Karen, Johnny, and Anthony, WNEW-FM, New York with Elvis’s Tips on Marrying Someone

When doing a narrative story arc (a story that evolves and lasts a few days on the show), it’s always best to look at it as though you’re writing a book.  The opening chapter sets the entire story and the conclusion is where you’re headed.  At Valentine’s Day, Karen, Johnny, and Anthony, WNEW-FM, New York married someone in a feature we called the No Budget Wedding.  What moves that narrative forward to your designed conclusion are the middle chapters – things you do that advance the story line.  Here’s one of those “middle chapters”.  Karen getting advice from an Elvis impersonator in Las Vegas on how to marry the couple.

The Pothole of Pennies

Winter is drawing to a close.  What comes after that is lots of potholes around town.  Find the biggest and bring to it all those pennies you have in that big container in your house.  Ask listeners how many pennies it’ll take to fill it up in The Pothole of Pennies.

Excellence vs. Mediocrity – The Zoom and the Tweet That Proved It

There are a handful of memorable moments in my time coaching radio’s premiere talent.  What happened in a Zoom on March 8 is one I will never forget.

I got a text from a talent I work with in the Netherlands.  I introduced you to Wijnand Spellman in the Planet Reynolds The Benefits of Being Big.  Wijnand’s cause is ALS.  He, along with two other station talent, did The Glass House at Christmas and raised over $8,000,000 for One Dutch, a charity that helps find a cure for the disease.

Wijnand needed help with a request that would change him and his listeners.  Last fall, in preparation for The Glass House, I impressed upon Wijnand the need for it to be a story-telling event.  So, he set out to meet people who had ALS – to get in their world so he could see firsthand how it changed them.

In the course of that work, he met Anjo, a husband and father of two, who was afflicted with ALS.  They bonded immediately and became friends.  Then, the email and request that will forever impact him.  Anjo was in the final stages of his disease and had decided, because it’s legal in the Netherlands, to be euthanized.  He chose Wednesday, March 13 as the day.  Anjo then requested of Wijnand something unique.  He wanted to be interviewed on Wijnand’s show that morning before he said goodbye.  Wijnand wanted to talk through how to do that.

Wow.  What connection.  What humanity.

It’s almost surreal what we talked about.  From the questions to explore to how long it would go.  It was all about what Wijnand wanted to learn from him.  It was both an honor and privilege to be asked to do this and one he embraced, despite its difficulty.  I wanted him to have as soft and reflective a conversation as he could, so the audience received the gift, too.

Think for a moment the intimacy of that conversation.  What that humanity and emotion would bring his listeners.  I tear up writing this because it was so special for me, as well.

A question I ask talent is what impact do you want your show to have on those who tune in?  Do you understand your power to make listeners feel a part of something special and big?

The interview happened and it garnered an immense reaction from his audience.

Let me contrast this with a Tweet I saw in that same week.  Another believer in radio was scanning the dial in their market and heard two shows do the same phone topic from a prep service on the same day.

Compare the two content choices above.  Which one do you want your show to be?  Which one builds greater loyalty and a relationship where listeners become fans and fans come back the next day because they feel deeply connected to your personalities?  One is inspiring, the other forgettable.

I have been inspired many times doing this work by passionate, hard-working talent who want their shows to be one-of-a-kind.  Every break, every day is an open canvas.  What will your talent choose to do with it?

To help Wijnand do this rates at the top.

Talent make radio stations great.  The great talent relentlessly compete in every break on every show and never give anybody a chance to make them sound average.

Chris and the Crew, WPST, Trenton, NJ with Joe’s Mom Does March Madness

You must marry opposites to create memorable radio.  Plus, it ain’t too bad to have a cast of characters you can rely on to help.  March Madness is on – it’s a big topic everywhere (not everyone is doing it or following it, but they aware of it, which is the only threshold you must meet).  Chris and the Crew, WPST, Trenton, NJ is super topical and local.  Joe’s mom has zero knowledge of the teams.  But, she’s a pistol – always opinionated and (even better), always cursing.  Let’s bring those two together for this week’s audio.  This is topical, local, real, and fun.  All terrific images to get from a content break.

Let’s End Lent

With Easter on Sunday, Lent ends this week.  For those who gave up something, have them in the studio to try what they gave up for the first time on your show.  Swore off Diet Cokes or chocolate?  Your first one’s on us on-the-air.  Gave up cursing?  Utter your first in the studio!

