What to Do in the Spot After Spotsets
If you listen to drive time radio across the US and Canada, you notice that most entertainment segments air before commercials and only a produced station ID or jingle runs after commercials.
That makes sense when you consider that more listeners are tuned-in before commercials than after. Content is the strongest way to differentiate your station so be sure that people hear it.
But that spot after stop sets is an opportunity to place a cherry on top of your radio sundae and surprise your audience with fun and entertainment — without delaying the music.
Here are some ideas for post-commercial content that add a lot of entertainment value in less than 60 seconds.
- Comedy. Kelly and Wood at Wild Country 99 in St Cloud, MN call it “Laughter at A Quarter-After” with sixty-second stand-up clips.
- Jokes. Kelly and Wood bring in Wood’s mom to deliver a single “Your Mama Is So Dumb” joke after commercials. (“Your mama is so dumb she took a ruler to bed to see how long she slept!”)
- Games. Mancow’s Mystery Movie runs all morning on WLS Chicago until someone calls in to identify the short film clip.
- Late-Night TV audio. Numerous shows add pop culture topicality with last night’s funniest monologue moments from Kimmel, Fallon, Colbert, etc.
- Teases. Teasing both in and out of spots is a strong practice. At 98.1 The Max in Memphis, Drake in The Morning follows commercials by repeating the tease to retain listeners who tuned in during spots.
- News. We loved the quick headlines in “News in 140 Characters” which took 20 seconds on a Victoria, BC morning show.
Which do you think listeners will remember more: A station positioning statement read by your nameless voice-over dude, or something fun, humorous and entertaining delivered in a few seconds just before their favorite song?
Photo credit: flickr.com/mdgovpics/
