KFGY Joss Calls Dad on Christmas Lights
Listeners love to be let in on the relationships cast members have with each other and their families. In fact, making them feel like they are a part of your family is critical in developing loyalty from them. That loyalty equals huge levels of cume and TSL. Rob and Joss, Froggy 92.9, Santa Rosa, CA understand this. Which is why, back when Christmas season was in full force, Joss’s dad hung her Christmas lights. Except she had to make a confession to him. So she called him on the air to handle things. This is making listeners a part of the family.
Great radio is story-based. Listeners love to hear stories. Most TV shows are grounded in telling an ongoing narrative. Hit records are stories. They are so important and valuable as content. Michelle, from Sean and Michelle, Lite Rock B103, Rockford, IL was recently at a sandwich shop. A rather regular occurrence for many of us. Here she tells the story of the guy in front of her, who kept ordering his food while also on the phone. Stories are great because they have details and twists and turns which make listeners lean in to hear how the story ends. Michelle accomplishes all of this in the telling of the story.
Benchmarks must be highly unique, very fun, accentuate a program’s brand of humor, and (if possible) reinforce a character role on the show. Enter “Breakfast with Bryan” on Ty Loves New York, 92.3, NOW, New York City. In this feature, phone screener Bryan talks with a listener about something they recently put in their mouth to eat. With innuendo and comedic pauses, it sounds naughty, but isn’t. No one else can do this because it’s unique to Bryan and the show.
There might be no better character development for radio talent then when they’re talking to relatives on the show. This is when they become regular people. The father of John from John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego, was celebrating a birthday. Listen to the birthday call to his dad below – how John becomes that disappointing son while retaining his self-deprecating sense of humor. In these breaks, listeners see themselves and walk away with the, “he’s just like me” image. That’s a very powerful element in developing a relationship with a listener so they return to the program.
You have two options when you have a personal experience that’s interesting enough for the listeners to hear. You can either just tell the story or you can record audio while it’s happening and bring some of that to the break to help listeners feel it. Dave and Veronica, WQYK, Tampa totally get the latter concept. Dave recently had an experience while in a men’s bathroom stall. Something happened a few stalls down so crazy to him that he decided to grab audio of it to help the break. The way he handled this is way more entertaining for the audience then him just recounting the facts.
Sometimes the very best content comes from the lives of the people on the show. This often is the kind of content that cannot be done by any other show because they don’t have the experience. Producer Mary’s sister, Katy, has the worst luck at dating, often making some very bad stories. This is fodder for The J Show, B96, Chicago, in a new feature they put on called “Train Wreck Katy”.
If you’re telling a story on the show that has other people involved, instead of just giving the details of the story yourself, get them to participate so there is more to play with. Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston, ventured into Karson’s relationship with his wife, Lana. She’d purchased a massage for him that he never used and this caused friction in their relationship. Their great producer, Mike Morgan, told Lana to listen to the break they were about to do on-the-air. He then had her leave a voicemail with her reaction (a novel approach). This break is Lana going off, uninterrupted, on Karson. It’s a terrific character building break because Lana is very real, very passionate, very opinionated, and very funny.