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An intriguing character-building idea would be to make one day on your show “Opposite Day” where each cast member does something which is the total opposite of who they really are. Talent are defined several ways – by the stories you tell about your life which position you as just like the audience or have a relatable component the audience identifies with. Or you could do the opposite of who you actually are, which, if explained to the audience, does the same thing.
This could be my favorite bit of the week. Producer Mike at Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston was feeling the new iPhone buzz this week so he married the Hot Topic with a fun, innovative idea. He showed various groups of people (young, old, kids) his iPad and claimed it was the iPhone 6 Plus. Their reactions were priceless. Our goal in developing entertaining content is to do things like this which are real, fun, and result in the audience pausing their life for a few moments to have a good time. This did that.
Tell me a story. And one with conflict. And throw in that it has to be relatable. In other words, there must be a fair chance listeners could see themselves in it. Sean and Michelle, B103, Rockford, IL lead the most normal of lives. Sean’s wife, Amy, said they would not buy a new lawnmower after theirs broke. Instead, Amy found an old push mower on the side of the road and did the lawn with it. Here’s a fun story, with Amy telling most of it (with commentary by Sean) which is really reflective of real life and laughter.
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Fitz in the Morning, The Wolf, Seattle, does a fun character-building bit on Mondays called “The Peak and the Pit” where the cast shares the best and worst moments of their weekends (peaks/pits) and asks listeners to do the same. What is great about this is they’re short stories centered around highs and lows of real life over the weekend for all.
When you’re conceiving an idea, think opposites. In brainstorming sessions, ask “what is the opposite of this?” Going 180-degrees lends conflict to ideas, and instantly puts an emotional reaction into the presentation. Your topic choice is critical to the success of a break. The application you bring to the topic makes it cut through and be entertaining. Cindy and Jimmy, Star 94, Atlanta, recently wondered out loud if Peyton Manning was good looking. Playing opposites, instead of asking women this question, they sprung it on guys, knowing the reactions and answers would be even better.
A terrific character building feature heard last week on The Bert Show is called “Let’s Be Honest”. Each cast member puts a highly personal question into a hat (think: “Which cast member on our team is the most irritating to be around off-air and why?”). Then, each cast member pulls out a question and must answer it for the audience. Conceivably, you could pull your own question! You score points with the listeners when you reveal yourself and you’re honest. This does that.
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We have a uber local show with Dave and Veronica, WQYK, Tampa. Being local is not the only reason they win, though. They beat the competition because they leverage that localness and are exceptionally entertaining around it. We got Dave and Veronica to throw out a first pitch at a Tampa Bay Rays game. Knowing that most of the audience won’t go to see them, it’s their job to bring enough audio back to air the next day so this group of people will feel like they’re there. Here are two breaks that do this perfectly. In one, they had a fan in the stands do play-by-play of their first pitches. In the second audio segment, you hear natural audio as they’re introduced, along with the chemistry of this team, as Dave ribs Veronica about what she did and how her family reacted. This chemistry, natural laughter, bold content choice, unique execution, and our being local all adds up to the show’s consistent wins in Nielsen.
