The Kentucky Derby is this Saturday. A fun game to play if you have something to give out is “Kentucky Derby or Prescription Drug”. Gather the names of the horses in the race and some official names of prescription drugs advertised on TV. The listener must guess which is which to win.
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The recipe of a quirky take on a Hot Topic, along with a novel listener-based approach, will tend to yield a content break that’s sticky and memorable because it made people laugh or have a good time around something interesting to them. Jay Leno had a field day with “Jay Walking” where he asked people weird questions just to see how they’d answer. A few weeks ago, Rebekah Black from The Jody Dean Show, KLUV, Dallas, asked people on the street about their taxes. How they answer her odd questions is where the lean in moments happen, producing a fun experience listeners might want to come back again for the next day.
What do most mothers get on Mother’s Day? A card, flowers, breakfast put together by the kids, jewelry. Blah, blah blah. What do most mother want on Mother’s Day? To have the day all to themselves, a nice quiet house with no screaming people, blaring TVs, and arguments. Find moms who want exactly that and conference call their husbands/families in on the show so she can publicly tell them to not spend a dime, but to vacate the premises so she can have a Mother’s Day without all the activity.
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One of the easier days to do a show is Monday, mainly because you have weekend content. Things happen to you and your listeners which can be treasure troves of relatable, story-based content for the program. Here’s a great example of knowing the quirky people who work around you, who can contribute to your show. Kyle and Rachel, Radio NOW, Indianapolis, met Bryan in the promotions department, who’s musically inclined. Hence a new, semi-occasional Monday feature where the listeners tell Bryan what they did over the weekend in one sentence, and Bryan sets it to music, in his own style.
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If you live in a market with a sports team, see if one of the cheerleaders will help with a prom promotion. No doubt there’s a guy who can’t find a date for his prom. Guys put their bid in for The Perfect Prom, which is a date with one of the cheerleaders. Narrow the list down to three guys who each vie for the G-rated company of a cheerleader from the team.
Two tenants of great talent are their ability to tell a story and a comfort enough with themselves to show their flaws. Listeners root for radio talent who aren’t perfect. Those who can put their mess out in the world and seemingly say, “I am just like you – things don’t work out for me sometimes.” That self-deprecation helps talent bond with listeners. If you look at David Letterman and Howard Stern, they built franchises around the “I’m just not good enough” vibe. Cindy from Cindy and Jimmy, Star 94, Atlanta shows this in our audio clip this week. She tells a story about how her youngest daughter accidentally gets her cell phone and butt dials an ex. The fun, imperfect part comes in how Cindy gets out of the call. They then launch phones for similar stories from listeners, which doubles the fun.
