Archive for month: November, 2018

Knowing we cannot be reliant alone for male listenership for a classic rock station in market number three, we crafted a feature for Sherman and Tingle, WDRV (The Drive), Chicago called Two Minutes With Our Wives to get more women to connect with the show and its content. Under the thesis that the guys talk about their wives all week, the wives join the show on this Monday benchmark to “grade” their husbands around one central topic – how they were as spouses over the weekend.  This is when it gets real!  The wives grade the men, then substantiate their assessment by telling stories from the weekend.  Sometimes the guys get an “A”, occasionally it’s an “F”, but it’s always character defining and fun.  This is character development at its highest because the women are in charge.  The gentlemen are, of course, there to defend themselves while the rest of the cast stirs the pot to create the humor.  This is relatable, story-based, and done in a playful way so it’s very accessible content.

Running in the opposite direction is a smart strategy sometimes.  Our job is to separate ourselves from everything else on the dial.  This is why we talk so often about the importance of doing things with the topics of the day and in your content breaks to accomplish this.  The world is stressful and negative – being an escape from that (on most days) is a good move.  Enter Spencer’s Neighborhood, 1065 The Arch, St. Louis, who highlight the great deeds done by a local female each week in a segment called the Kick Ass Chick of the Week.  Primarily driven to help define the cast member who best identifies with this, Cassiday, the team explores the story of a female listener each week who has overcome obstacles to thrive or is giving back to the community in unique ways.  They celebrate her and remind listeners that in this world of non-stop arguing, goodness is happening all over the market.  This is smart content that works in the moment, but also defines the team’s values and attributes to new listeners just finding them.

We preach it’s what you do with the topics that make them yours.  That innovation must be fun and must fit your brand so it’s not perceived as a wacky radio bit.  The Red Sox win the World Series and Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston, know this is topic number one the morning after.  Almost the entire program must be about this topic so that, at any point a listener tunes in, they’re on it in some fashion.  Staying in character, a member of the cast, who still lives at home, barged into his parent’s bedroom while drunk to tell them just after the team clinches the win.  The best thing the character does?  He records everything for the show the next morning.  Where many shows in the market would just do phones or play the TV audio to reflect on the topic, these guys did something that not only built the cast member’s character, they had audio to prove it and make me feel like I was in the bedroom with everyone.  What you do with the topics makes you iconic and creates an experience listeners will feel compelled to be around each day out of fear of missing something.