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.
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.”
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.
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.
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.
Your win is bigger when the audience knows you – and connects with your life and is moved to feel something. The audience for Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston knows that Karson’s wife, Lana, plays an on-going role in the show (she is quite funny and always puts him in check, which is endearing). So it was appropriate months ago that they also learned that Lana had been diagnosed with breast cancer. They have been involved along every step so they can root for both of them. On Lana’s last day of radiation, she came on the show so all could celebrate the moment. This could be serious and even one-dimensional without prep. But this show knows it can play with multiple emotions, especially given their deep history on the station and their significant relationship with their audience. It’s quite touching and celebratory – but…listen to the mischief Karson and the team introduce to also make it fun with some audio Lana had no idea would be played. This break is an A+ for all those reasons, and many more.