WDRV (The Drive), Chicago Todd Rundgren Flames Out

One way to invigorate your benchmarks is to occasionally ask celebrities to do them.  Benchmarks work because they create an appointment for your show (which is why you do them at the same time – and no, the audience doesn’t bore of them if they are entertaining, because you change the content each time you do them).  Sherman and Tingle, WDRV (The Drive), Chicago do a fun, music-based benchmark each morning at 7:30 called the Thirty Second Song Challenge, where a listener must name seven songs in thirty seconds to win.  It has a huge vicarious element to it.  But on occasion, they’ll get a celebrity to play.  Here’s the version with Todd Rundgren, who is a core artist to the format.  Todd comes on because he has something to promote, but the show (with permission) also gets him to play the game, where he fails, but has fun in the process.

Do You Trust Us?

One of the pillars of success for your show is that, never having actually met you, the audience feels like they know you.  Play “Do You Trust Us?” with them.  Wonder out loud if they trust you and ask that they call, but don’t give them this question until they’re on-the-air with you.  Then, once on, ask if they trust you enough to give you one of their passwords.  Hear the discomfort, then if they step up to the test!