Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

Proving that listeners glum on to the frivolous, Jen from Koz and Jen, WTMX, Chicago presented a cake in her weekend journal she baked for her youngest daughter’s birthday.  The cake was too perfect looking for us – so we started to rib her that she actually purchased it instead of baking it.  The room became so much fun over this, we saw a narrative arc to do through the show.  They posted a picture of the cake on their Facebook page at the start of the program and asked listeners to go see it and comment if they think she really baked it (digital engagement).  This, of course, became on-air content and calls (laughter for those just tuning in).  And culminated at the end of the show with Koz calling Raina, Jen’s daughter, to “authenticate” that the cake was for real (character development).  Silly is better than weighty – this proves listeners will follow along and play in the sandbox if we give them something substantive that is also easy to consume (pun intended!).  Here’s a compilation of some of the breaks they did through the show so you can hear how it evolved.

What does a typical radio station do for Mother’s Day weekend?  They give out flowers or spa certificates to caller ten every hour.  The atypical radio station has every daypart co-hosted by the mother of the DJ on the schedule.  That’s what the brilliantly programmed Q102, Cincinnati (Patti Marshall, PD!) did last month when faced with doing something special that weekend.  One of the many great things about the Q102 brand, built over many years, is its laser focus on the right music, its longtime, highly entertaining Jeff and Jenn morning show, and doing unique things like this to connect with and entertain the audience.  Where most stations do standard fare, Q102 has always stood out to do something unique, fun, different, and interesting, which is why it always wins big.  Here’s one of the promos they ran that weekend so you can get a sense of what they did and how it sounded.