You can never go wrong talking about pets. So how about “Fat Dog Friday” where you let listeners tell you about their fat dogs, then feature pictures of some on your website and social media feeds at the end of each week! Why? Because fat dogs deserve love, too!!
You can do this with either the grandmothers of listeners (good) or the grandmothers of the cast (great). Call to see, once given a category and a few nominees, if they know the winners of Sunday evening Grammy Awards.
We wonder…what does your spouse do for living? We wonder…who cuts your hair and why do you go to them? We wonder…have you ever been pulled over by the cops? We Wonder is a new frame for phone topics that keeps you inquisitive and focused on getting stories from listeners.
No doubt many guys will go blank trying to figure out a special Valentines Day gift for the their gal. Find someone who has musical abilities. The day before the holiday (a Monday), get a guy on the phone in this predicament and learn about his partner. They then both come in the next day (the holiday) where your musician sings a custom Valentine’s Day song written as a unique gift for her and from him using the information learned the day prior.
Shows tend to complain that they cannot get calls in the 6am hour. How about an occasional feature in that hour called “Whatcha Haulin’?” Compliments of Two Men and a Mom, WRAL-FM, Raleigh, who open the phones early to talk to truckers, asking drivers of semis what they’re hauling. Weird and fun.
With Donald Trump’s inauguration later this week, find the interesting, knowledgeable, fun people in your building and, without tipping them off (record this ahead of time), put 10 seconds on the clock and ask them to name ten presidents. Offer them $100 of your own money if they can. No one will be able to do it, but it’ll be fun to listen to.
If there’s one thing no one can do, it’s fold a fitted sheet. There are a slew of YouTube videos on how to do this which can be used to launch this narrative arc where your entire team is challenged to learn how to do it properly. After a few days of practice, each cast member, using Facebook Live, tries to properly fold a fitted sheet, with the audience voting for a winner.
With Mariah Carey being the biggest pop culture story of the day, each cast member should let the audience hear how hard it is to sing a Mariah Carey song with another song blasting in your ears. This is an idea that might also be ripe for Facebook Live so your fans can see the fun, too.
The anchor of your show chooses an unnamed, random Christmas carol. With the contestant on the phone, two other cast members are played part of the song and must sing the next line (neither cast member know the song being chosen). Your listener must choose the line of one of the two cast members as being correct or provide one of their own to win. Thanks to Bud and Broadway, WIL, St. Louis for the inspiration for this idea.
Have a kid of a cast member on the show sit on the laps of every mall Santa in town and record the conversation. It’ll sound cute (it always does when you have a kid talking with Santa Claus) and then air it. If you want some edge in the bit, have the kid ask Santa for something they wouldn’t normally request (like a car). Be careful to not mention any mall names so sales doesn’t get upset (approve this with your PD before doing it).