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Ideas and technique to help you promote and image radio

Tease me, tease me

Posted by on 27 August 2019

The UK’s biggest commercial radio brand, Heart, is teasing its fans.

Via Facebook and Twitter, the station has released short video drops that feature the message “something new is coming…”

The two social videos released so far feature CHIC’s ‘Le Freak’ and ‘Oops I did it again’ by Britney Spears. The two songs are stalwarts of Heart’s long-running Club Classics strand.

Making a great tease

We may live in an always-on age of instant gratification but teases can still work well.

We’ve seen with the Greg James Hide and Seek game that audiences are up for a tease & reveal mechanic if it’s genuinely puzzling and enjoyable.

So how can you ensure your tease campaign engages with audiences and adds value?

1. Is it worth teasing?

Check you have something genuinely worth revealing. You have an opportunity to build genuine excitement but will lose goodwill if your reveal turns out to be an everyday promotion with little talkable value.

2. Brief your team

Ensure everyone knows the mechanic. What’s happening, when, and what information will be released at what point?

One simple slip from an over-enthusiastic team member could blow the gaffe and waste your investment.

If your campaign straddles multiple platforms, including talent reads, it’s essential to keep them in sync.

3. Provide value within the tease

It’s easy to sound excited. It’s harder to land a consumer benefit without weakening the reveal.

Heart’s campaign offers a hint of party fun and some snippets of enjoyable music.

4. Time it right

Teases work best by prompting word-of-mouth. So plan your campaign for a time when the target audience is likely to be susceptible to gossip. The first day back at work after a Public Holiday is ideal timing. Heart released its first teases at 7am.

5. Don’t string it out

Track responses and be ready to enact the reveal before interest wanes. This could be a matter of hours.

What’s your favourite tease campaign?

If you’ve worked on a great radio tease campaign, or seen one you rate, let Earshot know and we’ll share it.