Recently I was asked to do a campaign for a UK radio station “dissing” their local newspaper. Being a radio advertising copy prostitute I went along with in. Kind of. But tried to take the sting off it with some humour.
Newspapers are not the enemy of radio advertising sales people. Yes, the client will spend most of their budget in newspapers, and you have to work to either take a lions share to advertise on your station, or show the clients ways to save money on their other advertising that they can plough into their radio advertising.
What they will notice at first is that when they advertise on radio AND press, their advertising seems to work 5 times harder! Their press ads start to jump out off the page. The customers though remain confused because radio works in the VISUAL part of the mind.
Mike Bersin tells a story of a garden centre that put it’s rise in sales down to the newspaper… but most customers at the checkout could sing their catchy jingle. They were influence by advertising that worked in the VISUAL part of their brain.
It wasn’t just the radio working though. For sure. I noticed the effect once when driving through Hull. Shops that I had heard about on the radio seemed to jump out from the shops around them. Opening a newspaper, the ads jump out of the page when the client is a regular radio user.
I once worked at a radio station which had a production department dedicated to writing music for advertising. It was an amazing experience. Jon Craig was the man putting together amazing Music Identities, along with a string of talented musicians. These days it’s easier for people to make music with the technology available… but it’s not always good music for advertising. I often get asked to write copy around cheesy, badly produced “jingles”. One section of the industry seems to have pretty much stalled in the last 40 years with some notable exceptions. This article from Soundscapes makes useful reading for anyone considering having music composed for their advertsing…
Soundscapes – Music is just music… right?”
The man stops his car and asks the pedestrian… “can you direct me to the Maternity Hospital”.
The old man scratches his chin and replies… “Mmmm, if I was going to the Hospital I wouldn’t start from here!”
I am sitting at my desk scratching my head. I’ve been given some client written copy which has (surprise surprise) two women talking to each other. One of them has incredible knowledge about the client’s products and services… and… as usual… can reel off the phone number. I would love to meet this lady, she has amazing mental capacity.
I have been asked by my client, a production house, to “tidy up the copy”…. or “make it into a 30″.
The problem is, to get to where the client needs to be with a script, I wouldn’t start here! The device being used is one to shoe horn lots of FEATURES about the client. Frankly the listener doesn’t CARE about all the things the client does… they care about the problems in their lives.
If I have a problem with transport I want to know that I can get a car for just 50 quid a week… i don’t want to know that they also do parts, servicing, MOTs, etc… how does that solve my problem.
Many clients try to say EVERYTHING and the listener hears nothing.
It’s best to keep the brief simple and irresistable. From there, with a good radio creative, you will get great radio ads.
Yesterday I was interviewed for Suite 101 by my former boss, mentor, former Head of Creative at Radio Clyde, quoter of Burns, and all round good guy Dan McCurdy.
Dan M Curdy
The client has a great voice.
It’s true. Deep, rich and resonant.
But in the studio, and faced with a $3,000 microphone he turns into a quivering wreck.
He’s discovered that being a great voice over is not just about a great voice.
I’ve had the pleasure of working with some amazing voice artists and they are worth what they get paid. (although many will complain they don’t get paid enough by local radio stations)
The fact is, it’s not easy.
They have to read a script and make it sound like it’s not read.
They have to squish 34 seconds of verbage into 29.5 seconds.
They have to do take after take for the agency “producer” who wouldn’t know a great read from a jar of strawberry jam.
They have to deliver the same read, time and time again, with small adjustments, and remember what the producer didn’t like from the last take.
One moment they’re the voice of God, the next moment a talking dolphin.
And, they have to market themselves to writers and producers who already think they have enough talent on their books.
All with a smile.
So when a friend tells you you have a great voice and should be a voice over, by all means give it a try. But just because you can play chopsticks doesn’t mean you should give up your day job and become a concert pianist.
This month I will be attending VOX 2012 in the UK. It’s a change to meet the people whose mouths I am lucky enough to put words into.
It’s good to see that bad copy writing and terrible acting is not restricted to low budget, small station produced radio commercials.
Personally I don’t know how I survived those boring hours on the toilet without a Potty Putter.
Ladies… what would a Kush mean to YOUR life!?
I love working in radio. I love the creativity of it. I love the business side of it. I have been able to see clients grow their companies massively because of the work we did together on their campaigns. It’s an amazing feeling… like a few months ago… when a client tells you they have opened new stores, employed more people, grown… and it was started by a commercial spot that you’d penned years before.
It’s not always smooth. Sometimes I have to ask tough questions and sometimes I HAVE to tell clients uncomfortable truths. Sometimes it’s sensitive… because a client has written their own advert and you have to show them that it may not be the best idea to do it the way they’ve done it.
What I’ve always wanted to show a client is how it can work for them. Giving the right message, reaching the right people and giving them good reasons to do business with them.
There is still that thrill, after 20 something year, hearing your work being broadcast! And hopefully hearing the results from the client.
I can still remember that feeling on hearing the first “professional” ad that I’d ever written, going out on air (for Dean’s Diner in Newcastle, voiced in main by Jimmy Hibbert). Although it’s being replaced slightly with the feeling that I wouldn’t have done it quite like that given what I know two decades later.
I still turn UP the radio when I hear an ad break!
Jimmy Hibbert - He voiced my first ad at Metro Radio
Every now and again I find useful sites on radio advertising.
I will try and keep this updated.
So hear goes…
For a start buy this book. Just Get it. NOW!! don’t read this blog again until you have bought it. The Creative Led Sell by Mike Bersin.
Ralph Ruckman writes on 2 Secrets For Successful Radio Advertising
Dan O’Day always has great advice for writers, clients and sales people. Click here.
Here lies the spot ad
I have heard that the spot ad is dead.
Funny that.
I also heard it 20 years ago… because someone had read a marketing book that said it. (although they
couldn’t remember the name of the book)
I heard it from an advertising agency exec, so it must be true!
Here is the truth. SOME agencies (note: not ALL agencies) just don’t know how to do good radio advertising. They look for the easiest way possible to get their clients on air. In some markets the easiest way is to hand a list of features to a radio presenter and get them to read it out on air. Or get an “activation” done with the argument that the product needs to get “closer to the people”.
There are some activations which are really excellent, and some presenters that do it really well. BUT if you just use a 1 or 2 week activation you are not using radio well. Like a tower block build with no foundations, after a while you’re just left with a pile of rubble.
Clients who use radio WELL are the ones that are on all the time (or it feels like they are) and have a foundation of regular spot ads. Spot ads that are “controlled” word of mouth. They give a clear and creative message… they don’t try to cram in features, but give a benefit to the listener. They don’t rely on whether the presenter is having a good day or not. They don’t have the potential damage of a presenter saying “Nokia” when they meant “Samsung”. They have the advantage of reaching a wider audience with a cleverly managed schedule.
I am not saying, don’t do promotions, activations and competitions with your station. I am saying you will get MUCH better results if you have put down a month or two of heavy spot advertising before you do. You will have more of a relationship, and more recognition with the listener.
The truth is, spot advertising can be hard to do well. It’s often beyond the experience of an Agency. Or they see it as below them. So they take the easy option.
But great radio spot advertising is still throwing out some great creative ads, results drivin, award winning ideas and great executions.
The Spot ad is dead? Tell that to Coca-cola, MacDonalds, Budweiser… etc. etc.
I don’t think I’m ever going to get a job with an Advertising Agency now!
