Kyle, Bryan, and Sarah, WRAL-FM, Raleigh Only at the Fair
Here’s another great example of the power of audio. The North Carolina State Fair happened back in October. As Kyle, Bryan, and Sarah, WRAL-FM, Raleigh went with their families, there was color all around them. From the patrons to vendors to ride operators. All these people (and more) had fun perspectives on the event and many had stories to tell of what they saw and experienced. These guys are smart. Not just because they know to bring this content to the show to position them as local and involved in what happens in the community. But they also gathered audio (a simple feat with one’s cell phone) for story-telling from the colorful people around them. In this clip, the bus driver taking fair-goers from the parking lot to the fairgrounds, the show quizzed him on the odd stuff he not only saw, but heard from others who worked the event. Running this audio in the breaks, and commenting around it, is much more engaging than the one-dimensional act of them recounting everything for the audience.
This is one of my favorite breaks ever as done by Karlson and McKenzie, WZLX, Boston. We were looking to find an edgy way to connect with the audience. The show has attitude and swagger and we wanted to channel that sense of humor into a holiday idea that would be much different than the standard fare phone topics most shows do around this time of year. Enter Scared Straight Santa. Everyone knows of the “scared straight” concept where prisoners scare kids into towing the line so they don’t end up in jail. We used that to keep misbehaving children in line for their parents or else Santa won’t show up. The first break is the call from a parent who tells us how their kid is misbehaving. The next break (and the one below) is when Pete McKenzie calls back as Santa and challenges the kid to promise to be good. This hits all important images you should have: it’s fun, it’s real, it’s innovative, and it’s relatable.
We do a fun daily feature on John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego called That’s All I Need to Know About You. It’s a simple, call-in benchmark where listeners phone you each morning, make mention of something they saw someone do that irritated them, and then tag on the line, “That’s all I need to know about you,” as a hook to remember it. Benchmarks deserve to be updated in how they’re done on occasion, but must always stay true to what they are by defintion. An example of this is David Letterman’s Top Ten List. While it stayed honest to what it was for almost thirty years (one category, ten punchlines), how they presented it to the audience evolved over time. And, at times, there were special versions of it. Which is what this is. When the need strikes to do something a little different with this regular feature, but keep it consistent, John and Tammy will do special kids versions. Consider doing that with your features, too. Here are two examples.
Lots of shows and stations give stuff out to help the ratings. Contesting has an immediate impact on them. We were presented with a unique challenge when management told The Josie Dye Show with Matt and Carlin, Indie 88, Toronto that we’d have $10,000 to give out every Friday. The only thing we’d been asked to preserve was that qualifiers needed to text to win throughout the week for a forced listening part of the promotion. The win in contesting is NOT what you have to give out. The true benefit comes in how you give out the prize because that will impact perceptions of the show for all those who don’t play contests, which is 98% of the audience. We have to engage them, make them laugh, and do it in a way that garners positive images. Instead of giving one of the random qualifiers the $10,000 each Friday, we put in a twist. The first name we called got $5,000 when they answered the phone. We then pulled a second qualifier and called them. If they answered, they got $5,000, too. But, if they didn’t answer, or it went to voicemail, the first person got all $10,000. Here’s one of the breaks. It was an awesome way to give out the money that we feel was fun for non-contest players to listen in on. The takeaway? Work super hard on how you give stuff out – always think how will this impact those who don’t care to win it?
Interviews suck! When they’re bad they do. But when you get the person you’re interviewing off their talking points or what they’re selling (tickets, web hits, books, product) and move them to reveal who they really are through a story, you add to the authenticity of both them and your show. That requires prep on your part. Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston has been open with the audience for years about the mental health challenges of cast members. That vulnerability draws the audience closer to you. So it’s appropriate, when they found out in prepping for an interview with artist Andy Grammer that Covid put him in therapy, to go there. Listen to how intimate and real the first part of this conversation is. How open and honest they are so that Andy is open and honest, too. Knowing who you are, preparing, and having the confidence to go there makes for a conversation you can’t get anywhere else.
One of radio’s many super powers is to tap into whatever is going on in the world. Being about the moment heightens our relevance and helps connect our listeners to the world. Facebook decides to change its name to Meta. What would happen if you already owned a tech company named Meta? What David vs. Goliath battle would come from that? Lexi and Banks, KUBL, Salt Lake City got right in the middle of this story by talking with a guy who is in just such a situation. Here’s a gentleman who built a company and trademarked its name Meta and now Facebook wants it. What we learn is that he’s in talks with Facebook to sell the name to them for $20,000,000. Relevance is one of our key images. Setting yourself in the middle of a story, in a most unique way like hearing how this gentleman is impacted by that move, creates distinct, different radio.
What’s the audience looking for when they turn you on? Yes, humor and companionship. They’re also looking to connect with people just like them. That is one of the foundational images that jettisons you to success. “They are just like me,” is one of the most powerful things an audience can say about its favorite morning show. Like all their fans, Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston is having issues when they order stuff online. Everywhere they turn, they can’t get what they want due to “supply chain issues”. Sometimes the best breaks are the easiest. A quick conversation to communicate they know what the audience is experiencing. Followed by phone calls of passionate (sometimes upset) listeners who cannot get the simplest things ordered in their life. Great radio is “me, too”. That’s when the audience hears the content and is entertained by it because it speaks for them, as well.