The Right Way to Use Celebrity Birthdays

Dan shared on the InterPrep discussion forum:

Just wondering if anyone else does a quote of the day. We do it very early, on the other side of a spot break. I tease the person going in to the break. Our program director says if we had a consultant they would tell us to dump it but at remotes and such listeners specifically mention they like it.

Why it’s a relatable feature

I love a good quote or inspirational, and so do a lot of your listeners. We have them on coffee mugs, calendars, and kitchen wall hangings. Many of us have quotes scrolling on our computer screensavers.

I’ve not heard how Dan executes his quote of the day feature but here are my thoughts.

Why consultants don’t like quotes or celeb birthdays

Like celebrity birthdays, talent coaches and consultants don’t particularly like benchmarks like “Quote of the Day” because they are so often presented dead-on-arrival — meaning the radio personality shares the feature with no planned follow-up or direction. Additionally, these features are treated as fillers on a radio show that’s trying to load 16+ stop-downs.

If a consultant or programmer questions your use of celeb birthdays or a quote of the day it’s because the feature is not being properly executed.

But that doesn’t mean it should be dropped.

There’s a story behind every celebrity birthday

Celeb birthdays, or a quote of the day, can be a great benchmark when you put in the work to make it interesting. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos turning 58 isn’t interesting. What is interesting is that Amazon launched in 1995 in Seattle and just two years later Bezos personally delivered his company’s one-millionth order to a customer in Japan.

Example tease: “What was that one-millionth order? I’ll share it in 2 minutes.”

ℹ️ For you, the answer is at the end of this blog post.

There’s a story connected to every quote of the day

“Give me liberty or give me death!” is an important historical quote, but it doesn’t connect with what’s going on in your listeners’ lives. One that will connect comes from Brené Brown:

Choose the great adventure of being brave and afraid. At the exact same time.

This quote will touch listeners who are battling cancer, pondering a job change, ending a marriage, or any number of struggles we all face.

When searching for a quote of the day resist the urge to say “Yes” with a period. Instead, find a quote that makes you want to say, “Yes, and I remember a time in my life when…”

You see, while Brown’s quote will uplift and encourage listeners, it’s also one which can connect you with them. Prior to the quote you could share a past or current personal struggle and offer Brown’s words as something you rely on for a boost.

Same goes for a celebrity birthday. Sharing that Jeff Bezos is 58 and that his one-millionth customer lives in Japan is good on it’s own, but try using “yes, and…” to take it a step further by sharing the first thing you purchased on Amazon — or the worst thing, or the silliest thing. This could be the start of a relatable social media and phone topic.

What Jeff delivered

As I said, Amazon.com launched in 1995 and just two years later its founder, Jeff Bezos, personally delivered his company’s one-millionth order to a customer in Japan.

That customer was hand-delivered a Windows NT manual and a Princess Diana biography.

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