The Kathy Romano Show B101, Philadelphia with Embarrassing E-mail Addresses

Ain’t nothing funnier than real life.  I’ve expressed that message many times on these pages.  And everywhere, stories, stories, stories are what communicates the fun/embarrassing things that happen when you’re just being yourself.  On The Kathy Romano Show, B101, Philadelphia, co-host Bobby and Laura the Producer admitted the crazy email addresses they had in their younger years.  Their ability to laugh at themselves sets the tone for great humor.  Then the smart move, opening the phones for the audience to do it, too.  In forming a club with listeners, disarming everyone to just be themselves creates a tribe through storytelling that make a show very genuine and vulnerable, which helps further cement the connection between the cast and its audience.  Great show are about conquering content and creating connection.  This does that.

Christine and Salt, 96.5 TIC-FM, Hartford with Savannah Guthrie

It’s very important for every show to align with whatever the biggest topics are of the day.  That adds relevance to your show and a timeliness that generates more attention than defaulting more often to topics that are evergreen.  I’ve long taken the position that a filter should be:  can this topic also be done next Wednesday?  If the answer is yes, replace it with something going on right now and it will be better.  Salt and Christine, 96.5 TIC-FM, Hartford are institutions in the market.  They know everyone given their tenure and use that to their advantage.  For one more break on the Savannah Guthrie story (if I don’t have to explain the story, that means it’s highly familiar to your audience), they invited on a local TV anchor who’d had a somewhat similar experience as Savannah and had even met her.  Here’s a first-person story that makes the conversation interesting, riveting, and memorable.

Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston with Karson’s Testosterone-Fest

Nothing beats self-deprecating humor.  It’s disarming when a talent feels comfortable enough to share a story of a fail and allows others in and out of the studio to mock them.  Sometimes the best character development comes from your flaws and weaknesses.  Masters at this are Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston.  Karson boasted to some golf buddies about his son’s lacrosse team.  Then his testosterone started to show and it got uncomfortable.  Break one includes Karson’s wife, Lana, who’s always money because she puts Karson in his place and the audience loves it.  Quick note – listen to the first 15 seconds of the first break and hear how Karson teases that his wife is coming up before he tells the story to build anticipation and hold on to listeners. Break two are listeners chiming in to advance the story line.  All around, smart, unique, funny character development.

Logan and Sadie, WINK-FM, Ft. Myers, FL with the The Divorcee Divas

A client comes to us with a $1000 gift card for a Valentine’s Day promotion.  The default might be to have listeners text or call us throughout the week to qualify to win it.  Then on Friday, randomly choose one and call them to share the good news.  BORING!  BORING!  BORING!  At Logan and Sadie, WINK-FM, Ft. Myers, FL, we brainstormed the opposite of Valentine’s Day to create story-based content that both those who wanted to win it and those who just come to us for content and connection (99% of listeners) would find entertaining.  That’s always the challenge whenever you have any prize.  Through the week, we will take Valentine’s Day horror stories (opposite #1).  Now, how to decide who wins?  We found two women who were recently divorced (opposite #2) to listen and choose.  Which would you do?  The first idea to get qualifiers via text or phones (BORING!) or an idea that compels stories into your show of the opposite of the holiday?  Here are two examples of what they got.

Kyle, Bryan, and Sarah, WRAL-FM, Raleigh with Love Him or List Him

There are tons of relationships features out there.  Some around forever (Second Date Update, War of the Roses).  Then there are new presentations.  Take Kyle, Bryan, and Sarah, WRAL-FM, Raleigh who do Love Him or List Him.  Yup, you’re right.  The name is close to the very popular HGTV show, Love It or List It.  That’s on purpose – there is such equity in the TV show name that to use something similar helps it cut through.  It follows the same pattern as all features like this.  Break #1 is the dilemma – a caller had a first date with someone and something happened which made them wonder if they should have a second date.  Callers chime in.  Then you go back with the advice.  Relationships content may be the most universal you can do.  It’s very relatable to everyone, because all of us are in all kinds of relationships.  Here’s a new, more contemporary frame to do a relationships feature if the others are taken in your market (plus the opening jingle is an ear worm).

