Kyle, Bryan, and Sarah, WRAL-FM, Raleigh with the Door Dash Audit

With tax season fast approaching, Kyle, Bryan, and Sarah, WRAL-FM, Raleigh decided to lean in on the lifestyle of one of its cast members.  We talk much about relatability and radio’s super power to connect with the audience.  One thing morning TV does not have is relatable cast members.  Connecting is what we do well in radio.  When forming a relationship with anyone in life (much less a listener), they must leave having connected with one of you – and the base for connection is having something common.  That’s perfect character development.  Bryan spends an amazing amount of money on Door Dash (and Uber Eats).  The team gave a financial expert access to Bryan’s banking info.  He then shared how much Bryan spent using these services in the last year.  The number will blow you away.  Now, Bryan sits with a sign behind him in the studio (as seen in social media posts) to show how many days he’s gone without using Door Dash!

The Overshare Chair

Did you ever have a character development story you wanted to tell the audience but felt it was too personal or over the line?  Create a feature around it where the cast member hops into The Overshare Chair.  That way, the audience will know it’s over the line before you tell it.

I Learned How to Do Radio From Pat Sajak and Porn

Later this evening, watch Wheel of Fortune.  Time how long it takes from when the show starts until there’s the true viewer benefit, Vanna reveals the first letter in the first puzzle.   Betcha it’s less than 30 seconds.  When the first letter shows, that’s when we’re playing along on the sofa.

Wheel used to follow the old format.  Pat and Vanna were introduced, they had some banter, Pat interviewed the three contestants, then they actually played the game.  But they realized those of us at home don’t care about any of that.  We want to play the puzzles.  They also used to shop when someone won a puzzle.  Remember those days of contestants “buying” washers and dryers and ceramic Dalmatians?  None of that mattered.  Because it was all about them and not us.

Ditto Jeopardy.  They play one-half of the first puzzle board right when the show starts.  When they come back from the first commercials and Ken Jennings interviews the three contestants, those of us at home don’t care about that either.  We show up to play along with the game.

We keep hearing about consumers’ shortening attention spans.  The three P’s of a break:  promotion (it’s all about me), process (here’s what we’re doing), and protein (time for content – the reason listeners show up).  Dispense with the first two P’s and get to the third.

To be honest, I’m already worried you’ve lost interest and it’s only been four short paragraphs.  So, I’ll sexy it up.  Time to talk about what I learned about radio from porn.

The porn industry dramatically changed years ago when they realized viewers cared less about plot and storylines.  They just want the action.  Porn clips online are rarely over three minutes (no idea why – ha, ha) and there’s no process or promotion.  Just…protein.

Don’t ask me why.  Read about it in the New York Times who profiled the change.  When we were young and found porn, few people sat through the scene of the pizza delivery guy ringing the doorbell, the woman in the negligee answering and saying she didn’t order any pizza, but inviting him in to deliver it anyway.  Everyone fast forwards to the bedroom scene.  The reason viewers showed up.

At a convention years ago, I used this analogy.  To the nervous laughter of the room, I reminded all to open the mic and “get to the fu@$ing.”  It’s a line that might live in infamy as it continues coming back to me.

Grab some breaks and see how long it takes before your talent start the actual content.  Then figure out how to get there sooner.  Your fans will reward you by staying longer.

Jackie and Bender, KISS, Seattle with Dad’s Poetry

This week’s audio is a reminder that when you have something to give out, you must take into consideration all those people not vying for whatever prize you have.  Research consistently advises that 98% of your audience will never try to win something from you.  They come to the show each day to connect with you on a human level and have a good time.  So, when sales or promotions has something to give out, focus on how you give it out to earn images and play to why those 98% of your fans turn you on each day.  Here’s some retro audio of Jackie and Bender, KISS, Seattle executing this perfectly.  It’s Bender’s dad with some poetry around the station’s music blend.  They gave out the prize, but entertained everyone.

Trolling Taylor

Bank this one for when Taylor Swift releases her new album, The Tortured Poets Department (April 19).  The cover is somewhat provocative.  How about each cast member on the show do their version of her pose in the same outfit and let the audience vote on who did it best?

