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Benchmarks Work
July 10, 2012
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. Make no mistake, benchmarks....features that are scheduled at the same time on a daily basis do work. They drive cume/reach into your (morning)show and give you the opportunity to build time spent listening or force another tune in.
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Last week we had a look at how to take a Morning show from aweful to awesome in 7 days.
Great programmers will tell you that this is actually possible.
Monitor your show and if you are not delivering a great piece of content every 15 minutes, do something about it.
This is what I do week in week out. Let your ears determine your current reality. If your ears tell you that you are delivering the great show for your target audience, the ratings will catch up and reflect this.
Benchmarks are a must for any winning Morning Show. As we said last week, ......".you must have one or two regular features that you add at a specific time and keep – you can add a twist to some classic benchmark promos and make them truly your own".
Select a few, but get famous for one.
In the US you'll be familiar with Battle of the Sexes, "Elvis Duran's Phone Taps, Ryan's Roses, Pay your Bills, the Birthday Game and Kidd's Kids.........just to name a few.
Here 's a list of 20 great benchmarks. All have track records around the world and have great social networking angles for further cut through.
They drive traffic into your morning show at a set time. From that point they can be used for further tune ins and of course can be expanded as workday tactics.
- The Name game. This is an idea I gave WPLJ a number of year ago. "If you have a name you can win daily on the Morning Show".
- Windup calls/Phone Taps. Can't do them....what about collecting the "World's Best". Could this be achieved?
- The Secret Sound. One of the oldest radio games but in many markets still the number one tester. Play in the Morning Show and across the workday.
- Mystery Voices. A proven winner on stations like Magic in the UK and Mix in Australia.
- Dilemma of the day. Pick an issue, discuss it in the morning show and across the workday. Deliver the result late afternoon or the next morning.
- The Impossible Question. A question so hard....even google wont help you.
- 50 Shades of Grey Hair. Nanna reading out excerpts from the hottest book on the planet.
- Reasons to be cheerful. Fantastic early morning feature to get the phones and facebook moving. Tell us why you are cheerful this morning.
- The Rumour file....don't give us your name, just give us your secret. This is one of the world's top testing breakfast benchmarks. In a world where rumour, scandal and gossip so sought after, you must be doing this.
- The Thousand Dollar Minute. 10 Question s and 60 seconds on the clock.
- Intervention. We are happy to do your dirty work. If you have a friend, relative or colleague who needs an intervention, we're here to help! Let us know who needs to be told something sensitive and we'll do the rest!!
- Hush Money/The Big Payout. The 'high /low game " with one big twist. On AMP in Canada now.
- Crush/Flirty at 8.30. We set up the date for you. Capital in London was famous for this some years ago.
- Screw over your ex. The prize is you and your lover having sex in a plane or helicopter right above your ex's house.
- Married, Single or gay. 3 Contestants all having 30 seconds to talk about themselves. Pick the gay guy, you win.
- Secret Men's Business where men reveal all daily in the Morning Show. Lets talk TV remote.
- Top Thumb. Fastest Texter wins. Great for CHR's. Worked well for i Radio in Ireland.
- Tossers... where the toss of a coin has never had such consequences. Listeners our something of value on the line in order to win big. Former promotion of the year in Australia.
- Free Money Postcode where your address is your cue to call.
- Barking for Bucks....the more times your dog barks, the more you win. Great fun on air and great for pet food sponsors.
Make no mistake, benchmarks....features that are scheduled at the same time on a daily basis do work. They drive cume/reach into your (morning)show and give you the opportunity to build time spent listening or force another tune in.
If you would like to find out more about any of the above , shoot me a note. Happy to set up a quick skype call to run you through the details.
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