With Mother’s Day next weekend, find someone with musical talents and get them to write a custom song for a mother from her husband/kids chosen from the audience as a gift. Put the family on with the musician on Thursday morning and ask personal questions about the mom. The musician then goes to write a short, fun song based on what was gleaned about the mom and comes back the next day to perform it for her in the studio.
The TJ Show, AMP 103.3, Boston has a very novel way to offer prizes to a listener once they win one of their quirky games. You can choose either what’s in TJ’s sack or Loren’s box. It sounds dirty (but isn’t), has an edge, and is always the same prize regardless once the listener chooses. It’s naughty without being naughty due to the play on words. But also adds an interesting spice to games to capture listeners’ attention.
With Game of Thrones, a big buzz TV show back on HBO, “The Game of Thrones” is a fun, quirky game you can play with listeners. Describe a different throne or something someone would sit on (i.e. toilet, electric chair, airplane seat). If the listener guesses the description of the throne you’re describing, they win.
If you have a bunch of prizes to give out this week, do “He Got Waxed Because You Got Taxed”. This one is simple and ties into Tax Day (Wednesday). The listener calls to tell you how much of a check they had to write to the government. You then wax the body part the listener chooses of the most appropriate person on the show. Whatever prize is listed on the underside of the wax strip they get for having been taxed.
Need a fun, quick game to play to give something out? Try “The One Second Song”. Grab a hit record in your format and play only one second of the song. First listener to identify artist and title wins.
Adding in as characters the fun people you work with or know in life is a fun idea to add dimension to your program. Find the smartest person in the building (someone preferably at a Mensa level) and pit them against the listeners on occasion in a trivia contest your co-worker rarely, if ever, loses. Call the feature “No One Likes a Know-It-All” which acts as your hook phrase at the end of every installment.
Ellen occasionally plays a game with her guests that is very viable for your show, too. It’s called “Never Have I Ever” where she asks personal questions which could prompt an “I haven’t” or “I have” response. Questions like: being part of the mile high club, stealing from work, thinking romantically of a co-worker. You can play this on your team for character development. The fun comes from those who can’t profess they haven’t to a question. Quizzing them is where the fun happens.
There are big initiatives at most broadcast companies for web hits. This one does it for you yet still sells the silly nature of your show. Talking to a program last week, one of the cast members said she was wearing Mickey Mouse socks that day at work. I had them send me a picture and it lived up to expectations (the socks were a total reflection of this cast member’s personality). We then developed an idea called “Can We See Your Socks?” Listeners will send us a picture of their quirky socks, which we’ll describe on-air then post to the web for all to see.
There are sounds all around us every single day. We hear some so often that, in many respects, they don’t even register any longer. From beeps of a garbage truck backing up, to your chosen notification for a text message, there’s a new game to play when you have something to give out called “What Did That Sounds Mean?” Play the sound, and the first listener to identify what it meant wins. Bonus points if the sound you play has something to do with your life, so it builds your on-air character.
Despite the fact that Ash Wednesday was this past week, it’s not too late for you guys to choose a member of the show and each suggest something they give up for Lent. Then ask listeners to vote on those items (on-the-air and online) with the reveal the next day. Then that person on the show must give up the item with the most votes and you track them until Easter.