Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

I’m regularly asked two questions:  when do you know a story should be told on the air and how long should a break go.  To the first, a story should be told if it has a central theme and lots of elements with twists and turns and unexpected moments that will keep me on the edge of my seat.  When the story defines you, makes me feel something for you, and gets me to experience some kind of emotion is when you know you might have gold.  How long should a break go?  Well, that’s like porn – I know it when I hear (see) it.  A great story with all the attributes listed above can take as much time as it needs to breath and be expressed and not a moment longer.  Here’s Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston with a story about Karson’s really bad day-before.  From his car breaking down on a major Boston street, to issues with the insurance company and tow truck, followed by no power in his house for several hours.  Sometimes it all goes to shit and that was what Karson dealt with.  Tell the story around the central theme and let the chemistry of the room take over for however long it needs.

There is an immense value in all things nostalgia right now.  The formats doing well are those that play older, well-known music.  Brands with very high equity and are well-known have an advantage.  We have a daily feature on David, Sue, and Kendra, MAGIC 106.7, Boston called the Throwback Live.  I love this feature because it has many elements that could hook listeners:  it has throwback audio clips from decades past that will be great nostalgia for listeners, it’s presented as a game that’s a friendly competition between two cast members so the audience can root for someone, and it’s vicarious so those in cars can play along as they travel to work.  Research has proven many times that games resonate and are evaluated well by the audience.  In large part because they’re easy to follow and are fun.  That this has the added elements of throwback audio and the competition between two cast members, who’ll get defined in the process, are a bonus.