videos available)
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