When you get told to put together a breakfast show for the very first time it seems a really daunting and time consuming task!
Guess what? It is… but don’t let that scare you! There is something really fun about putting together an entire show that is going to be your EVERY DAY for the next 2-3 years.
What first?
You need to work out who your audience is… Like with any good show it’s important to know your demographic and then work out your map that’s eventually going to hit them between the eyes on a daily basis.
Format: let’s assume that your station has a Rock format.
If that’s the case then your core demographic will be blokes in their late 30s loving the Cold Chisel and Led Zeplin you play everyday. Now it’s your job to work out what content that appeals to your audience.
What is your audience getting up to in their spare time? Are they tinkering in their shed on weekends?, are your riding thier motorcycles with mates?, watching the footy or cricket pending the season do they work on weekends?, Are they or their kids involved in a Sport?
Do you run a sports quiz everyday at 7:10am? Maybe you want to broaden that out a little and add some music trivia questions into the mix. It’s about getting to know your audience first and walking with them in their world.
Benchmarks
Benchmarks are important, they are something your audience will set their clocks by.
I remember when I was on drive radio in Melbourne and I ran a benchmark everyday at 3:30 called the 330 Theme train. It’s the oldest trick in the book – 3 songs in a row with a common thread. It was simple but effective. I used to have mums (sometimes Dads) picking their kids up from school calling into the guess the theme everyday. Kids would nearly break their necks running out of school, trying to get to the car and help solve The theme train.
In my 25 years on radio it’s probably the most popular segment I’ve ever run. Our demo was 35+ Female and with this benchmark I had them hooked every afternoon.
The White Board
Every good show needs a road map especially when the show is in full flight.
Your show should be broken up over 3 hours in 30 minutes blocks eg:
6:00 TOH Show set up!
6:10 Riddle or game
6:15 OOB weather day set up and quick call – Wrong guess
6:20 Calls
6:25 Hook/ forward sell – whats coming up after news.
If you follow this formula for the length of the show you will find that you won’t get lost in the excitement of the show.
The whiteboard is your anchor’s best friend to keep the show on track.
Hot Topic Board
If you love white boards like I do why not adopt a second one. The second one will help you stay relevent. On the board will be listed your Hot Topics or Sense of the Day items…
1. Hot trending story #1
2. Sport story thats in the news
3. P1 Station Promotion or Major Tactic
4. Hot trending story no#2
These will be the hooks in your show and will be apart of your maintenance in the breaks.
Eg: “98.1 Air heads Radio, your waking up this morning to the news Aussie cricket legend Dean Jones has passed away, well have the latest in that story at 8:30 in the news…” then its away into your content…
The Hot topic board is there to make you sound like you’re across all the trending stories doing the rounds.
