Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

There are things that happen to cast members on a show that are indelibly memorable and highly connective.  Having a baby is one of them.  It’s so relatable to the audience and gives them a chance to cheer for that person.  We searched for many ways to announce the pending birth of Annie’s third baby on Foxx and Annie, WCBS-FM, New York City.  We felt the news to be large enough to do something bigger than just share it with the audience.  The unique idea we landed on was asking the audience what celebrity they might know who’d do it for us.  Our first pass was to get listeners involved in helping construct the ending.  All along, though, we had the celebrity chosen.  The program approached the iconic play-by-play guy for the Yankees, John Sterling, who gladly agreed.  Our job each day is to take our relatable topics and do them in a unique way.  This one’s an A+.

There tends to be two kinds of talent:  those who have no filters and share everything in an effort to bond with their fans.  And those who have lines they’ll go to but not cross in the kind of relationship they want with the audience.  Which are you?  Logan and Sadie, WINK-FM, Ft. Myers, FL just tested that.  Part of Sadie’s character is that she recuses dogs.  She’s talked many times over the years about Rascal, one of her toughest rescues.  Rascal had many health issues and, in this last week, passed away.  How honest and vulnerable can you be with the audience when things are sad in your life?  Here’s Sadie sharing the news about Rascal with listeners.  Hear, too, to how supportive and understanding Logan is in this conversation.  Instead of trying to dominate it, he gave her space and slipped in when necessary.  These kinds of breaks are quite powerful to build that connection with the audience.