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A HOT MORNING SHOW IS A HEDGE AGAINST A POOR ECONOMY

It is an understatement to say that the weak economy has created financial challenges at radio stations across the country.

But, a hot morning show can transcend the economy and command a spot rate that exceeds its actual ratings position. What is a hot morning show?

It is the show that has the largest segment of the marketplace, including advertisers, talking about what it does and says. Most morning shows happen to stumble upon things that cause market talk now and again.

Great morning shows plan ways to make market talk happen every day.

The “gap theory” of curiosity is the driving force behind all successful entertainment.

The first step to generating market talk is to create mass audience interest in your ideas. In 1994, George Lowenstein, a behavioral economist at Carnegie Mellon University, gave the most comprehensive account of situational interest. Curiosity, he says, happens when we feel a gap in our knowledge. That gap causes pain. To get rid of that pain, we feel compelled to fill that knowledge gap. We watch to the end of bad movies, even though they are painful to watch, because it’s too painful to not know how they end.

The “gap theory” of curiosity is the driving force behind all successful entertainment. Movies cause us to ask, what will happen? Mystery novels cause us to ask, who did it? Sporting contests cause us to ask, who will win? Human beings are wired to be interested in just about anything if it is posed in the form of a mystery. Therefore the formula for compelling content, it seems, is mystery + resolution = memorable content. Memorable content = marketbuzz.

Think about the typical trivia question feature that is cast in one form or another on almost every morning show in the country. Pose this question on your radio station: what was the first non-original color of cereal pieces added to Trix, in 1980?

The audience will be compelled to find out the answer. But if you were at a party and just simply said, did you know that purple was the first non-original color of cereal added to Trix in 1980?

People would look at you like you were out of your mind. The information is the same, only the delivery system is different.

Here are five ways to employ the gap theory of knowledge on your morning show to help increase your show’s market buzz power:

1. Compelling Foreshadowing of Content Too many morning shows are seduced by the idea of springing content on their audiences without foreshadowing the mystery that content will resolve. Take the ubiquitous morning show entertainment report for example. Many teases for these features only include the feature name, which in itself, is not compelling.A specific story posed in the form of a mystery is: Which newly pregnant celebrity’s dad is blatantly shopping her photos on the internet? We’ll tell you in the Hollywood Gossip next. My guess is none of us really cares that the answer is Ashlee Simpson’s dad Joe, but until you get that knowledge gap filled, you’ll be obsessed with finding out the answer to who it is.Effective foreshadowing is also important in creating interest in even the routine, everyday content employed on your morning show. If you’re thinking air travel has just gotten worse and worse, a new transportation review says it’s gotten even worse than you might think. We’ll talk about that next. This tease poses the mystery, “how bad is it really?” Without this sort of foreshadowing, the facts about how airline travel is the slowest it has been in 20 years are not all that entertaining.
2. Telephone Topic Execution Most morning telephone topics are executed without thought about what open-ended question that process will bring to resolution. Let’s look at the topic of bad boss horror stories as an example. Unfortunately, we are really not interested in strangers’ problems or experiences, which is what random calls on this topic really amount to.But if we set forth to find the single worst bad boss horror story the mystery is on. Which story will turn out to be the worst one? Can anyone top this horrible story? Telephone topics that do not lead to some finite communal resolution are not nearly as satisfying to the audience as those that do.
3. Creative Conflict Any time there is conflict between two or more characters on a show, the audience is compelled to find out who is right, who is wrong, who wins or who loses. Sitcom writers are acutely aware of the power of conflict.They know that as soon as you put two characters in a room together you must immediately initiate conflict and then escalate it. In order to fill the knowledge gap created by this conflict you must have an outcome. Leaving it up in the air is frustrating for the audience. When you do not resolve conflict it is like a movie with an unsatisfying ending. Bad or unresolved endings leave people anxious and even cranky.It is important to note here that one size does not fit all when it comes to creative conflict. Contrary to what some radio personalities think, arguing is not entertaining. Merely advocating the opposite sides of things and taking the other person to task for his or her counter position is arguing. Arguments make people uncomfortable.They make people want to leave the room. Lively, civil debates that involve sharing alternate views and supporting those views on things that really don’t matter are non-threatening and much more entertaining. Healthy creative conflict is one of a hot morning show’s best tools.
4. Guest Interviews When you ask radio audiences about the things they value the most on a morning show, guest interviews are very low on their priority lists. That is probably because most guest interviews are not executed with the gap theory in mind.Guests are most effective on morning shows when they, too, provide the answer to a mystery. What will he say when we ask him this? What will happen if we ask her to do that.We’re going to talk to last night’s American Idol cast-off and find out what’s really in Paula’s cup.When interviews are foreshadowed with the precise question they will provide the answer to they become much more compelling and memorable.
5. Appearances and Events Many air personality appearances and station events fall flat because they are also executed without the gap theory in mind. The client remote is a probably the most ineffectively used air personality marketing and sales tool today.Take the typical car dealership remote for example. Promotions puts up a tent, drives the station van on-site, sets up a stereo and speakers and then the talent stands around with nothing to do but watch the clock until it is over.Where is the mystery in that approach to remotes? But if you held a contest looking for the biggest gear head a mystery begins.Can you, while blindfolded, tell the car model just by the sound of the engine starting?We’ll find out this Saturday between noon and two.People who would normally drive on by the dealership will at least entertain the thought of stopping by to get the resolution. Even if they don’t stop by they still might talk to other people about the funny thing you did at the car dealership.

   In this era of cutbacks on promotional dollars we have all been forced to find new ways to spread the word about our products. These are just a few of the tangible things you can do to compel your audience to become your unpaid, passionate “marketing staff” selling your morning show to others.

   Word of mouth is the cheapest and most effective marketing tool a station can have.

Using the gap theory effectively and often can help you make market talk happen, not just once in a while, but every day.