Karson from Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston recently walked into his mother-in-law while she wasn’t wearing any pants by accident. Oops. Having a pair of concert tickets, they decided to give them out by doing a bit called “Beat That”. They took similar stories from listeners with the best one getting the tickets. Simple, story-based, and fun. You can hear audio of it here.
Brainstorming with Karlson and McKenzie, WZLX, Boston’s morning show, we had fun coming up with two words that we thought were the greatest pairings ever: powdered sugar, omelet station, reach around. So that led us to a new feature where we challenge listeners to come up with two words, when used back to back, mean bliss!
Looking for a new relationships-based feature for your show? Jim and Kim, Fresh 102.7, New York, just added “Know Your Mate at 6:38”. One couple, three questions (much like the “Newlywed Game” but with some attitude). Ask her the questions (with him in the “sound-proof booth”) and then ask him the same questions. If they match two answers, they win. Make sure at least one of the questions has an edge to it. And remember, time-stamped benchmarks are more memorable because they arm listeners with a piece of marketing information to share with friends when it’s on.
Living in an area of the country with lots of college stations, I get to hear some very innovative radio, considering they are not slaves to PPM. NC State’s radio station, WKNC, does a weekly show called “Jailhouse Rock” where they read a letter from an inmate at the maximum security prison a few miles down the road, and then they play the inmate’s request (read the article here). Great features sometimes focus on the fringes of life. Maybe read letters from area inmates and then play their requests in this new, weekly feature for your show.
As we enter the holiday season, shows often spend time focusing on those who were naughty (because they result in better stories). Karlson and McKenzie, WZLX, Boston came up with an idea that focuses on those who are nice. They’re taking calls from listeners who’ll tell the show about someone they know who’s been nice in the past year (to play off the “naughty or nice” theme). Then, they’re having their very funny co-host, Heather, call that person to give them some holiday cheer by having her sing a Christmas Carol to them. They’re calling it “Heather’s Dial-a-Carol”.
There are reportings of Twinkie shortages from coast-to-coast. Get your hands on some and give them out as Hostess shuts things down. The game is called “It’s In a Twinkie”. Grab the list of ingredients of a Twinkie here (there are 37 of them). You name the preservative. If the listener correctly guesses whether it’s in an actual Twinkie, they win one of the last ones available.
Need a last minute Thanksgiving Day idea? “Pass the Gravy” is where you have two teams of two people. Each team has a balloon filled with gravy. Much like the egg toss we did as kids, each team “passes” the gravy back and forth. With each successful toss, you separate them further. The first team to drop their balloon loses. Because this is visual, gather a fun crowd to watch and we get to hear their reactions as it unfolds.
Every show needs some evergreen games to play. Ask for three guys to call – you need one married, one single, and one gay guy. The show gets to ask one question of each guy (not pertaining to their relationship status) and then must figure out which guy is married, which one is single and straight, and who the gay dude is. If you miss any of them, they each get a prize.
The over-riding vibe is that most people want the election to be over. It will be this week, when on Wednesday we all go back to our normal lives. Lots of people have de-friended people on Facebook because they posted so much political stuff. A smart Wednesday feature is to put someone on with a person they de-friended, explore why, remind them that the presidential race has been decided, and then get them to re-friend each other on Facebook.
With the World Series about to wrap up, winning sports teams always celebrate with a champagne bath. Kevin, Virginia, and Jason, WILD 95.5, West Palm came up with a great idea while wondering what it would be like for a regular worker in the real world to be celebrated for something great they did at work with a champagne bath, too. Let a boss show their appreciation for great work by an employee by helping them give one to a worker on your show.