Morning Relatability

What's one way to impact the spring ratings? Have a great morning show! The Lund Consultants preach the sermon of 3Ms: Mornings, Music and Marketing. Simply put, mornings are the cume anchor for the entire day for most stations. The following checklist was assembled for a morning show seminar, and we believe it works for nearly any station.

• Plan the show the night before; use a Show Prep Planner to map benchmarks (ask us for one).
• Research benchmark content. Find interesting bits, news and Hollywood stories on the Internet before the show comes on the air.
• Plan every break ahead of time -- every element, the order, how to start and how to get out.
• Sound friendly, upbeat, fun and personable.
• Have at least one benchmark or bit every half-hour.
• Practice brevity in stopsets; keep them short for flow; leave listeners wanting more (not less).
• Talk up the music and show passion for the format; occasionally provide music info into/out of songs beyond title and artist.
• Sound local with relatable community info; talk to the target listener.
• Be likeable and positive; stay away from politics, race and religion.
• Stress the daily Big Event -- it's usually local. This important topic is the big one on people's minds and the one that is talked about all day; develop it hourly.
• Have listener phone calls and participation (games) in benchmarks.
• Create a daily benchmark that has entertainment news and celebrity gossip. This show biz bit may become the station's most desired benchmark. Many talents do this twice a day (with different stories).
• Talk about top-rated TV shows and their stars ("American Idol," "Dancing With The Stars," "CSI," etc.); focus on the ones your listeners watch.
• Be topical; talk about the top current movies and their stars - "Tropic Thunder," "The Dark Knight," etc.
• For most formats, have family-friendly G-rated content that's safe for moms, dads and kids; be clean!
• Produce a "best of" promo right after the show. Run it every other hour promoting the next day.
• Do consistently great shows every day with identical benchmark features at the same times for regularity and reliability. Help listeners plan their day and their on-time arrival by keeping your show (and your audience) on schedule.