WIL Bud’s Mom on Facebook
We always talk about character development on shows – there are effective and ineffective character development stories to tell. An example of bad is the show I heard who asked listeners to guess their favorite flavor of jellybeans. This is ineffective because it isn’t a story nor is it a macro attribute other listeners would truly identify with. An effective and positive example is what was done by Bud and Broadway, WIL, St. Louis. Bud’s mother is a character. When she’s on, he turns into her son. Here’s her take on Facebook thru a story about a guy who tried to scam her. Bud’s mom was nothing more than herself, and the team was smart to let her tell her story, laughing throughout, prodding her to give more detail. The average listener identified with the story (we all have parents struggling with Facebook) and are drawn to her honesty and humor.
Jonah, on Stacey K and Jonah, HOT 101.7, Santa Rosa, CA engaged the audience in the tacos verses burritos battle. This was only the portal to get to Jonah’s true feelings: Fuck Tacos. He hates them. The frame is so bold that it grabs your attention. Instead of opening the phones to see if listeners prefer tacos over burritos (typical standard fare), Jonah went around the building and said nothing more than, “Fuck tacos,” to his co-workers to see how they’d react. This was a great way to grab the audience in a bold way and get an immediate and bolder reaction from those he was talking to.
Morning shows almost always take on the personality of the anchor. The TJ Show, AMP 103.3, Boston is a great example of this. Silly, weird (in a good way), quirky. That’s TJ. Loren and Producer Matt compliment TJ’s personality perfectly. Case-in-point is something TJ had done on the street called “Touch Producer Matt’s Ball Sack”. They put two tennis balls into a sack and then Matt asked guys if they’d touch his ball sack, before showing it to them, just to see how they’d react. The TJ Show wins in Boston because it’s different from any show you’ve ever heard. That it’s fresh, different, and really funny crafts a position for them. The content they choose, and more importantly how they do it, is very distinctive and memorable. This break is a prime example of thi