Audio

Listen to outstanding audio segments from top personalities and shows along with a breakdown of why they worked.

The Morning Bull, KILT/Houston

“Facebook Fights” is a reenactment of arguments and insults that break out on social media. Master thespians George, Mo, Cowboy Dave and Front Desk Leroy of KILT Houston portray the characters in this funny social media slap-back involving someone’s hairstyle.

K-LOVE Morning Show, Syndicated

Teasing upcoming content is crucial for keeping listeners around until the next segment. Some hosts object that because of format restrictions they do not have enough time to tease effectively. Listen to this powerful tease from the K-Love Morning Show which involves all three hosts and a clip of audio from a little boy — runs less than 12 seconds!

The Bert Show, Q100/Atlanta, Syndicated

Teasing listeners about upcoming content is crucial for extending time spent listening. Top-performing shows tease consistently at the end of every segment, and they tease with enough detail to compel the audience to stick around. The team at The Bert Show invests a lot of time writing excellent teases for each segment of the show. Notice how host Bert Weiss turns this topical news story about Target into a can’t-miss episode of high drama.

Todd & Jayde in the Morning, WPLJ/New York

Games are hot on prime time television and on drive time radio right now. Instead of an ineffective “be caller nine” prize giveaway, an interactive game that commuters play along with can capture listeners. The simpler the better, as WPLJ New York’s Todd and Jayde have proven with their popular benchmark, “Stupid Easy Trivia.”

Cadillac Jack, Kicks 101.5/Atlanta

Smart speakers like Amazon Echo and Google Home now account for significant listenership and they have helped recapture some of radio’s lost in-home audience. Using brief tutorials like this one, high-profile personalities like Atlanta’s Cadillac Jack at Kicks 101.5 are effective at retaining the station’s audience on smart speakers instead of seeing them default to online choices like Spotify, Pandora or another channel.

The Morning Bull, KILT/Houston

Teasing listeners with a hint about what is coming up next is an effective way to build time spent listening. The best teases involve stories and drama. Notice how George Mo and Cowboy Dave at KILT Houston bring phone callers on the air momentarily, but make them hold their story for the next segment so listeners will stick around.

The Dave Ryan in the Morning Show, KDWB/Minneapolis

In today’s contentious political environment, US listeners enjoy an escape. Ever notice how many prime time TV shows today are games? Even the simplest game can work to engage listeners into playing along on their commute. KDWB’s Dave Ryan combined a common riddle with the sound effect of a Minneapolis loon and a popular show benchmark was born.

The Ty Bentli Show, Nash FM/Nashville

Interviews can be tune-outs in PPM but a good practice is to make guests conform to your show instead of turning over the segment to what they want to discuss. Listen to Ty Bentli of Nash FM ask country artist Connor Sweet to improvise a song in ten minutes based on a listener suggestion.

The Dave Ryan in the Morning Show, KDWB/Minneapolis

The premise is that everyone has a lover they’ve lost track of. The show takes entries from listeners with tragic and heartwarming stories about love lost. This bit is good relationship content that often provokes an emotional reaction.

The Dave Ryan in the Morning Show, KDWB/Minneapolis

From The Dave Ryan Morning Show on KDWB, Minneapolis, Dave Ryan and Lena solicit listeners who dumped their ex because they caught them cheating. They give names of their exes, and challenge other listeners to call in and if they have cheated with someone who fits the description. Ask each caller to describe what is unusual about this guy. To add realism, tell the audience you’re carefully screening through callers who are trying to fool you by lying and saying they slept with this guy. All this is supposedly done off the air so no one hears the unique characteristic on the air. If you need to, set up with ringers.

Jared and Katie, WKZL/Greensboro

It’s important to have a strong vocabulary, so Jared and Katie are educating listeners on words they must know, like “Facebook mommy.” If you are a mom, please try to not be one.

Doc And Woody Show, CHEZ-FM/Ottawa

“My father was a loser.” Randall Moore brings truth to Father’s Day in Randall’s Rant.

The Dave Ryan Show, KDWB, Minneapolis

After one of the many shooting rampages in the US, Dave Ryan asked listeners if they’d ever had thoughts of picking up a firearm and shooting people. Dave thought no one would call. He was wrong.

Carter And Sandra, Kiss 1053/Ottawa

Telling this story led Carter And Sandra to other stories about feeling-too-fat moments in life, including one that ended a friendship for Sandra.

Elvis Duran, Z100, New York/Syndicated

Elvis Duran gives a good example using the “You technique.” Notice how Elvis begins the conversation referring to listeners as “you.” He speaks one-to-one to listeners in a personalized way getting into this parenting relationship topic.

Chio, Wired 96/Philadelphia

We now know that you have to start all content segments with a hook headline within the first 10 seconds to maintain listeners in the morning in PPM. Chio did a great hook headline to start a parenting story about the time he got obnoxious at his kid’s soccer game when he was at Wired 96 Philadelphia.

Mojo in the Morning, Channel 955/Detroit

Listeners who think they can lie to their mother with a straight face compete for prizes. The show players give the caller five lies, and if the listener can pull it off without Mom hanging up, he or she wins.

Kevin and Bean, KROQ/Los Angeles

In an effort to be topical about hit reality shows, which Kevin & Bean hated, the show created a character, Loquecia (voiced by third player Ralph Garman), to do the reports. Doing a well-crafted segment with a memorable character creates topical, yet unique content the audience can’t get anywhere else.

Fitz in the Morning

We all need ideas for Mondays. Here’s a characterizing segment that also includes listener interaction. Share the “peak” and “pit” from your weekend on Monday. You can also call it the High/Low Game.

Kevin and Bean, KROQ/Los Angeles

This recurring feature works on many levels. Most importantly, it’s characterizing for the host, Kevin, who has a “cartoon hate” for a lot of things, in this case, ginger ale and particularly diet ginger ale, asserting that it’s a mixer, not a drink on its own. It’s also characterizing for the other characters—Lisa, who likes ginger ale, and Ralph, who agrees with Kevin but for different reasons, that ginger ale is only appropriate for different “vomiting situations.” The show made it bigger and added entertainment value by creating a really funny jingle that grabs our attention.

Fitz in the Morning

Listeners call in to tell a friend or loved one that they are “in love with a guy named Darryl,” a fictional character. The host (Fitz) jumps in as Darryl to convince the friend that the love is real. The bit is hilariously ridiculous, and sure to bring a laugh as the friend gets more irritated as Darryl talks.