Gregg, Freddy, and Danielle, MIX 104.1, Boston with Grams Jams

When you have a prize, you can do one of two things.  Take the easy (and lazy) way out by asking for caller ten.  Or you can create a fun idea that gets both a winner and (most importantly) earns you important perceptual images with the 98% of those tuning in who won’t call for a contest, but need their win, too.  And that’s a play-along game they can have fun hearing.  Gregg, Freddy, and Danielle, MIX 104.1, Boston’s afternoon show work hard at this, knowing that caller ten contests are meaningless chatter-that-doesn’t-matter to the vast majority of those who come for great content, a human connection, and to have a good time.  So, they developed a fun game called Gram’s Jams where Danielle’s grandmother reads a lyric of a song they play.  The correct caller gets the prize then they play Gram reading her lyrics over that part of the song.  A win not just for contest players, but for everyone else, too.

Zach and George, The Anderson Journal, WHBU-FM, Anderson, IN with George is a Lousy Driver

If you’re in a moment with high emotion, grab that phone and get audio of it.  That audio will aid you in telling the story on-the-air in a way that simply recounting it won’t.  Case-in-point is what was done by Zach Johnson and George Bremer, The Anderson Journal, WHBU-FM, Anderson, IN.  George is flawed as he’s a lousy driver.  The team was out on a remote.  Driving back to the station, Zach and the promotions/video team started to rib George about all his driving mishaps.  It was very disarming and exceptionally funny.  Which is why, instead of just re-living things on the next show, Zach got audio of the post-trip conversation in real time from the group.  Listen to all the emotion and laughter in this exchange and hear how much differently the break was because of it.  Always think:  is there an oppotrunity to get audio here because it wil make the break on our next show when we tell it better?

Karen, Johnny, and Anthony, WNEW-FM, New York with Maury Povich and the Baby Announcement

Coaching a new show this past week, they asked an important question:  how do we become our listeners Netflix?  When I probed what they meant, they told me they want to be top-of-mind when people wake up, much like many of us default, when wanting content on TV, to wonder what’s on Netflix.  It’s a fair ask.  My answer was Netflix has generated so much unique content that they occupy space in our heads for top shelf shows that must be watched.  What does that mean for you?  Once you identify the right topics for your show, focus much of your attention and creativity on what you will do with the topic that will create an experience for those listening where you accrue those images, too.  Intern Anthony and his wife are having a baby.  This is good character development content.  Now the question is how does Karen Carson in the Morning, WNEW-FM, New York City do the gender reveal to the audience so it’s talked about and remembered?  Well, they invite Maury Povich on to do the deed.

Chris and Dina, WMAS-FM, Springfield with The Bowl of Confessions

Character development comes in many forms.  When you share a story of something going on in your life, when you’re honest about your take on whatever topic you’re engaging on, and when you are completely vulnerable with the audience.  Strategic character development is the primary instigator of the connection you must form with the audience to build that relationship which leads to loyal listening.  “I feel like I know them,” is a powerful statement any listener can make which proves the connection is happening.  Here’s a unique character development bit as done by Chris and Dina, WMAS-FM, Springfield, MA called the Bowl of Confessions.  They brought into the studio a co-worker who pulled a slip of paper out of a bowl, which contains a statement he had or decide if it was true or a false.  All of it leading to me learning about Chris or Dina.  Listen as the chemistry drives the fun.

Zog and Ivy Unleashed, Power 96, Miami with Trends with Benefits

I’m a fan of trivia games that allow the audience in cars, driving to work, to play along.  I’ve featured many on these pages over the years.  This one works not just because it accomplishes that but because its name is memorable and the trivia questions are cut from today’s headlines so it helps the show be contemporary.  I also preach let’s be about now.  Every trivia game must have its genre of trivia and this is about current events.  Zog and Ivy Unleashed, Power 96, Miami play Trends with Benefits twice each morning to accrue those images and help define Ivy as the one on the show who’s tapped into whatever is going on in the world and in the market.