Karen Carson with Johnny Minge and Intern Anthony, WNEW-FM, New York with It’s Raining Men Ringtone

What radio is missing many places is a sense of silliness and frivolity.  Mischievous shows tends to make their audiences giggle with laughter.  Looking at something through those lenses will bring out the goofiness in a show.  Marry it to an opposite, include a family member, and you have a great recipe for a strategic, memorable break.  As in the case heard here by Karen Carson with Johnny Minge, and Intern Anthony, WNEW-FM, New York.  Anthony’s father is a longshoreman at the piers of New York City.  This is a man’s man’s job.  It’s hard, grueling work.  How does his father react when Anthony changes his father’s ringtone to the iconic Weather Girls song “It’s Raining Men”?  Silly and mischievous.  Here’s the story of how it all unfolded and Anthony’s father’s reaction.  An instantly memorable break.

V-ChatGPT-Day

Anyone who’s been in a long term relationship knows the struggles of what to write in the card to their beloved on those special days.  That’s why you’ll find those people, learn about their significant other, and subcontract the work out to ChatGPT.

 

Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston with The Good Vibe Tribe

Over the last few months, I’ve touted the value of doing a positive news feature on your show.  Tacking in the opposite direction of what everyone feels creates an image for you and your show.  Proving that there is, indeed, good news in the world and in your market is a powerful perception to create evangelists for your show.  Some shows do this and look for good stories from anywhere.  Crafting this feature around listeners who are having positive experiences in your town brings additional images to the feature.  Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston do The Good Vibe Tribe.  Someone calls with good news and they’re brought into the good vibe tribe, which is another win because they’re creating a club of listeners who share positivity.

Taylor’s Travel Troubles

One of the many story lines coming out of the Super Bowl is whether or not Taylor Swift will be able to make it from Tokyo, where she’s doing a concert the night before, to Las Vegas for the game next Sunday.  How about you find a few travel agents who live in town and task them that, if Taylor only flew commercially, how she’d do it and how much the ticket would cost.

 

What Happens Next When Steve’s Work Is Done?

Did you wake up one day about a year ago and think that suddenly, Travis Kelce was everywhere?  Yup, me, too.

Even for non-football fans who’d never heard of him, one day he wasn’t there and the next day he was.  That was not by accident.

In this terrific NY Times article, the story is told that he was driving around Los Angeles with his business managers, brothers Andre and Aaron Eanes, when they happened upon a billboard with The Rock.  Travis looked at them and wondered if he could ever be as famous.  The Eanes brothers said, “yes, you can.”  Which began a business plan to do just that.

Then came Travis’s second Super Bowl win, hosting SNL, starring in seven national commercials, doing a popular podcast with his brother, Jason, and a clothing line.  Dating the world’s biggest pop star (what’s her name again?) was unexpected, unplanned, and gravy on the meal.

Travis Kelce’s ascent was years in the making and, as the article says, a carefully manicured business plan developed by the 34-year-old Eanes team that blossomed at precisely the right moment.

In radio, I’m thinking Ryan Seacrest, Bobby Bones, and Charlamagne tha God.  All three more than just radio stars.  None of it “organic”.

My work with shows is to get the show right – we develop a strategy, working to get the program loved because of its content, features, and characters.  We work hard to get those on the show beloved, so the program is personality-based.

But what happens when we’re successful, and my work is done?  That’s when companies must invest in the next step by hiring PR teams and business managers to turn their radio stars into multimedia stars.

If we want our radio talent to be true difference makers, we’ll invest to help get them a presence on TV, put social media teams around them so hundreds of thousands (if not millions) follow their content on social media, and turn them into both the mayors of their local town and national super stars.  Like Ryan, Bobby, and Charlemagne.

Instead of telling our local personalities to “post more” and become friends with local dignitaries and TV personalities (which is not a strategy), they need a business plan much like the Eanes brothers did for Travis Kelce.  This business plan would not just be a ratings boost for the station, but a financial win, too.  Marketing money and products follow trusted, well-known talent.

If you’re a talent and work for a company that doesn’t agree or have those resources?  Then, how about investing in yourself if you do?  As I shared with one major market show I work with that keeps churning out #1 ratings in key demos month after month, doing that assures your relevancy and success for the future.

The work I do on the show and its content is the start of that multi-year process.

What are your plans that come after my work for the ratings, financial health, and relevancy of your brand?  What commitment can you make for all of that, and then some?  Because success, especially at that level, is never by accident.

In an age of dwindling resources, investing so your good talent become great, your great talent become epic, and your epic talent become legendary would be a no-brainer.