Carlin and Brent, Indie 88, Toronto with the Drag Queen Bachelorette Party

The absurd always works.  Marry the usual with the crazy and people will listen along.  Carlin and Brent, Indie 88, Toronto did this effortlessly in this week’s audio.  Carlin’s sister is about to get married.  She’s given him a rather interesting task:  he must put together her bachelorette party.  Carlin openly admits he has no idea what to do.  So, in a brainstorm, we decided that he’d subcontract the work out to local drag queens.  Carlin and his girlfriend were about to go to a drag show anyway.  He approached the head drag queen and invited her on-the-air to discuss the dilemma.  They agreed to put something together for Carlin so we’re off the races with unique, character-driven content that has an absurd element to it so listeners pay attention. Edgy, attitude, the absurd. If that’s not you, invite it on your show to stand out.

Easter Egg Butts

Easter is not too far off.  Couple that with nudity and we offer Easter Egg Butts this week.  Any enterprising guy on the show wanna play along?  I bet you’ll get a ton of hits.  See what you have to do here and here.

Carlin and Brent, Indie 88, Toronto with Break Brent’s Brains

Benchmarks are even more effective when they define a cast member on the show.  If the reason for the feature goes to a core attribute of the personality, it helps that talent secure a position in the mind of the listener.  Like:  “she’s the mom” or “he love dogs.”  Look at Carpool Karaoke as an example.  James Corden is a singer and theatrical performer at heart.  So it makes sense for him, being a fan of music, to invite celebrities in the car to sing along with their tunes.  Carlin and Brent, Indie 88, Toronto, came up with a new way to give out prizes.  Brent has a fascination for quirky facts.  Marry that to the belief that everyone knows one and here comes Break Brent’s Brain.  Listeners call with their fact.  The one that Brent is most wowed by wins the prize.

Bagpipes Play Our Tunes

With St. Patrick’s Day Sunday (March 17), go grab audio of bagpipe players doing songs in your format.  I bet they’re all over YouTube.  If not, find a local bagpipe player who’ll come in to have some fun with you!

Operation Destination

I recently decided to buy a new pair of glasses, so I did what most do.  I went to my local mall to visit LensCrafters.  I’m not particularly loyal to LensCrafters.  I just happen to like their frame selection and the manager there always makes me laugh (hi Avril!).

Something occurred to me when I did that a few months ago.  I did what I always do when at the mall.  I went to the Apple store.  I didn’t need any Apple products.  I just like to play with everything.  And I wanted to hold their new Vision Pros.  As I left, it dawned on me that every time I go to the mall, I always go to the Apple store.  Always.  Even if I don’t want to buy a product.

The Apple store at the local mall is a destination store.  Where the men’s clothing store on one side and shoe store on the other side barely register a customer, the Apple store is always packed.

Which made me think: is your show a “destination program”?  In the myriad of choices for morning entertainment and connection, what does your show do that separates it from all the others?  What do you do that compels people to tune in each day given their endless options?

Have you recently done an inventory of things you do?  Do you have a lot of different reasons listeners might actively choose you and turn you on because of them?  That might be a great exercise to do this week.  What are your significant points-of-differentiation from all the other choices that would compel your fans to use you again or seek you out?  On the dial, how are you like the Apple store at my local mall, compelling me to go regardless of the original reason I went to the mall?  What new ideas have you developed to keep things fresh for your fans?  Because you must keep churning out new products like Apple (i.e. Vision Pros) to keep fans from straying elsewhere.

The other thing that rings true is why I go to the Apple store.  It’s because of how it makes me feel.  Those of you who’ve met or know me are well aware of something that rings quite true: I am not the coolest person around.  I’m awkward and uncomfortable and have a self-image of insecurity, wondering how I fit in (that’s lasted since I was a kid).  But not when I am in the Apple store.  When I am there, I feel like one of the cool kids.  And even though that evaporates once I leave, for a brief time, I feel like I fit into the cool kid’s club.

Which leads to my last question I’ll ponder you can tackle with the strategists on your team: how do you make listeners feel when they take delivery of your content?  Be honest here.  Because we associate with brands not primarily for the products they offer, but for how they make us feel.

What is the goal for the content you choose and how you do it?  For those I get the honor to work with, we know the show plot, how we’re different, and how we want people to feel when they depart us for the next thing in their life that day.

That might be an epic conversation that brings clarity to how you fit in, as listeners choose who they’ll spend their time with each morning.