Radio Show Content | Audio Breaks

B105, Cincinnati How News Should Be Done

May 7, 2017

Should you do news on your show? It depends on how you do it. There probably is a news “expert” in your market who provides the information some listeners are looking for. Your listener, regardless of the topics for the break, come for a different reason. They want to be entertained. The Big Dave Show, B105, Cincinnati excels at how to deliver the news. Doing this feeds both the need to be topical (the news is always about whatever is going on in the world so, by default, it makes you topical), but you must do it in a certain way to elevate it to the level of engagement to cut through. Here are some of the things that make this feature terrific for this show: each story is only a few sentences of new information before the show pivots to conversation, perspective, and organic humor; the show starts the story with some associated audio clip to grab the attention of those listening (I love this); they are very honest with the audience in their commentary so you get character development; it’s often local; how they do this fits how their show sounds. Just delivering the info won’t cut it any longer. Handle “news” this way and there is a strategic win for your show.

US 99, Chicago, Buying Your Moms’ Cigarettes

April 30, 2017

Yup, me too. Those three simple words, when thought by listeners, are immensely powerful. In a show’s quest to be honest in its story telling, if the audience hears an experience and reacts by seeing themselves in it, they identify with the material and connect with the person telling it. We’re often asked when is talking about yourself too much. Fair question. The answer is: when the audience doesn’t see themselves in the story and when it no longer is entertaining. Stylz and Roman, US 99, Chicago, reminisced about buying their mother’s cigarettes when they were young. Highly relatable content. To entertain the audience and elevate the story, they got both their moms on at the same time to add another comedic element, then they opened the phones for listener stories. For this Stage One show, with its undefined cast, this is a perfect break.

KSLX, Phoenix News from ZNN

April 23, 2017

We are always in search of ideas and bits we’ve never heard before. Personalities must cultivate things to do that listeners can’t find anywhere else on the dial. These points-of-differentiation can become iconic moments in a show and help craft both humor images and additional occasions of listening because the program becomes known for them. Enter Mark and NeanderPaul, KSLX, Phoenix, who do a feature called “ZNN: The Zeppelin News Network”. What would the day’s news sound like if it were set to music from one of classic rock’s all time great bands, Led Zeppelin? This feature is funny, topical, and very unique. That it measures to all these thresholds gives this show a great feature to develop positive images that will leverage into quarter hour listening.

KSON, San Diego Reading Candy Ingredients

April 16, 2017

We’ve long said that it’s not the topic you choose, but what you do with the topic that makes it stand out. With this being Easter weekend, and a candy weekend for kids, here’s a candy break from John and Tammy, KSON, San Diego. Last October, around Halloween, they had a cute sounding kid read the ingredients of a popular Halloween candy and the listener had to guess which candy it was to win the prize. Remember that 99.999% of your audience has no chance at that prize. They tune in to have a good time. Hearing the kid stumble through the big words in the ingredients is so cute that you cannot help but be engaged. That this idea has a vicarious element to it (you’re guessing the candy in the car, too) is an added bonus to the bit. The topic of Halloween candy at the end of October is a no-brainer. Adding the element of a kid reading these ingredients in a game totally elevates it to a fun experience those tuning in will remember.

WRAL, Raleigh Bryan Tells His Mom He’s Engaged

April 9, 2017

Every content choice on your show must be done for a strategic reason. Two Men and a Mom, on MIX 101.5, Raleigh, is a new show for the audience so we focus a lot on character content to define the talent and humanize them. Bryan just got engaged to his longtime girlfriend. He decided to tell his mother last of everyone, opting to tell her on-the-air. His mom, Bekkie, is always great on the show so they knew her reaction would be very revealing, highly emotional, funny, and make Bryan her son perceptually in the process. The show calls Bekkie in this segment and we all get to hear Bryan tell the story to his mom and hear her natural reaction as she shares with the audience how she feels about the news and what it’s like to be in their family. This is very personal and vulnerable and is an excellent example of how to do story-based character content in a way that perfectly defines a member of a show. It’s sticky because it’s real, a story, and has emotion attached to all of it.

Kick-Ass Audio Breaks

B105, Cincinnati How News Should Be Done

US 99, Chicago, Buying Your Moms’ Cigarettes

KSLX, Phoenix News from ZNN

KSON, San Diego Reading Candy Ingredients

WRAL, Raleigh Bryan Tells His Mom He’s Engaged

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