David, Sue, and Kendra, MAGIC 106.7, Boston, The $8-Million Stimulus Check

There are stories all over the place of the odd things happening to people around the coronavirus topic.  While you should start transitioning to other kinds of content now, this topic is still relevant, especially if you’re telling a story and having fun.  Charles Calvin got what he thought was an $8-million stimulus check from the federal government instead of his expected $1600.  David, Sue, and Kendra, Magic 106.7, Boston had to hear the story.  What makes this break great is that they let him tell them the story.  Knowing all the details because of prep, they helped him move the narrative forward to its conclusion.  When interviewing anyone, I am listening for many things (is it a well-told, interesting story?  Will the audience laugh at it?  Has it been edited well?).  Chief among the things I am also listening for is how much the talent talk and how much the person being interviewed talks.  I hope for more of the latter than the former.

Two Men and a Mom, WRAL-FM, Raleigh Whatcha Haulin’?

A challenge for every show, regardless of market size, is getting phone calls early in the program. We all have smaller audiences then and listeners are less inclined to call a show and participate in any game or phone topic you might have.  What could help is focusing the phones on a specific type of listeners.  Two Men and a Mom, WRAL-FM, Raleigh know that, while most of the audience is getting up and ready for work or school (when in session) at that early hour, they are not inclined to call.  But an audience on the road and more ripe to participate in a radio show is truckers.  So they direct this occasional phone topic at them, asking truckers to call to tell them what they’re hauling.  It’s a simple way to generate some content early in the show on the phones – the win comes in the conversation, then the payoff of finding out what’s in their truck and where they’re bringing it.

The TJ Show, AMP 103.3, Boston Operation Cupcake

One quick way to get phones is to ask the audience to help you solve a dilemma.  That’s reflected in this week’s Free Idea.  The TJ Show, AMP 103.3, Boston gets this, too.  Loren from the show enjoyed a delicious cupcake given to her by a listener.  This wasn’t your ordinary, average cupcake.  It was a cupcake a cut above anything else she’d every had.  One thing this show does quite well is find these quirky content items and, instead of them just being one on-air break where they talk about it, they make it something much bigger.  Like Loren giving out all the details, then asking listeners to help find the person who made the cupcake so they could have more, even moving this to talk with that person once they figure out who it is.  This is a narrative in real time, across a period of the show, with the payoff of the conversation.  Setup-details-payoff (beginning-middle-end), which is the perfect structure for all breaks.  Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David understood the power of taking something small and turning it into unique content.  This show does, too.

96.5 TIC-FM, Hartford Does Scott Have the Corona

Doing things in real time is always powerful.  Beloved local weatherman Scott Haney went missing from his TV station in Hartford, CT.  Scott’s the guy you have in your market who’s known and beloved by all.  Christine and Salt, 96.5 TIC-FM, Hartford know Scott, too.  He’s been on their show and helped them with content many times.  Calling Scott offline, they found out that Scott and his doctors feared he was infected with the coronavirus.  Scott was doing the weather from his home, so viewers knew what was going on with him, too (the power of character development and vulnerability – the audience caring about you is amazing).  Scott consented, once the results came in, to reveal them to Christine and Salt’s audience, as well.  A powerful moment and payoff to a narrative that resonated with them.  Hear the reveal below – then find stories happening in real time for your show and bring the audience in, too.

KSCS, Dallas Does Sam Hunt Have a Bidet?

If you interview a musician in your format, please don’t talk with them only about their latest project.  Make sure to tie them into the topic(s) of the day to get their take.  Hawkeye and Katelyn, KSCS, Dallas had chance to talk with country superstar Sam Hunt.  Set aside the real reason they got him (Sam was promoting something), they knew to make Sam even more relatable to the audience, the conversation had to be relevant to the day – which means exploring how the coronavirus has affected Sam’s life.  In doing their due diligence, they found out that Sam’s wife had interest in installing a bidet in their house.  So, they went there, as did Sam.  Yes, they did get to the reason Sam came on.  Hear not only how accessible this conversation makes him to the audience, but how fun it is to learn this about one of the format’s superstars.  The audience wants vulnerability and to be let in – this did that!  There is never a time in this conversation where Sam is not smiling, which makes it a great, entertaining conversation.

