Radio Show Content | Audio Breaks

MIX 104.1, Boston We Won the World Series

November 11, 2018

Karson & Kennedy We preach it’s what you do with the topics that make them yours. That innovation must be fun and must fit your brand so it’s not perceived as a wacky radio bit. The Red Sox win the World Series and Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston, know this is topic number one the morning after. Almost the entire program must be about this topic so that, at any point a listener tunes in, they’re on it in some fashion. Staying in character, a member of the cast, who still lives at home, barged into his parent’s bedroom while drunk to tell them just after the team clinches the win. The best thing the character does? He records everything for the show the next morning. Where many shows in the market would just do phones or play the TV audio to reflect on the topic, these guys did something that not only built the cast member’s character, they had audio to prove it and make me feel like I was in the bedroom with everyone. What you do with the topics makes you iconic and creates an experience listeners will feel compelled to be around each day out of fear of missing something.

106.5 The Arch St. Louis, Jonah Becomes a Drag Queen to See Queen

November 4, 2018

The content on radio shows should have a “born on date.” In other words, what you talk about and have fun with today should be so “of the moment” that if you did it the following week, it’d feel stale. The new movie about the rock group Queen, “Bohemian Rhapsody,” owned the moment last week. Which is why Spencer’s Neighborhood, 106.5 The Arch, St. Louis, grabbed their afternoon guy from Stacey and Jonah, and made him up on their Friday show as a drag queen and then shipped him off to take listeners to see the matinee of the new Queen movie after the program. This highlights several great decisions on both show’s parts: the topic was very big that day with its premiere so they were very time sensitive, it was inventive and different so it had a better chance to stand out to cause talk, there were tons of visuals so it had digital engagement, and it involved both the morning and afternoon shows so it help establish a relationship between the casts and recycled Arch cume between the two programs. Below is a break – see what else they did here.

WRAL, Raleigh The Barry Manilow Birthday Gift

October 28, 2018

We love when family members (especially funny ones) are included in the show. They have an immensely humanizing effect on the cast member and are a very efficient way to do character development. Two Men and a Mom, MIX 101.5 (WRAL-FM), Raleigh leverage family members in a terrific way. Bryan Lord’s father was having a birthday and is a freak for Barry Manlow (a quirky, memorable trait). Bryan has a unique relationship with his dad so he purchased and sent from Amazon an autographed Manilow picture, and made his father open the package on-the-air without knowing what’s in it. They hid the surprise so they’d get a natural reaction, which was followed by a story (a concert memory). I leave the break getting a glimpse into the fun relationship Bryan has with his father, felt like I was a part of the reveal, and laughed. Listeners are drawn to humanity and things that are real. This serves both goals and is memorable and strategic as a result.

Star 99.9, Bridgeport, CT What Made Anna Cry This Weekend

October 21, 2018

Sometime the most fun and authentic breaks and ideas come from the experiences of the talent on the show. Anna of Anna and Raven, Star 99.9, Bridgeport, CT is pregnant…check that, she’s very pregnant. And anyone who’s been around women about to give birth know it’s a journey that requires many guys to sit quietly and count to ten before reacting. In her final trimester, the team does a regular Monday feature called “What Made Anna Cry This Weekend?” Here’s an example – note the fun, relatability, and very short produced piece which sets the tone. Then all Anna has to do is cull from her weekend and share with the audience all of the absurd, smallish things which made her weep. This show is all about relationships. Listen to this simple break and note how you think both men and women are reacting to the content. Women are connecting, knowing it’s all true, and men are nodding up and down as they know this is their life, too.

Karson & Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston The Tooth Fairy

October 14, 2018

Karson & Kennedy We preach to all shows that it’s what you do with a topic that makes it resonate. Your imagination gets you noticed, Enter the tooth fairy on Karson and Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston! Karson’s young son Barrett called the hotline one morning to tell his father that he knew it was him who took his lost tooth and left five dollars under the pillow that morning instead of the tooth fairy. Both Barrett and Karson’s wife, Lana, were trapped, not knowing what to do. Here’s where their imagination took over. They aired the call, then, magically, the tooth fairy was listening and they deployed her to call Barrett back to cover for them. The tooth fairy knew all about Barrett’s room (geez, I wonder how!) and to tell him that she asked his father to cover because she’d been very busy. Never a wacky radio bit, this came from real life. It’s totally relatable, story-based, true, with a touch of imagination to capture the attention of the audience and make it memorable. What you do with the topic you choose is paramount to doing distinctive radio that you will own.

Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

MIX 104.1, Boston We Won the World Series

106.5 The Arch St. Louis, Jonah Becomes a Drag Queen to See Queen

WRAL, Raleigh The Barry Manilow Birthday Gift

Star 99.9, Bridgeport, CT What Made Anna Cry This Weekend

Karson & Kennedy, MIX 104.1, Boston The Tooth Fairy

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