David, Sue, and Kendra, MAGIC 106.7, Boston The Throwback Live

There is an immense value in all things nostalgia right now.  The formats doing well are those that play older, well-known music.  Brands with very high equity and are well-known have an advantage.  We have a daily feature on David, Sue, and Kendra, MAGIC 106.7, Boston called the Throwback Live.  I love this feature because it has many elements that could hook listeners:  it has throwback audio clips from decades past that will be great nostalgia for listeners, it’s presented as a game that’s a friendly competition between two cast members so the audience can root for someone, and it’s vicarious so those in cars can play along as they travel to work.  Research has proven many times that games resonate and are evaluated well by the audience.  In large part because they’re easy to follow and are fun.  That this has the added elements of throwback audio and the competition between two cast members, who’ll get defined in the process, are a bonus.

John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego, Bonnie Hates Aaron Rodgers

What do you do when your church going 80-year mother, a Chicago Bears fan for life, detests Aaron Rodgers and he’s hosting Jeopardy that night?  You charge up your phone to get commentary about what she thinks.  So did John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego weeks ago as Jeopardy continued to offer up guest hosts with the death of Alex Trebek.  Bring me there.  That’s the message of this post.  Make me feel like I am in the room with you.  John knows his mother would be opinionated and fun with topic. So the show had options:  recount the story themselves, get Bonnie on the phone after-the-fact, or record her in real time as she drips with emotion.  It’s option “C” every time because that’s a higher level of drama for the audience to glum on to.  That she’s older and works at a church is a wonderful setup.  Remember…when in the middle of emotion, record it.  These work parts will help you better tell the story and you will make the audience hearing it feel like they were there with you.

Logan and Sadie, WINK-FM, Ft. Myers, FL The Relationships Report Card

A novel character development feature we have on Logan and Sadie, WINK-FM, Ft. Myers, FL each Monday is called the Relationships Report Card.  We spend so much of our time in radio talking about our families.  This is important to do to not only define you to the audience, but to force more real life content into the program.  This is essential storytelling to create a bond with listeners and remind them that they are just like you.  Add in that the most natural humor for a show comes when you’re telling the truth.  The Relationships Report Card was added to define Logan to the audience.  His wife comes on each Monday morning to “grade” him as a husband over the weekend.  She cites things he did (or didn’t do) and assess to him a letter grade.  It’s empowering to women to have that forum and she speaks for all as she playfully calls Logan out on how he was as a spouse.

MIX 104.1, Boston Karson and Kennedy, Barrett Calls a Family Meeting

Nostalgia is in and I bet you remember all those family meetings you had when you were a kid.  Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston decided to air one.  Karson’s young son, Barrett, recently called a family meeting at the dinner table to discuss a few things that were bothering him.  This is awesome character development for Karson because we’re getting to know him as a dad.  That’s the core of character development – am I getting to know something about you that makes you relatable to me?  What’s fun about this is the interaction between Barrett and his parents.  Also listen for its execution.  Karson didn’t just record the table conversation and air it in its entirety.  He edited it and they talked around parts of it so the team could keep their in-studio chemistry and commentary at the forefront.  Great radio is doing relatable content in a unique way that allows for natural humor and humaneness.  This ticks those boxes.

Mark and NeanderPaul, KSLX, Phoenix Reflecting Values

At the end of the day, its the display of your values as a human being on-air that listeners are drawn to.  If they get the sense you are just like them, they’ll give you a fair shot at a relationship.  We are all in search of “our people” (people just like us) in life.  Regardless of your format, there’s great pressure to be contemporary in your content choices.  Every listener, despite their age, wants to be connected to the topics of the day.  Enter Mark and NeanderPaul, KSLX, Phoenix, who decided to talk about Demi Lovato on their show.  Their classic rock audience might have heard of Demi, but not her music.  This is a function of Demi being in the news a lot.  What I want you to hear is how they talked about her in the presentation of their values.  Consider how they say all of this and further, how it connects with their mostly male audience.  An adult male is probably shaking their head yes at their comments (that’s connection) while being all about what is going on right now.

