AMP 103.3, Boston Lotto Man
Most morning shows, when given lottery tickets as giveaways, would groan. The TJ Show, AMP 103.3, Boston, sees opportunity to have fun. TJ transforms himself into Lotto Man. He went out on the street as this character to give tickets to passers-by, really as a mechanism to converse about winning the lottery and create other TJ mayhem. The beauty of The TJ Show is that they always figure out, regardless of circumstance, how to use what they have to create fun. The standout elements of this break include: street audio so there is another dimension to engage the audience, TJ plays a short Lotto Man jingle in between approaching people which catches your attention, it’s quirky fun, the lottery was one of the Hot Topics that week, and talking to people on the street makes the show feel like it’s Boston.
Empathy is such a critical element to connect with the audience. It’s “I feel your pain” because you have. J. Cruz’s girlfriend just gave birth to their first child. So the host of The Cruz Show, Power 106, Los Angeles, had to wear the pregnant belly one day so he knew what it felt like. Part of that was, when he had to go to the bathroom, we sent him into the ladies room to do so, taping the experience. Video for social media, audio for the program. And yes, he was interrupted by other women who also work on the floor while he was peeing. This is real life, with a unique twist. Which made it relatable and fun.
This past week we celebrated International Women’s Day. Many people asked us to imagine a day without women. Spencer’s Neighborhood, 106.5 The Arch, St. Louis did just that, with this produced piece which actually mocks men. There are a few takeaways from this show clip: first, don’t ever believe it takes forever to entertain the audience. This show is impressively efficient with its time. They respect the audience by setting things up quickly (but organically) as you’ll hear and then getting to the funny fast. When you do this, you reposition your competitors for those who cross cume stations as slow. The other item to note is that talking about the topic is certainly fine, but when you have a game plan to entertain the audience with the topic, as the produced part of this break proves, you make it stickier, which helps the audience remember you and want to come back out of a fear of missing something.