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KNOWING WHEN YOUR RADIO ADVERTISING WILL SUCCEED

As a radio advertising expert, I teach radio advertising professionals how to write radio commercials that product profitable results for clients.

While you cannot absolutely guarantee that any given radio commercial will be a s uccess, there are certain elements that will maximize the likelihood of the message delivering the desired results. Those elements include:

* A single, clear, concise core message (vs. a “shotgun” approach that delivers a multitude of messages in the hopes that ONE of them happens to appeal to the targeted consumer)

* Attracts the attention of the target audience from the very beginning of the spot

* Talks TO the targeted listener ABOUT something of interest to that listener (vs. the all-too-typical spot that talks ABOUT the advertiser).

* Solves a consumer problem

* Utilizes the natural language of the targeted consumer (not advertiser-speak)

* Involves the listener in the sales message

* Allows the listener to see himself enjoying the benefits of the product or service being advertised

* Utilizes “characters” with whom the target audience can identify. (Note: Even “the announcer” is a character.)

* Delivers a compelling Unique Selling Proposition. The “U.S.P.” is nothing more than the answer to, “Why should I spend my hard-earned money with you instead of with one of your competitors?”

* Paints pictures that deliver the sales message

* Tells an instantly attention-focusing story that is intertwined with the sales message

* Tells the listener exactly how to act on the sales message

* Motivates the listener to act by including a genuine deadline beyond which this irresistible offer no longer will be available

* Uses few enough words to allow the voice talent to deliver the sales message effectively, without rushing

* Uses music and sound effects ONLY if they enhance the effectiveness of the sales message. (Running a bland music bed underneath the announcer’s voice usually fails to accomplish this.)

* Airs with enough repetition to enter the consciousness of the targeted listener

Will any or all of the above GUARANTEE the effectiveness of any particular commercial? No.

But they’ll darn sure increase the odds….

As a radio advertising expert who teaches radio copywriting to people who want to create profitable radio advertising, often I shock people by telling them the following:

When it comes to deliver ing a sales message via commercials, radio is  a visual medium. That might sound bizarre to you…or, at least, surprising. I mean, obviously radio is auditory…Isn’t that right?

Yes, the initial connection to the audience is made auditorily, via sound. But for the sales message to have a conscious impact on the listener, that listener almost invariably converts the sounds into mental pictures. The power of good radio advertising comes from this combination of auditory and visual…or, actually, that makes all good radio so powerful.

A television commercial is limited to whatever actual images the spot’s producers can make appear on your tv set. But your mind can create images that are unlimited and unrestricted.

All the gadgets, bells and whistles at your disposal should be used only in service of the overall creative sales effort. Why are we using reverse echo on this commercial? Is there a reason to use phasing or to speed up or slow down the vocal pitch?

Flashy tricks and techniques are wonderful when they actually add to the impact of the presentation. Otherwise, they’re simply distractions; you’re just showing off for the sake of showing off.

Imagine that you’re in a Las Vegas casino. As you approach a gambling table, a casino employee flourishes a deck of cards. He proceeds to shuffle them with a series of broad flourishes. He amazes you with his dexterity and his speed. Then he puts down the cards and spins the roulette wheel. That card-handling artistry probably would be wonderful at a blackjack table; it would enhance your blackjack-playing experience. But performing those actions at a roulette table ….The guy simply wasted your time.

GOOD COMMERCIALS —  THE RADIO STATION’S SECRET WEAPON:     Let’s say there are two evenly matched stations in a market, presenting the same musical format. Neither station has a programming, selling or promotional advantage. Let’s further assume that Station “A” produces typical, run-of-the-mill commercials — i.e., boring, irrelevant commercials that never reach an audience. The commercials produced by Station “B,” however, are fresh, interesting, provocative, entertaining — in short, people actually enjoy hearing them.

When Station “A” begins a stopset, it is likely to lose far more listeners than Station “B” will with its stopsets. That means higher quarter-hour shares for Station “B.” Which should mean higher revenues for Station “B.” And more money for Station “B”’s account executives.