Personality Profile: 10 Reasons Kyle & Jackie O Are One of The World’s Best Morning Shows

The KIIS 106.5 morning show of Kyle & Jackie O is one of a kind.

Frankly, they have it all, from amazing, emotional moments on the air to outrageous provocative stunts. They’re not just the best show in Australia. They may be the best radio show in the world.

Best in the world? That’s a strong statement, and it deserves to be supported. Okay. Here are 10 reasons to love and admire this duo. Unfortunately, some of the video clips are only available to be viewed in Australia. Hey, Kyle & Jackie O: Get this fixed to share your brilliance with the rest of the world! For the rest of us, you can get around the restrictions if you have a VPN (Virtual Private Network). Just adjust your settings to Australia. It’s worth it to see these videos.

1) Heart

As you’ll see in the following reasons, Kyle and Jackie O are outrageous, provocative and very bold. Some call them over-the-top. And they generate complaints regularly.

How do they get away with it? Their character isn’t one-dimensional. There are many layers, and much of the reason they are loved by so many fans is how they show their heart. One of their benchmark features is called Kyle & Jackie O Give Back. In this example, the team is reduced to tears after gifting Rhys, a terminally ill 21-year-old, with a dream holiday to New Zealand.

2) Stunting

Outrageous stunting is one thing. Building a story into the stunt is the next level, and this show knows how to do that.

A recurring feature is Naked Dating. The concept is simple: two single people come into the radio studio, get naked in front of one another and the show sits back and see if the two like what they see.

The show does a terrific job turning this mostly visual stunt into an audio event with masterful storytelling skills.

One of the keys to making stunts work, particularly in this generation, is the ability to tell the story effectively. Watch this Naked Dating segment and you can see and hear how the contestants got on well … very well.

3) They’re Bold

Interviews and guests on the air can be exciting, or they can be deadly. The difference is whether the talent is able to insert themselves into the story. This takes thought, preparation and creativity. For this show, it happens with an intense focus on making people talk about them.

When Kyle and Jackie were able to get an exclusive radio interview with Usain Bolt, they found a way to excite their audience.The best way to welcome their overseas guest? By giving out his personal mobile phone number. Fans were blown away to chat with Usain, and Bolt invited many of them to party with him that night.

Kyle & Jackie take chances. Bold risks that don’t always work out. But when they do, they pay off in a big way.

You can view the clip in full here.

4) Sharing the Spotlight

You’ll notice a recurring theme through these examples. The show knows how to tell stories that make the audience the main characters. By sharing the spotlight, they connect with their audience in a personal, emotional way. And the light reflects brightly back on Kyle & Jackie O.

One of their most-loved segments is a prank call feature called Only Lying. Listeners prank their friends and family on the phone. If they pull it off, the show gives them $1,000. This is exactly what happened with this call where one sister called the other, pretending that an expensive Gucci handbag had been ruined.

The video of this episode got over one million views on Facebook.

5) In The Moment

In another example of how to use guests to entertain the audience, the show gets Charlie Sheen to go off!

What started as a fun and pleasant interview turned into an entertaining no-holds-barred roast of the Hollywood executives that he believes did him wrong. When the opportunity presented itself, they took advantage of it.

Some of the best moments on the air are unexpected. That doesn’t mean you should wing it and hope. You should still plan in detail. But performance should be loose and “in the moment”. When the opportunity presents itself, be able to pivot and take advantage of it.

6) Multi-Platform

This show isn’t just a team of popular radio personalities. They’re multi-media celebrities that have a radio show.

Check out all of the social media and video they produce daily. And notice the production value of the videos. It’s studio quality, with multiple camera angles, fast-paced edits and great lighting.

Creating video like this takes time, but it’s not that expensive. And with the right support team, you can turn much of your content into multi-media engagement that leads to more tune in.

7) Promotion

Stations Down Under have always promoted well. Their companies invest in their brands. But Kyle & Jackie O take that promotion to another level. It’s not just giving away cash.

On the air, they related that they had always dreamed of dropping tens of thousands of dollars from the sky to listeners below. So they did.

The show organized a helicopter, a ton of cash and die-hard listeners who ended up walking away a lot richer than when they arrived! The stunt generated more free media than the cash could have bought. Marketing, promotion and cash giveaways that truly paid off. It’s not just giving away the money. It’s investing in the brand.

8) Storytelling With Drama

You probably notice a consistent thread through these examples. The show knows how to tell a story. In doing so, they apply three of the keys of storytelling:

Drama: They build anticipation in the way they lead listeners toward the conclusion. In the way they tell stories, you can’t help but wonder what will happen next and how it will end

Details: The show mixes in just enough colourful background and detail to make you care about one or both of the characters in the story. Details in storytelling (the right details) are critical. The wrong details can bog down the break. They know how to turn up the volume in the right way.

