Of Course I'm Going to Have A Great Show Monday: 20 Relatives Are Coming Over for Thanksgiving Dinner

It's going to be one of the most asked questions Monday: "How was your Thanksgiving?"

The majority of answers will be mundane - hardly show-worthy material. Yet there is a rich source of content that you can tap into simply by showing up for dinner.

A Pew Research Center Report from 2 years ago estimated that 89% of adults would be having dinner with family members present. 60% would have at least 10 family members at the table while a whopping 27% said there would be 20 or more relatives sharing the stuffing.

Get that many relatives in a room and with just a slight bit of exaggeration and embellishment you can expect to have more material than you can use. You simply have to be listening and watching for it.

That's the key.

A couple of years ago talent coach Tommy Kramer and I did one of those "50 ideas in 50 minutes" panels at the Conclave. Part of the presentation included video tips that some great talent around the country created for us.

One came from B96/Chicago's J & Julian who talked about the value of listening to each other as a way of finding content ideas.

That's good advice for family gatherings, too.

Thanksgiving leftovers can make Monday's show one of your best all year.

And we haven't gotten to Black Friday content yet.

Effective Billboards Part 2: Positioning a Show with a Word and a Gesture

The leaves have fallen and the billboards have risen. It must be the November TV sweeps.

Clean, minimal word count, attention-getting/stand-out-ability, asking for action directly or indirectly, and having a post-impression ‘afterglow’ are traits of effective billboards.

The bright yellow on this Fox 5 board pops, while the iconic gesture and the portmanteau (the “aaayyy” is implied) do an effective job in positioning Good Day New York against its national competitors.

Here's an earlier billboard blog which includes shots of two excellent boards for morning radio. 

And here are two creative and effective transit boards that also might inspire your next campaign.