WTIC-FM, Hartford Salt and Christine Using Audio

One filter in your prep process should be – is there audio we can play in this break that will help make it sparkle?  There was a time (in the olden days!) when the only audio available came from the prep services you subscribed to.  But with the internet, audio is everywhere.  Breaks with the cast just talking about a TV show they watched are not as good as breaks that have audio from that TV show.  This is for a few reasons:  first, the audio provides much needed context for those who didn’t see the show (most of your listeners) so they understand better your comments.  Second, listeners need “audio stimulation” so they don’t drift and audio inside a break provides that, helping keep their interest.  So always look for audio for any topic you do.  Here’s a simple, yet effective character break from Christine and Salt, WTIC-FM, Hartford.  Christine got a letter from her son’s school and wondered if it was real.  A local TV station confirmed it.  Their use of that audio did the two critical things above, which made the break better perceptually.

 

Indie 88, Toronto The Josie Dye Show, Carlin Is Moving to Leslieville

Silly fun, no bits!  What you want driving your program are strategic content decisions, the chemistry of the room, and your natural sense of humor.  A running theme on The Josie Dye Show with Matt and Carlin, Indie 88, Toronto is that Carlin is looking to buy a house with his girlfriend. The housing market is tough and this is Carlin’s first home.  The audience has been let in on all the drama so that we can define Carlin through this narrative.  After months of searching, he finally found a house, which was cause for celebration on the show.  Carlin is moving to a new area of Toronto, so this means we get a fresh level of the storyline.  Here’s silly fun when the team decided to call businesses in Leslieville to tell them that a big celebrity (tongue-in-cheek) is moving to that side of town.  No bits – listen to this strategic character content with the chemistry taking over as the calls are made.  This is sticky because of the organic, natural fun they create telling the story.

Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston Karson Puts His Foot Down

Bold, aggressive characters help you put the car on the freeway and floor the vehicle immediately to 85 miles per hour.  That’s what Karson’s wife, Lana, does on Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston, every time she’s on.  Lana has a sweet southern accent (which stands out in Boston, Massachusetts and is an immediate asset in a break).  But what Lana does even better when she’s introduced to the audience, is that she immediately goes on the offensive with her content.  There is no ramp up to get there.  The team introduces her after paraphrasing the dilemma about to be discussed, and she goes on the attack, which draws listeners in.  This is a story about Lana going away for the weekend, forgetting her wedding ring, and then being hit on by two guys at the airport – great relationships stuff.  Karson says there’s a double-standard at play, and Lana defends all of this.  It’s fun, relatable, and self-deprecating.  And because how it’s designed (the content happens immediately – listen to how much they get done in the first thirty seconds), listeners hang on for the wild ride to resolution.

WTIC-FM, Hartford Salt and Christine, Christine Is a Bad Parent

Never underestimate the power of a simple break that communicates who you are.  Character development is a critical element of any show.  Whether you’re on-the-air for one month or ten years, you’re always defining yourself to connect with the audience.  To find “your people” if you will.  And sometimes, we make these bigger deals than they need to be.  The telling of a big story with our opening the phones at the end.  That tends to be a good path, because the focus shifts from your story to the audiences, effectively making them the stars of the show.  Consider this simple break from Christine and Salt, WTIC-FM, Hartford.  During the show, Christine got an email from the school nurse about her son.  She shares it with the audience, becomes self-deprecating about what a bad mother she is, and the chemistry of the room then takes over.  It’s not long, but very relatable.  And it effectively allows Christine to bond with “her people”.  Other mothers are probably laughing and nodding their heads up and down sayid “Yup, that’s me.”  When it comes to character development, simple breaks like this work, too.

John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego John On His Dad Passing

Would you, could you do a break like this, as heard on John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego?  John’s dad had been in failing health for some time.  This is a show that keeps no secrets from its listeners.  They are intimately aware that when you move the audience to care about you (and in turn you care about them), the show becomes important.  Radio is the most intimate form of mass communication there is.  Thousands of listeners at any one time based on numbers from Nielsen.  But in reality, we all know our strength is that it’s really just that one person experiencing it when they listen.  The audience traveled the journey with John and his father over the many years this show has been on in San Diego.  The countless times John would have his father on for many reasons, they were quite aware of the bond between the two, even when John was making fun of him.  So it was appropriate that John include listeners on his last days, too.  Here is a break of John talking about his father a few days after he lost him.  The description of his last few minutes are incredibly powerful and could only be done by a talent experienced and seasoned and one comfortable to do so.  This is emotional, balanced, and radio at its most powerful.  Do you have this kind of relationship with your audience?  You’ll win bigger if you do.