John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego The Parents Are Over It

To truly resonate with the audience, we must understand where they are emotionally.  We need to really connect with where their lives are in the middle of the coronoavirus crisis.  In many respects, that’s easy if you have a life like them.  Worlds get smaller when there is something like this.  One of our jobs is to communicate to the audience who won’t call (98% of the them) that they are not alone in their experiences.  Lots of phone calls do that.  Let regular listeners come on to talk about what’s going on with them – their wins and frustrations – and that will talk to everyone else.  This is a simple, but very powerful break from John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego, who let listeners come on who are over being stuck inside with their kids.  Hear the raw emotion in the callers voices as they tell their stories and how John and Tammy connect with them to tell theirs – all leading to fun conversations that say to the audience, “we’re all in this together.”

The TJ Show, AMP 103.3, Boston Tommy Tales

With Tom Brady now leaving the New England Patriots, let’s revisit this theme day done by The TJ Show, AMP 103.3, Boston from the beginning of the season when the Pats started playing in the fall.  Knowing the power of Tom Brady as a celebrity and the necessity as entertainers to tell stories, TJ, Loren, and Producer Matt decided to do Tommy Tales.  Lots of of their listeners had occasion to meet Brady given his many years as the Patriots quarterback.  We also knew that even if the listener had met him ten years ago, they’d relive it like it was yesterday.  Stories are how we connect and define ourselves – the very best ones have details that make it come to life and keep it memorable.  Any great song in your format is a story.  Every reality show you watch on TV crafts a story around the compelling characters on the program.  To move your fans to care more about you, you tell them stories.  Here is a compilation of stories told about Tom Brady that should entertain all.

Salt and Christine, 965 TIC-FM, Hartford Rocco from Italy

Here’s a break I bet you can’t do.  When there is a topic as large as the coronavirus leaning on shows, it’s more important now than ever to remember two things:  how listeners use us (the average P1 comes in twice per week for no longer than fifteen minutes) so they hear relatively little of your show.  And that listeners are drawn to us, in large part, for relevance so you must do lots of it to affirm that image.  We must avoid breaks right now with topics that are evergreen hold no space in the listeners’ lives.  Christine from Christine and Salt, 965, TIC-FM, Hartford, speaks fluent Italian.  So, they called Italy to check on how things are with the coronoavirus with the entire country on lock down.  This ends up being a fun break around the biggest topic of the day that listeners would lean into, because it’s different and highlights an attribute of a cast member.

Two Men and a Mom, WRAL-FM, Raleigh The Cookie Tank

High level performers can creatively bring two Hot Topics together for presentation.  Enter Two Men and a Mom, WRAL-FM, Raleigh who recognized something must be done with girl scout cookie sales, given they’re hanging out at the entrance to every grocery store.  Often, we default to the standard ideas we’ve done before.  If fun and focused on one scout and her story, that can actually work.  These guys always push themselves for some new angle.  So, they brought together that topic along with listeners knowledge of the TV show Shark Tank.  They invited one girl scout to come on and pitch her cookies (that’s the standard idea) by placing her in The Cookie Tank to do the same (fresh angle).  There’s nothing revolutionary about this break, but it’s an interesting frame because it leads to a production value that starts things that repositions it as fresh, fun, and real – the show plot – and sets us apart in the market from all the same old ideas being done by everyone else.

Mark and NeanderPaul, KSLX, Phoenix The Mesa Liberry

It’s important to understand and own a brand of humor – and one that is reflective of the cast on the show.  Where Gallagher smashes watermelons and Chris Rock focuses on black culture and Jerry Seinfeld is the great observationalist, what is your brand of humor and how do you reinforce it around your plot?  Mark and NeanderPaul, KSLX, Phoenix bill themselves on-air as “smart guys, stupid show”.  That’s their plot.  The humor is heady, but dumb, communicating that they truly do operate on a different level.  There was a local story about the Mesa library and their late fees for overdue books.  Add in that weekend’s Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday and they mashed the two for a silly phone in bit that had those laughing feeling like they were the only ones getting the joke.  Make sure your humor is on-brand to what your show is about.