Great breaks are fun and relatable. They make you laugh. And when they really work, they communicate that the talent is just like you. Cliff and Brooks at KSON, San Diego were talking about how tough it is to get someone on the phone when you need customer service. So they’re taking calls and then Cliff decides to call his bank to see how hard it’d be to find an actual person. Listen to this short break – hasn’t it happened to you, too? That’s great radio!
Great interviews make people laugh. This one does. Karson & Kennedy at MIX 104.1, Boston do three terrific things in this interview with Gilbert Gottfried: they get him to bring listeners inside on what it’s like to be the Aflac duck, they ask his opinion on the Tiger Woods situation, and they get him to be funny around his marriage. Three simple, relevant things to create something that make people laugh.
Why does MOJO in the Morning own Detroit? Why do they perform even better in PPM than in diary? Because they know how to create a human connection for listeners in ways which are fun. They’re honest and vulnerable and listeners are entertained by people they feel they know. Listen as this number one rated show on Channel 95.5, Detroit shares with listeners that one of its cast members’s husbands wants to be graded after they have sex.
Karson & Kennedy on MIX 104.1, Boston, developed their fun version of Seinfeld’s “The Marriage Ref”. Their’s is called “The Dating Ump” and it’s very simple. They get on a female listener who’s just had a first date with a guy. They listen to her story about how the guy conducted himself, giving out “strikes” if he missteps during the date. Once he gets three strikes, they suggest he’s lost his chance for a second date with her. They then open the phones asking listeners for their advice.
Each morning at 7:30, we play “Big Fat Liar” with the cast of Gene and Julie on KVIL, Dallas. This is a character building break, where we get to know the talent. Each tells a one sentence story about themselves, only one person is lying. The listener who correctly guesses who’s lying wins. Here’s one which shows the chemistry of the team. You always walk having had fun and having learned something about each member of the cast. It’s edited down from what aired, but you’ll get the sense of how it’s played and how these guys create laughter with it.
Truly great radio, the kind that connects with the audience, is vulnerable. Listeners want to get to know the talent (the parts which position them as real). At Mojo in the Morning at Channel 95.5, Detroit, Shannon (the single 27-year old of the show) is considering getting a dog. Listen as the conversation evolves with Shannon admitting to the room how lonely she is being single, especially learning that her ex-fiance had a new girlfriend. Then, Shannon breaks down crying. This is brilliant radio because the wall between the talent and the listener is invisible. Think of how many other women identify and have empathy for this show character. The next break (right below on this page) was spent talking with listeners reacting to this.
Here is phone reaction from the break above with listeners identifying with Shannon’s admission on Channel 95.5, Detroit that she was lonely and wanted a dog.
On a female-targeted radio station, you can never go wrong with kids. Listen as Michael from the B101, Philadelphia morning show quizzes kids at his son’s school bus stop about the big “event” which was coming up that weekend (the Super Bowl). The kids are cute, create great laughter, and strategically position Michael as the “father” on the program!
With the Olympics all over television now, J and Julian at B96, Chicago did a simple, yet quirky phone topic asking listeners, “If you could win Olympic gold in the one thing in life you do really well, what would you medal in?” These are fun, simple stories listeners tell. So much of great radio is creating humor from real life experiences. This one nails it.
At MIX 104.1, Boston we did “Wedding in a Week” for Valentine’s Day. Considering the economy, we found couples who wanted to be married but were putting it off because they couldn’t afford it. We built this from the ground up, first finding the couple, then getting listeners to donate all the items one would need for a wedding. Once we found the minister to perform the service, we felt like we needed to check him out. So the show called a couple he’d married previously to make sure the minister had the “golden touch” for happy marriages. Here’s the very tongue-in-cheek (and fun) conversation with a guy who’s been happily married for five years by the man who performed our service.