Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

Here’s another terrific example of getting right to your substantive content on the show.  Intern Anthony’s eye has hurt for a couple days.  Karen, Johnny, and Intern Anthony, WNEW-FM, New York have at it big time.  This is the kind of simple, very relatable content that will help you connect with the audience – how men “suffer” differently when they’re sick.  Karen, who mothers the two boys on the show, had had enough.  So they opened the phones to let other female listeners have at Anthony, too.  They asked the audience to mother or smother him.  The thing to listen for is how quickly the show gets to the substantive storytelling in this break.  Within ten seconds, the topic is set and they are already talking to a caller.  The energy level and playful tension remain high throughout.  In many instances, we’d feel the need to ramp up the topic with a big backstory with all the details after we ID the station, give the weather, and tell everyone about the big promotion coming up.  That just delays serving the true needs of the audience for content.  Don’t waste listeners time!  Here’s a great example of a break on a show that doesn’t.

Because caller fourteen is boring!  I’ll long be fascinated with shows that take caller X to give out anything.  Even more shocked when the winning caller is aired.  Because there’s no strategic, image-based win for everyone else not calling to win your prize.  I’ve sat in many a focus group where we play caller X audio and listeners sit there and shrug their shoulders because it’s not them winning.  We’re beefing up our giveaway games with Gregg, Freddy, and Danielle, MIX 104.1, Boston.  Why?  Because we want to give everything out in a way that is vicarious to engage listeners in cars playing along.  If we do, we win a style point with those people – and there are way more of them.  Here’s Triple True or False.  Three true/false trivia questions associated with the prize.  If caller fourteen gets them all right, they win.  If they get one wrong, the prize goes to caller fifteen.