WZLX, Boston Heather’s Hot Line
Not that the concept always fits, but when we get stuck, we try to insert nudity or sex because that tends to make an idea better. Karlson and McKenzie, WZLX, Boston had a classic bit based around Heather Ford, their news person and voice-of-reason on the show, called Heather’s Hot Line. Heather would call a sex line in an effort to get the guy she was matched up with to do odd and weird things – the goal was to see how he’d react, in their efforts to create some uncomfortable drama so the audience leaned in to the hear what was next and laugh. Including sex/nudity doesn’t work for every brand, but considering this is a classic rock morning show targeting guys, it does.
The TJ Show, AMP 103.3, Boston has a cast in TJ, Loren, and Producer Matt who are just like the audience. We leverage this regularly to connect with listeners and do it in an entertaining way. It’s not good enough for them to know that TJ has a young daughter by the name of Charlie Jane. He regularly reminds them what kind of daughter he has – a kid just like theirs who throws fits when she doesn’t get her way and at times when you least expect it. This show is a master at vulnerability, bringing the audience into their world. TJ records his daughter throwing her fits as he attempts, as a loving father, to “negotiate” her out of crying, for a weekly feature called “Tantrum Tuesday”. A relatable topic being done in a truly unique way (like this) is very memorable.
Strategic benchmarks do a few very important things for any show: they create an appointment at the time they’re done (necessary to gain another occasion from listeners). They earn you images quicker if they are focused on having fun. And, if centered around a cast member, they potentially build their character faster. JJ and Tiny, KFDI, Wichita, KS put a benchmark on their show about a year ago that helps the program win in every category listed above. Tiny is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to useless trivia. So we built a feature around this attribute to define him to the audience. Called “Can’t Top Tiny”, the listeners challenge him in who knows more around five inane trivial questions as chosen by JJ. This is done every morning at 7:50 (there’s the appointment) and we pay it off with a couple of hit records so the audience, once entertained by this vicarious feature, gets some music.