Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

You do Secret Santa at work or in the family and you pull the name of someone you hate.  This is a great thesis for on-air content because it has built in tension that will drive engagement and memorability.  So The Morning Mess, B96, Chicago found out when producer Angie chose someone in Secret Santa at her second job she detests.  This has a very sticky hook and is perfect show content that’s story-based.  Angie stays true to herself – she wants to get this person a crappy present because she does not like them.  Lots to explore here to make the story come alive.  And then the show does the smart thing.  Instead of it becoming a phone topic where they ask the audience who at work they don’t like, they get the audience involved in Angie’s story, giving her advice to keep her on message about not liking the co-worker she has to buy a gift for.  Real life always works for content, especially if the story has layers and areas to explore.  This is all of that and more.

This is one of my favorite breaks ever as done by Karlson and McKenzie, WZLX, Boston.  We were looking to find an edgy way to connect with the audience.  The show has attitude and swagger and we wanted to channel that sense of humor into a holiday idea that would be much different than the standard fare phone topics most shows do around this time of year.  Enter Scared Straight Santa.  Everyone knows of the “scared straight” concept where prisoners scare kids into towing the line so they don’t end up in jail.  We used that to keep misbehaving children in line for their parents or else Santa won’t show up.  The first break is the call from a parent who tells us how their kid is misbehaving.  The next break (the one below) is when Pete McKenzie calls back as Santa and challenges the kid to promise to be good.  This hits all important images you should have:  it’s fun, it’s real, it’s innovative, and it’s relatable.