Audio

A fun way we end all artist interviews on syndicated country show Tony & Kris is a feature called “60 Seconds”.  The guys throw questions at the artist in rapid fire form, asking them to answer with the first thing that hits them.  All the questions are personal so they reveal themselves.  In the process, we find out some inside stuff about the artist and arm ourselves with fresh places to go the next time we talk with them.

The morning of the Vice Presidential debate in October, Rob and Joss, Froggy 92.9, Santa Rosa, CA did something very clever.  They gave a political civics quiz to two people who were second-in-command where they worked.  This works because it plays off the theme of the day, uses appropriate trivia, and is done in a way where listeners can play along in their cars on the way to work.

With the slow drip of damning Mel Gibson audio out, Karson & Kennedy at MIX 104.1, Boston decided to bring out audio of other celebrities having meltdowns.  They did a game called, “Know Your Celebrity Rants”.  Despite the fact that the contestant seemed stumped, imagine people at home or in their cars laughing and playing along to all these great audio drops.

The goal of any interview with a celebrity is to humanize them from the start.  Stars come on because they’re promoting something.  Humanizing them makes listeners more receptive to the sales job at the end.  Jimmy Rollins plays for the Philadelphia Phillies and is a huge local star. Coming on to promote his charity event, listen to the things Tiffany and Michael, B101, Philadelphia talk with him about to create fun and make him a real person.

The audio posted this week has been chosen for one specific reason – to show you how chemistry plays a role in creating fun and an environment listeners want to be around. Listeners can tell if the team likes each other.  Here’s Dave and Veronica at WQYK, Tampa just playing around with each other when a listener called.  You can’t fake chemistry.  The audience knows if it’s real or not.  Show your playfulness and listeners will want to wake up with you because they feel a part of your team.

It’s absolutely the best when a show gets creative around a Hot Topic.  Listen as Chris Carr, Maverick, and Statt, the morning show at B105, Cincinnati have some fun with Al and Tipper Gore’s recent announcement that they’re divorcing.  Statt knows why…as you’ll hear in the audio he “found” of pick up lines in Al’s match.com ad.

The audience does want to hear about the lives of the people on the show.  Especially when their experiences are very relatable.  Rachel, from Kyle and Rachel, Radio NOW, Indianapolis, recently went to the dentist.  To have the work done, Rachel had to get the laughing gas.  They could have just talked about it.  But the break got good because Kyle went along and recorded a conversation with Rachel while she was loopy.  This is fun and very memorable.

The best ideas tend to come from real life – developing ideas from things that happen to you shift the perception from it being a “bit” to something more organic.  Karson, from Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston, walked in on his mother-in-law while she was visiting with him, when she had no pants on.  Oops!  To give out some concert tickets, the show did “Beat That”, where the listener with the best story beating his won.

Every morning show has received an ugly e-mail or text from a listener.  Listen as Nick Cannon on 92.3 NOW, New York City completely disarms one of them by calling her to talk about the sent text!  Listen as he both surprises her with the call and wins her over, making her an even more loyal listener to the show.

The Prank Phone Call is one of radio’s strongest benchmarks.  Here’s Rickey Smiley whipping a listener who’d just had a baby into a frenzy by calling as a nurse at a hospital to say liquor was found in her breast milk.