KSLX, Phoenix The Batman Villain Quiz
No one break will rocket any show to number one. Growth is an incremental game of earning and affirming images that get you there. Be fun, be different, be topical, be real and you’ll gain images that get you to stronger and stronger Nielsen numbers. Here’s a break that does that. Mark and Neanderpaul, KSLX, Phoenix know that Adam West passing away is a relevant topic for their adult male audience. Here’s how they seize the moment with this perishable topic (the topic will not be relevant the next week). They gathered a list of iconic villains from the show and then made up a few. They asked a listener to guess which ones were real and which were fake at a station event, which is great spice. They then asked the same questions to a caller in the break, and pit the caller against the listener from the night before. Humor comes in the made up villains names and the listeners’ reactions to them. It’s completely vicarious, very much in the moment, had an intent to make those tuning in laugh, and earned those images noted above for growth.
There is no better way to connect with the audience then by telling a story. Stories define us, entertain us, have elements which make them memorable, prove one’s authenticity, and are how we navigate relationships. What is a great song, but a story? What is an excellent TV show, but a story? Bud and Broadway, New Country 92.3, St. Louis do self-deprecating quite well. Jerry Broadway is always mocking the odd members of his family, including a subset he comically refers to as the “White Trash Division”. He shares all their exploits, with their funny details, as the innocent bystander, shocked (but not shocked!) at what he’s witnessing. This humorous vulnerability bonds him very efficiently to the audience because the story proves how real he is. The audience is so disarmed, they so see themselves in this story, and they’re so entertained that Jerry stands out as a personality.
Here’s a clever way for a show to give out Brad Paisley tickets. The Big Dave Show, B105, Cincinnati is very strategic. Wanting to tap into the market’s biggest country concert that weekend, they gave them out by playing a fun game called “Who’s Brad?” Here are all the wins in this break posted below: they re-lyriced Michael Jackson’s “Who’s Bad” for a production value (this signals to the audience the fun that is about to happen). Then, they note to the audience not only the Brad Paisley concert, but that Chelsie on the show has a husband named Brad, too. The listener has to determine if the short statement applies to Brad Paisley or Chelsie’s husband, so we get character development out of this, as well. The production value is silly, the clues are short, and the game is efficient so people can play along in the car. Here’s both the set-up solicitation and the actual execution. An all-around A+ idea.
One more Mother’s Day post? Pointing very successfully to it’s what you do with the topic that matters, The Josie Dye Show, Indie 88, Toronto, did something special for Mother’s Day. They actually did two things, as demonstrated in these breaks. Josie’s mom (completely unversed in radio) hosted the show in place of her daughter. Josie was still there, guiding mom through anchoring the show (this was on purpose so we still had her). It was unrehearsed and more fun because of that. Then, in two other breaks on the show, co-hosts Matt and Carlin were required to call their moms on-the-air and apologize for something that happened when they were a kid. These stories, and this dynamic, created memorable and fun radio – proving again that if you do something unique with the topic, it gets remembered.
There are so many angles for a holiday like Mother’s Day for the average show. At Spencer’s Neighborhood, 106.5, The Arch, St. Louis, the team found out that Brando bought his mother concert tickets for the evening and his sister was upset because she wanted to take mom to dinner with the family. Spencer sees fun conflict here. The show did two breaks where they got the sister on to help Brando tell the story (another chance to stir the pot), followed by another break with Brando, his sister, and their mother, to ask her which of the two she wanted to do. The team made her choose between Brando and his sister’s gifts! There are a few things to learn in the execution of these breaks. First, listen to how quickly at the beginning of the break they set (and reset) the storyline. They waste no time in enrolling the audience in what’s going on, especially those who didn’t know about it. Then, they quickly got to the relatives to help tell the story, thus putting another element in each break to get emotion, perspective, and entertainment. Finally, the team gives you a reason to stay tuned or come back to the show at the end of each break, teasing the audience forward for another occasion.
Should you do news on your show? It depends on how you do it. There probably is a news “expert” in your market who provides the information some listeners are looking for. Your listener, regardless of the topics for the break, come for a different reason. They want to be entertained. The Big Dave Show, B105, Cincinnati excels at how to deliver the news. Doing this feeds both the need to be topical (the news is always about whatever is going on in the world so, by default, it makes you topical), but you must do it in a certain way to elevate it to the level of engagement to cut through. Here are some of the things that make this feature terrific for this show: each story is only a few sentences of new information before the show pivots to conversation, perspective, and organic humor; the show starts the story with some associated audio clip to grab the attention of those listening (I love this); they are very honest with the audience in their commentary so you get character development; it’s often local; how they do this fits how their show sounds. Just delivering the info won’t cut it any longer. Handle “news” this way and there is a strategic win for your show.
Yup, me too. Those three simple words, when thought by listeners, are immensely powerful. In a show’s quest to be honest in its story telling, if the audience hears an experience and reacts by seeing themselves in it, they identify with the material and connect with the person telling it. We’re often asked when is talking about yourself too much. Fair question. The answer is: when the audience doesn’t see themselves in the story and when it no longer is entertaining. Stylz and Roman, US 99, Chicago, reminisced about buying their mother’s cigarettes when they were young. Highly relatable content. To entertain the audience and elevate the story, they got both their moms on at the same time to add another comedic element, then they opened the phones for listener stories. For this Stage One show, with its undefined cast, this is a perfect break.
We’ve long said that it’s not the topic you choose, but what you do with the topic that makes it stand out. With this being Easter weekend, and a candy weekend for kids, here’s a candy break from John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego. Last October, around Halloween, they had a cute sounding kid read the ingredients of a popular Halloween candy and the listener had to guess which candy it was to win the prize. Remember that 99.999% of your audience has no chance at that prize. They tune in to have a good time. Hearing the kid stumble through the big words in the ingredients is so cute that you cannot help but be engaged. That this idea has a vicarious element to it (you’re guessing the candy in the car, too) is an added bonus to the bit. The topic of Halloween candy at the end of October is a no-brainer. Adding the element of a kid reading these ingredients in a game totally elevates it to a fun experience those tuning in will remember.
Every content choice on your show must be done for a strategic reason. Two Men and a Mom, on MIX 101.5, Raleigh, is a new show for the audience so we focus a lot on character content to define the talent and humanize them. Bryan just got engaged to his longtime girlfriend. He decided to tell his mother last of everyone, opting to tell her on-the-air. His mom, Bekkie, is always great on the show so they knew her reaction would be very revealing, highly emotional, funny, and make Bryan her son perceptually in the process. The show calls Bekkie in this segment and we all get to hear Bryan tell the story to his mom and hear her natural reaction as she shares with the audience how she feels about the news and what it’s like to be in their family. This is very personal and vulnerable and is an excellent example of how to do story-based character content in a way that perfectly defines a member of a show. It’s sticky because it’s real, a story, and has emotion attached to all of it.