When I teach radio personalities and programmers what I call Contextual Programming, I stress the importance of “making each radio feature your own.”
Sometimes just creating a new name to an everyday program element can have a big impact.
The simplest, most direct example was when Rick Dees would share the day’s Hollywood gossip.
But he didn’t say, “Now it’s time to find out all the latest juicy scandals from Hollywood.”
He said, “And now it’s time for Dees Sleaze.”
All the other jocks were talking about Hollywood gossip; only Dees was presenting “Dees Sleaze.”
You’ve heard radio shows that ask sports trivia questions, right?
What do those shows call those sports trivia segments?
Let me guess: “Our sports trivia question for today…”
Or maybe, “Our sports trivia challenge….”
Of all the radio hosts in the world, only Gary Burbank said, “It’s time to play… Sports or Consequences!”
Lots of jocks presenting sports trivia questions.
Only one radio personality in the world playing “Sports or Consequences.”
The other day a movie being broadcast by IFC (Independent Film Channel) was prefaced with their own version of a “viewer caution.”
See how easy it is to stand out from the herd just by doing everyday things differently?
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My midday show has a two-hour request show right in the middle. It’s been the “KXXX Lunch Cafe” for a long time, because, I’m told, we have jingles with the name (over ten years old), and we can’t afford new ones if we change it. I’ve thought of ideas along the lines of “Don’s Diner”, but I’ve heard variations of that for years, too.
So the challenge is simply to come up with something you’ve never heard elsewhere. How about “Don’s Dine & Dash?” (If you’re not familiar with the term, ask someone with experience working at a restaurant.)