SkyMall: Doing Your Part

With the not-so-shocking news that SkyMall is headed to bankruptcy court, it’s time to do your part in saving the company whose catalog kept us occupied on so many airplane trips.  Find the three least expensive, silliest items in SkyMall.  Ask listeners which one you should buy, learn a lot about that product, then craft a major, over-the-top giveaway on the morning show to give it to a lucky listener.  The dorkier the item and the bigger way in which you give it out will make it cut through.

Hi, I’m Rob Lowe…

Who isn’t tired of the Rob Lowe commercials for Direct TV?  If you are, why not put together (with help from listeners) some Rob Lowes they’d never do?  A starter list:  overly political Rob Lowe, uber-religious Rob Lowe, tourrettes Rob Lowe, I drink bath water Rob Lowe, and I once made a good movie Rob Lowe.  Thanks to Kris Rochester of Tony and Kris for this idea.

A Raise in Your Allowance

The new year brings increases in the work salary of some of your listeners.  Head off on a two-day mission to find one worthy kid in the audience, get to know him or her, then engage the parents on the show to negotiate a raise in the kid’s allowance.  Bartering for an increase would be fun to listen to if you choose the right kid.  Codify the raise by also getting a lawyer to draw up a document both kid and parents can sign in the studio to wrap things up.

Tracking The Resolutions

You have a very short window to do something with resolutions, given how quickly people give them up.  Why not choose a cast member who is committed to a resolution and find listeners doing the same.  Make the listeners, along with the cast member, a support group, and check on them every day for the next week to see how they’re doing.  Choosing fun listeners will make the bit lively and entertaining for all others to hear.

Dollar Store Secret Santa

Many shows trade Christmas gifts on-the-air in their last week before the break.  This tends to be rather boring for the audience because there’s no win in hearing someone else open a gift they’re not getting.  Once you add in a unique angle, designed to create humor, you have a much different dynamic.  “Dollar Store Secret Santa” does that.  Each cast member chooses another on the team.  They can only buy items for that person at your local Dollar Store (and make sure you get the very quirky stuff like off-brand macaroni and cheese or brake fluid).

Talking to Kids About Santa

This time of year, it’s typical for you to gather audio from kids about Santa and the holiday season.  Edit together their cute responses and you have great breaks.  Here are some new questions you can ask kids this year, which might get edgier, cuter answers:  who do you think is Santa’s least favorite reindeer and why?  Santa tells us your brother/sister is on his naughty list.  What did they do to get there?  What do you think Santa does in July?  Santa is trying to lose weight and doesn’t want you to leave him milk and cookies.  What will you put out for him that night?  Your sister gets six gifts from Santa and you’ll get eight.  How do you think she’ll react?

Want, Need, Wear, Read

Something bouncing around on the web challenges parents to let their kids have four Christmas gifts this year.  Something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read.  For those who are parents of Santa-believers on your show, have them get their kids to call Santa to decide one thing in each of those four categories.  They call St. Nick with the parent out of the room.  You then grab the audio of the call to Santa to play for your listeners, with the parent attempting to predict the item the kid will choose in each category before you air it to see how well they know their children.

Gobble to The Wobble

B-Lorde from Kyle and Rachel, Radio NOW, Indianapolis came up with this very fun idea for our team this week called “Gobble to The Wobble”.  There’s a song called The Wobble (17-million views seen here).  We’ll have a dance contest amongst the team, put the videos on the website for clicks, letting listeners vote on who best gobbles to The Wobble.  And then encourage listeners to send us theirs.

Kim Kardashian’s Booty Pic

This one is a no-brainer.  With Kim Kardashian’s booty pic all over the internet and Nick Jonas doing his parody of it, each member of the morning show should do the same.  Find a photographer and schedule a day this week for Morning Show Booty Pics.  Post them on your website (watch the hits go up), share them on social media, and have a voting competition amongst the cast for the best picture.

Let’s Get Drunk

With lots of office holiday parties now just weeks away, how about someone on the show getting drunk to prove to the audience how few drinks it takes before you are legally intoxicated?  It’ll be interesting (and fun) to listen to a show member getting giddy as the program goes on and has the very overt message of not drinking and driving if you attend a holiday party this year.  Your local police department should be able to help administer the alcohol and breathalyzer tests, adding legitimacy to the idea the morning you do this. This is also something your local TV stations will probably cover so make sure to invite them in that morning if you do this.