Carlin and Brent, Indie 88, Toronto with Break Brent’s Brains

Benchmarks are even more effective when they define a cast member on the show.  If the reason for the feature goes to a core attribute of the personality, it helps that talent secure a position in the mind of the listener.  Like:  “she’s the mom” or “he love dogs.”  Look at Carpool Karaoke as an example.  James Corden is a singer and theatrical performer at heart.  So it makes sense for him, being a fan of music, to invite celebrities in the car to sing along with their tunes.  Carlin and Brent, Indie 88, Toronto, came up with a new way to give out prizes.  Brent has a fascination for quirky facts.  Marry that to the belief that everyone knows one and here comes Break Brent’s Brain.  Listeners call with their fact.  The one that Brent is most wowed by wins the prize.

Kyle, Bryan, and Sarah, WRAL-FM, Raleigh with the Door Dash Audit

With tax season fast approaching, Kyle, Bryan, and Sarah, WRAL-FM, Raleigh decided to lean in on the lifestyle of one of its cast members.  We talk much about relatability and radio’s super power to connect with the audience.  One thing morning TV does not have is relatable cast members.  Connecting is what we do well in radio.  When forming a relationship with anyone in life (much less a listener), they must leave having connected with one of you – and the base for connection is having something common.  That’s perfect character development.  Bryan spends an amazing amount of money on Door Dash (and Uber Eats).  The team gave a financial expert access to Bryan’s banking info.  He then shared how much Bryan spent using these services in the last year.  The number will blow you away.  Now, Bryan sits with a sign behind him in the studio (as seen in social media posts) to show how many days he’s gone without using Door Dash!

Jackie and Bender, KISS, Seattle with Dad’s Poetry

This week’s audio is a reminder that when you have something to give out, you must take into consideration all those people not vying for whatever prize you have.  Research consistently advises that 98% of your audience will never try to win something from you.  They come to the show each day to connect with you on a human level and have a good time.  So, when sales or promotions has something to give out, focus on how you give it out to earn images and play to why those 98% of your fans turn you on each day.  Here’s some retro audio of Jackie and Bender, KISS, Seattle executing this perfectly.  It’s Bender’s dad with some poetry around the station’s music blend.  They gave out the prize, but entertained everyone.

Karen Carson with Johnny Minge and Intern Anthony, WNEW-FM, New York with It’s Raining Men Ringtone

What radio is missing many places is a sense of silliness and frivolity.  Mischievous shows tends to make their audiences giggle with laughter.  Looking at something through those lenses will bring out the goofiness in a show.  Marry it to an opposite, include a family member, and you have a great recipe for a strategic, memorable break.  As in the case heard here by Karen Carson with Johnny Minge, and Intern Anthony, WNEW-FM, New York.  Anthony’s father is a longshoreman at the piers of New York City.  This is a man’s man’s job.  It’s hard, grueling work.  How does his father react when Anthony changes his father’s ringtone to the iconic Weather Girls song “It’s Raining Men”?  Silly and mischievous.  Here’s the story of how it all unfolded and Anthony’s father’s reaction.  An instantly memorable break.

Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston with The Good Vibe Tribe

Over the last few months, I’ve touted the value of doing a positive news feature on your show.  Tacking in the opposite direction of what everyone feels creates an image for you and your show.  Proving that there is, indeed, good news in the world and in your market is a powerful perception to create evangelists for your show.  Some shows do this and look for good stories from anywhere.  Crafting this feature around listeners who are having positive experiences in your town brings additional images to the feature.  Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston do The Good Vibe Tribe.  Someone calls with good news and they’re brought into the good vibe tribe, which is another win because they’re creating a club of listeners who share positivity.

Christine and Salt, 96.5 TIC-FM, Hartford with Lauren Saves Jackson

Sometimes running in the opposite direction is a smart strategic move.  Seems like there’s negative news no matter where you turn.  It’s Trump this, Biden that.  So if you become the show that shares positive, uplifting news, you’ll gain an image not as the escape from all that, but as a respite.  This week’s audio proves that, and a few other things.  Before heading off for high school one morning, Tolland, CT resident Lauren Lews saw her 140-pound Great Dane, Jackson, fall through the ice of a pond in her backyard.  The dog started to struggle so Lauren did what any of us would do, she risked her life to save her dog’s.  In this on-air conversation she had with Christine and Salt, 96.5 TIC-FM, Hartford, Lauren tells her story.  You will never miss if you get the people in stories to tell their version of it to you audience.  Images received here:  it’s a story that fills you with pride, it’s local, and it’s very human, reinforcing that there is good in the world.

Logan and Sadie, WINK-FM, Ft. Myers, FL Sadie Loses Rascal

Can you cry in front of listeners?  Can you be that vulnerable to show your true emotions around a sad experience?  It’s true that much of what we should do in radio is be fun.  High on the list of what listeners are looking for is humor and a good time when they turn you on.  No show wins without that image.  But you’re a human being and there are many sides to you.  My question is are you capable of showing all of them to prove it?  Logan and Sadie, WINK-FM, Ft. Myers, FL are deep and different people.  And quite comfortable to show all of it to the audience.  All of that forms a bond which is almost unbreakable to moving people from being listeners to being fans of a program.  Sadie recently lost her dog, Rascal, after a long illness.  He was a rescue and she wanted to bring listeners into that experience.  Can you do that with those who come to you for connection each day?

Carlin and Brent, Indie 88, Toronto The Stolen Amazon Package

One of the most efficient things you can do is ask the audience a question.  Do that and those paying attention are grabbed emotionally.  In this relatable break about stolen Amazon packages, Carlin and Brent, Indie 88, Toronto do this.  “Would you confront someone you saw stealing an Amazon package from a neighbor’s porch?”  Any listener would answer in their head and pay closer attention.  That’s what they do here.  One other thing to point out in this week’s audio is how little time they spend on the initial scenario about Carlin’s sister.  A typical show would talk around that story for several minutes without advancing the narrative.  In this break, they make that crucial pivot early from talking about their story to a listener telling theirs.  Two major takeaways:  questions grab listeners and make them more vicarious to your content and make sure you put that pivot in early to keep their attention.

Karen, Johnny, and Anthony, WNEW-FM, New York with Hey Dad, We Need Toys

There’s this concept of doing your break for the person least interested.  If you can craft a break around a topic and a listener who doesn’t care about that topic is entertained, you win big.  Karen Carson in the Morning with Johnny Minge and Intern Anthony, WNEW-FM, New York raised toys for disadvantaged kids over the holidays.  In our effort to stand out and engage those in the audience who don’t have the resources or would not send a toy for any reason, we needed to grab them emotionally, too.  So each of the cast members called their fathers on-air to ask them to donate some toys.  Which got us a “can you top the last dad” vibe.  Listen to these two breaks through the lens of not caring about what they’re doing.  If you are engaged by what the show did to promote the toy drive, the show won.

Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston 8 Bit Hits

Effective games do two things:  they’re fun to hear and they have a play-along factor.  Enter 8 Bit Hits, played by Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston, when promotions gives them prizes.  They have a website that will convert any song into an 8 bit hit.  Meaning the song becomes cheesy, sounding like it belongs in a 1980s computer game.  One of the things that’s helped this show rise to #1 women in the market is they’ve increased their arsenal of things done on the show that are entertaining to hear when people are in cars.  8 Bit Hits is one of their many ideas that helps them win images with those who truly matter to their success, people driving to work who tune in to have a good time.  Here’s their Christmas version of this fun game.