Delayed Resolution: This is one of those shows that makes people late to work because they’re sitting in the car to hear the end of the story. They never rush through to the end. In fact, sometimes they may drag out the pay off a little too long. But once the listener is invested in the outcome, they’ll reward you with more quarter-hours to hear how it comes out.

Listen to their Give Or Take examples to hear how they increase the tension as the ultimate moment approaches. They cause the audience to have a stake in the outcome, and stretch the story across multiple breaks (and days) to increase time spent listening. Brilliant.

9) Get In Front of The Parade

Great personalities reveal their character with perspective, point of view and being true to who they are. Kyle and Jackie O take a stand, and do so on things that matter to their audience. They pick their moments. And when they do, they make it count by getting in front of the parade.

When Australia voted on legalizing Same Sex Marriage, the show planted their flag by staying on the air for the live announcement. When the “yes” announcement came, they led an on-air celebration, spoke to celebrities and took calls from overjoyed listeners who were celebrating the results.

Watch the highlights here.

10) Surprise

Perhaps most important to their long-term, ongoing success is that they never settle for “good enough”. They constantly innovate to keep their brand fresh and exciting to their audience.

Stealing a page from Oprah’s playbook, the show surprised their audience one day by giving away a car (Hyundai i30) to every caller that made it on the air. In one morning, they gave away 12 cars. Most broadcasters would consider this a waste of resources. Shouldn’t you spread this over 12 weeks? Or more? Not if you want to get attention. This surprising twist turned a good promotion into an event.

Many personalities reach a certain point in their success path and coast. Not this show. They’re constantly finding new ways to surprise and delight their audience, from the sensitive to the outrageous.

Conclusion

Kyle & Jackie O are an inspiration to us all. Their excellence over a long period of time is remarkable, but their creative application to constantly reinventing themselves is truly remarkable.

If you’re not familiar, check them out and you’ll realize why I consider them the world’s best radio show.’

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Spot on
8 Feb 2018 - 8:12 pm

Totally agree.

As someone who has worked on a few top rating Sydney breakfast shows in various roles (but only on the periphery of the K&J Show) I can tell you it is one amazingly well oiled machine, the likes of which exist nowhere else (in Australia anyway…).

They have a massive team and the feeling in the studio area while the show is on air is electric and this comes across on-air. You can’t fake that vibe.

I was not a fan of the show before I actually listened to it and I think many of the arm chair critics have not listened at all or have heard a controversial piece out of context. Of course they’re going to be controversial – that’s why people listen!

Another thing I love about the show is that it eschews clocks. The news happens when it happens. There is no TOH or ad break at :40. Often K&J will be the only show doing content when every other station is in an ad break.

Richard Kazimer
8 Feb 2018 - 10:46 pm

Earth to Tracy Johnson: Australia isn’t ‘the world.’

Andy
9 Feb 2018 - 9:09 am

100% agree.

They are the best radio show in the world.

RIP
9 Feb 2018 - 10:14 am

While Kyle and Jackie are on air in Sydney 2DAYFM will never do well in ratings. Needs a re brand. 2Day will always be the “ K&J station “ to listeners up in Sydney.

Al
9 Feb 2018 - 12:03 pm

Is this article some kind of joke? They both are straight up sociopaths who have shown on multiple occasions that they have no moral compass. They are scum and have no right to be on air.

radionerd
9 Feb 2018 - 1:45 pm

Last year I was listening to the 97.3 Brisbane breakfast show and they did a cross to Kiis for the Grant Hackett interview with KJ. Suddenly I found myself subconsciously leaning closer to the radio, eager to hear every word. In an instant the radio changed from pleasant background to captivating content. One of their secrets in unpredictability – for example last week Kyle was talking about i98 rejecting him for a job early in his career so he rang the station and asked to be put through to the manager to ask why. Simple idea, but I had to stay in my car to hear what was going to happen even though I’d arrived at work. This is good radio.

Alison Horscroft
9 Feb 2018 - 5:30 pm

I totally agree! My mornings would never be the same without Kyle and Jackie O. I almost go into hibernation when they are on holidays, only turn KIIS on to (maybe) help the ratings.
It is surely the most brilliant show in the world, I am English, lived in Spain for many years and now have been in Australia for 10 years. Listened to the K & J show for all of that time.
I did try a few others, but they just don’t do it for me.
Only problems I have is never being able to get through when I phone.
Carry on Kyle and Jackie, you make my mornings fabulous.

Scott Thomson
9 Feb 2018 - 8:40 pm

You didn’t mention one of the biggest reasons they are successful – they are big fans of the music they play. (Similar to when Molly when hosting Countdown)

By comparison, the 2Day Fm breakfast announcers have had no idea of the music they are playing. Rove didn’t even like the songs on his show. Em Rusciano and Harley Green also had very little knowledge on music and they couldn’t relate to the hits.

nick bartlett
9 Feb 2018 - 10:21 pm

And, most importantly, they only laugh when something funny happens. No – none – zero -zilch fake laughter on Kyle and Jackie’s show.

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