The Kennedy Connection

Two summers ago, in a brainstorm in Boston with MIX 104.1’s Karson and Kennedy, we were tasked with developing a big, new idea to combat depressed summer cume.  Lots of folks were on vacation or not paying attention to radio and we all wanted to do something big to capture the imagination of the audience and create tune in.

In and around all the ideas being offered, I asked an odd question that kinda popped in my brain:  what is the longest contiguous street in Boston?  We fired up the Google machine and found out that Washington Street spans five towns and 14-miles.

I suggested we go on a long walk one morning for charity.  That became Kennedy’s Wicked Long Walk.  Kennedy just did her second walk and, in one day, raised over $70,000 for Samaritans, a local charity that serves young people who are challenged with mental health issues.  Kids and mental health are the show’s causes, with the latter being important to Kennedy, as she’s been quite open with the audience about her mental health.

To create talk and momentum, we developed a five-day story line to add drama, tension, and interest, with the walk being our final chapter.  Year one it rained, year two had even more of the feels.  This year, people walked along with her with their dogs, mayors of the towns greeted her along the way with proclamations, police departments lined up to celebrate what she and the show were doing, business owners said hello as she passed.  NBC10 in Boston even followed along (video here).  All of it live on their air, as they asked fans to donate to help the struggling charity Samaritans.

I’m not one for metrics but let me share some impressive numbers.  Over $70,000 donated from more than 700 individual donors in one day.  Samaritans provided to Kennedy the donor list and she wrote a thank you to every single one of them.  She shared where their money was going and what it meant to her that they cared enough to help.  Can you imagine how it felt for those who gave to hear from her?

Listeners wrote back to thank her for the show making them laugh on the way to work and how proud they were of she and Karson for being so open about mental health.  Kennedy shared that the replies were so moving, she’s saving them for days when she’s having a bad mental health day.

Kennedy suggested this blog and wrote me:

“At the end of the day, I think they felt like we had a connection.  Isn’t that great radio, though?  Connecting?  The only difference between us and A.I. is the ability to connect on a human level.  I’ve been crying on and off all day with what listeners shared back with me.  I’ve never felt so connected to our listeners in my life.”

There’s that word again – connection – the one word I keep using that bonds you to anyone in your life who’s important.  That’s how you create radio fans, too.

Here’s my point:  there is an immense amount of stress, negativity, anger, and tension in the world.  Running in the opposite direction, which is what this show (and all the shows I work with) do so well, is smart.  Listeners are begging to be around a brand that not only does good in the community, but creates opportunities for them to do good, too.

Seven hundred different people donating money in one day is amazing.  Yes, listeners gave because they love the show.  Of course, some donated because they’re philanthropic and care about the cause.  But a reason people give is also a bit selfish – they give, too, so they can feel better about themselves.  Karson and Kennedy create those opportunities for their fans and are rewarded in loyalty that translates to #1 ratings.  If you do more of that – support your community and a cause important to you – you will deepen the connection, give listeners a chance to feel good about themselves, and elevate the images of the show with those who don’t or can’t.

This show gets the big and small stuff – they do things with relevant content that create wonderful experiences in the moment and big things that cause talk and keep them top-of-mind.  Kennedy’s Wicked Long Walk is a new tradition for the show that asks listeners to help join forces for a cause that’s important.  It’s a bold, different way to give fans a chance to do so, too.  In turn, that deepens the bond – the connection- between Karson, Kennedy, and their Producer, Dan.

That.  Is.  Great.  Radio.  That is what we do well and need to do more of.  Taking are of the community and asking the audience to help.  Lean into that.  If you do more of this stuff with your big, powerful show and radio station, you’ll win bigger, too.

I helped launch Karson and Kennedy sixteen years ago.  Their show is successful for many reasons.  That they are so connected to the market and their listeners is central to all of it.  They’re up for a Marconi in a couple of weeks.  I hope they win.