Here is an absolutely brilliant example of character develop (a critical building block for a successful show) through story telling on Karson & Kennedy, on MIX 104.1, Boston. Karson’s wife, Lana, the sweet southern belle, enjoyed her first trip to New York City. Listen as she tells her Times Square story what happens to define the people on the program. Kennedy, the big city gal, appears in almost every reaction to Lana’s experience.
Here is a break from Mojo in the Morning on Channel 95.5, Detroit that is masterfully designed to play well in PPM. Not because if its length (it’s about 8 minutes long) but because of four “pivot points” the team created inside the break. A “pivot point” is where something is said or happens that says to listeners who might have grown bored with the break that they should pay attention because the next 60 seconds will be interesting. The break is about a show intern who’s dating someone younger than him. Listen for these “pivot points”: when Mojo calls him “Intern Mark Sanchez”, when the actual age of the girlfriend is revealed, when the first caller says the words “child molester”, and when the intern’s mother calls in. Every single one of these “lean in moments” was created by the team and did not happen by chance. That’s what prep does for you!
The most universal topic any show can do is relationships. There are many kinds of relationships and almost all conversation around them in relatable to the widest audience. Here’s Karson & Kennedy, from MIX 104.1, Boston, doing a new relationships feature called “Ex Boyfriend Poker”. This is where listeners come on and tell a story about an ex-boyfriend. Best story wins something.
Candy & Potter at KMPS, Seattle do a “Hole in the Wall Tour” each fall and spring to get out and meet listeners. It’s a Friday broadcast at a small breakfast diner in the metro. During the last tour, we decided to find the most famous person who hailed from each small town we visited. When we went to Sumner, WA, our choice was between the man with the Guinness Record for the world’s largest pumpkin (six tons!) and Wayne Northrup, who stars on “Days of Our Lives”. Here’s a fun interview with Wayne.
One of the more effective methods of character development is when you put a family member on the show. In this break from Tiffany & Michael’s morning show on B101, Philadelphia, the team, along with a listener, call Tiffany’s mom to find out if she’s used the Shake Weight recently purchased to work out.
When the New England Patriots were still in the NFL playoffs, we knew we needed to tie into this topic but as a female-targeted morning show, Karson & Kennedy, on MIX 104.1, Boston, knew it couldn’t talk pure sports. That’s why they came up with this fun feature called “Mom, I’m Having an Affair with Tom.” One female listener, calling her mother on the other line, had to convince her she was having an affair Patriots QB Tom Brady.
Anyone can do American Idol updates, most people talk to the kicked off contestants, but only one show can do “Bud Light Bev”. Bev is a listener to Karson & Kennedy on MIX 104.1, Boston. She calls in a lot and she’s always drunk. So, they built an American Idol game around her. Go grab a Bud Light and enjoy!
The Seahawks had a great season in the NFL, even beating reigning Super Bowl Champs, the New Orleans Saints. To help celebrate, Candy & Potter, on KMPS, Seattle decided to put together, with listeners help, a Pete Carroll Carol. Just off of Christmas, they re-wrote “The 12 Days of Christmas” as an ode to celebrate the team and coach who took them further than anyone expected (theirs is called “The 12 Days of Seahawks”). I always ask shows what they are doing with local topics others in the market aren’t. This is a great example of one that scored on every level.
One of the chief responsibilities of a show is to generate content no other show in the market can. Perez Hilton does a daily celebrity update on J & Julian’s show on B96, Chicago (now #1 P18-34!!). Perez could certainly rattle off all the latest Hollywood gossip with great credibility. But listen as this report lights up when the morning team gets Perez to talk about trying to find a partner on match.com! That’s something no one else did that morning and led to other organic ideas which positioned the show as relevant, unique, and fun.
Games work on morning radio, especially if they have a vicarious element to them, where people listening can play along. Here’s Karson and Kennedy at MIX 104.1, Boston playing “Jessica Simpson or Homer Simpson” where they read something said by one of them, with the listener having to guess who said it. They get bonus points because they got audio of everything to add a dimension to make people laugh. The fun part is that everything they read could be said by either person!