Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

Every show has an issue with phones.  Listeners aren’t calling to participate in phone topics or games like they used to.  The reason is obvious:  they can interact with their favorite shows in other ways (texting, social media) and they’re simply too busy to phone in.  When we talk about using listeners to help a break sparkle, there are other ways to do this past opening the phones.  Kira and Logan, WOKQ, Portsmouth, NH have assembled The Tribe.  These are the opinionated and fun co-workers in their building.  They’ve figured out all the ways they will need other voices to elevate a content break early in the week.  Then assemble The Tribe in a studio and ask them to participate.  Here’s an example of them doing this.  Airing something like this actually makes the phones ring more.  It’s a simple way to make content more than just the team talking with one another so those not calling in are entertained.

How did your show do last week with the US election?  Many avoided it because it was so charged.  Not a bad move for many shows.  But…if you can handle it comedically, it potentially opens the door to tackle it as a topic.  Enter Joanne, Jason, and Ben, WOMC, Detroit who imagined a debate at the North Pole, with Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer as a candidate and Santa as moderator.  Throw in a quirky angle like this to a tough topic, leave the audience laughing, and you may never get dinged for doing politics.  This is super clever and creative.  It also makes the show relevant around the treatment of the big topic no one else will do.