Nothing is more powerful than when a talent reveals themselves. Listen here, on their first show back after Thanksgiving a couple of weeks ago, when a member of the Rickey Smiley Morning Show shares with the audience that his father passed away the morning of the holiday. This is so raw, so real, so touching, and so honest. It’s also the foundation for immense loyalty with the audience because it lets them in and makes them feel like they know you.
There is always a strategic benefit to putting a relative on your show because you become a kid. Here’s 92.3 NOW, New York’s Nick Cannon calling his grandmother to talk about Christmas. Listen as Nick gets redefined from being a super-celebrity to just being someone’s grandson. It’s not only cute, fun radio, it serves a purpose to defining his regular-guy character, too.
Karlson & McKenzie at WZLX, Boston do a fun feature every Christmas called “Scared Straight Santa”. A distraight parent calls the guys to tell them about a misbehaving kid. Pete McKenzie then calls the kid as Santa to create a little mayhem and to have one of those honest conversations to get the kid to promsie to behave or there will be no presents this year. Here are a couple of calls. Normally this is to young kids for the “cute factor”, but one is to a 19-year old who wanted to do nothing but curse with Santa on the line):
What could be more fun during the holidays than calling the Butterball Turkey Hotline to ask some silly questions to see how they’ll react? That’s what J & Julian from B96, Chicago did!
It’s always a win when you put a family member on the show. Crash, who’s on Jimmy and Yvonne on dave-fm, Atlanta, has a dad who was a big time chef at restaurants for most of his life. No better person to check in with then, to ask some questions about preparing Thanksgiving dinner. This one’s fun. And strategic because everyone in the room is not only mischievous, they all turn into kids talking to him.
Anyone who knows me know I hate the typical Hollywood report. Everyone does it, very few are unique and fun and most can be replicated across the street. It’s not the info listeners want, it’s the entertainment. Hollywood news is everywhere – it’s how you do it that stands out. Here’s Gary with da Tea on the syndicated Rickey Smiley Morning Show. He’s phenomenal, as is the show. Listen to how they handle the news that Brandy has been eliminated from “Dancing with the Stars”. No one else can do this but Rickey, Gary, and the rest of this team. Which is why it works.
Hmmm…what to do with all those front row tickets to see Justin Bieber in concert didn’t pose a problem for Nick Cannon at 92.3 NOW in New York City. Nick had listeners “Break it for Bieber”. Listeners who were willing to come on the air and break something of value got them. Listen here as a husband breaks his prized TV and his wife’s favorite Waterford crystal to get the Bieber tickets!
One of the easiest ways to do character development is to involve a family member in the show. In this clip from Tiffany & Michael on B101, Philadelphia, news guy Bill Tafrow tells a story about not paying at a restaurant because the waitress wouldn’t show him any attention when he wanted to take care of his meal. In this clip, the show calls Bill’s mom to ask her if he should go back to the restaurant to pay.
The very best phones always come out personal stories. Many shows lean on surveys or magazine articles to launch phones – that’s generic, boring, and impersonal. When the show shares something that happened to them, and then open the phones to get similar stories, they’re even better because character development happens (the audience is connecting with the story). In this audio segment from J & Julian on B96, Chicago, J tells a story about wanting a refund from a car wash that messed up his car. Listen after for the great stories they get from listeners as everyone kicks back to be entertained. This is simple bread-and-butter stuff, but quite effective when launched from talent sharing a relatable experience they had.
One of our signature features on Karlson & McKenzie, WZLX, Boston is “Senseless Survey”. Kevin Karlson calls an unsuspecting citizen, claiming he’s with the US Senseless Bureau. Once they consent to a quick thirty second survey, he fires the quirkiest, oddest questions at them to see how they react.