Let’s get something straight: If you don’t believe your show benefits from making the audience fall in love with the personalities, you can stop reading now. Go ahead. Scroll on by. This piece isn’t for you. But if you believe that personalities are the primary driver of long-term listener loyalty—and you should—then you must also recognize that locked-in, structured features aren’t a relic of the past. They’re a rocket booster for relevance. A show without features is like a band with no chorus. No hooks. No hits. Features contribute directly to building fans. They are must-have building blocks for almost all shows.

Yet far too many broadcasters resist features. They cling to the notion that spontaneity is more authentic. That turning on the mic and “just talking” makes them real. That planning is the enemy of creativity.

They’re wrong.

Start at the End: You Want to Be Loved

Let’s reverse-engineer success. You want the audience to love you. But before they can love you, they have to like you. And before they can like you, they must feel like they know you. And they’ll never know you unless you stand for something. That’s the power of a signature feature.

Audiences are first drawn to what you do. They stick around for who you are (your character, personality). Think of features as the on ramp to emotional connection. It’s how you graduate from being a background noise to being a part of someone’s day—and eventually, a part of their identity.

This isn’t theory. It’s the Personality Success Path in action—five stages every talent must navigate:

  1. Introduction
  2. Familiarity
  3. Growth
  4. Like
  5. Love

Most personalities get stuck in Stage 2, never graduating to growth or deeper connection because they haven’t given the audience a compelling reason to return. They’re just… there. The same is true of a podcast. Amplifi Media’s Steve Goldstein says:

“Every podcast needs something distinctive and memorable. Without it, the podcast will fail. The good ones have benchmarks and clear formatics.”

Building Blocks: Signature Features Lead To Signature Shows

Great features are habit-forming, memorable, repeatable, promotable, and monetizable. They give listeners a clear reason to return and create a brand image through repetition.

Would James Corden have become a household name without Carpool Karaoke? Unlikely. That one feature didn’t just make him famous—it defined him.

In radio, the same principle applies. Second Date Update. War of the Roses. Thousand Dollar Minute. These are not just features—they’re the reason people know a show exists. They’re building blocks for success.

Here’s proof from a real-life listener focus group:

Moderator: “What do you do when commercials come on or a song you don’t like?”
Listener: “Punch the button. I’m gone.”
Moderator: “Do you come back to the original station?”
Listener: “Sometimes. But usually I forget. If something grabs me on another station, I stay there.”
Moderator: “Any station you always return to?”
Listener: “Yeah, (Station X) when they have (branded feature) at (specific time). I always try to come back for that.”

Features Are Even More Critical for Younger Listeners

Millennials and Gen Z audiences are less loyal by default. They’re grazers who have grown up in an on-demand world. They watch Saturday Night Live in YouTube clips—just the features, not the whole show. This generation craves standout segments they can anticipate, share, and follow. A strong feature hits that craving like a dopamine dart.

If built, performed, and programmed properly, they can be a programming wedge that anchors a show and elevates everything around it.

Think of your show as a restaurant. If your menu is all over the place, nothing stands out. But one signature dish—something people talk about and recommend—creates a reason to come in the door. It’s the restaurant’s gateway to everything, including appetizers and desserts.

Same with features. A killer feature lifts your entire show:

  • You can program it multiple times. Since listeners tune in far less than you think, “A” level features can be aired multiple time spre day.
  • It can be extended to multiple platforms (online, social media, video), which can drive traffic, revenue, and TOMA (Top-of-Mind brand awareness).
  • Focus your creative energy on fewer things rather than scrambling to fill open breaks with throwaway content.

You’re not just filling airtime. You’re building hits.

Final Word: You Can’t Afford Not to Have Features

There is an overwhelming body of evidence that shows structured, branded segments lead to higher TSL, greater recall, and deeper emotional investment. Features aren’t old-school. They’re the essential training wheels that get your audience to love you—and the engine that keeps them coming back.

Great features are a building block of winning shows. Identify a hit feature (or two, or three). Then, don’t just play it. Own it, name it, and program it.

Pic designed by AI generated photos from Freepik.com and Creatopy.

Tracy Johnson is a talent coach and programming consultant. He’s the President/CEO of Tracy Johnson Media Group. His book Morning Radio has been described as The Bible of Personality Radio and has been used by personalities worldwide. Tracy is also the creator of  Radio Content Pro an AI-powered show prep service that addresses all three of these triple threat filters by putting stories in radio speak and giving you teases, on-air copy, responses, phone topics, social copy by platform, blog copy and more.