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| Money Matters |
| Advertisers will spend more than $20 billion on radio this year. |
Creative production and strategic placement are crucial to making this specialized market cost effective for you. Semaphore's Ashley Byrd produced for NPR and was an Adult Contemporary radio personality. She asked her radio-savvy colleagues Robbie Robertson and Cindy Wade to share advice to "tune in" more clients to the radio advertising option.
Years ago, the Ad Council adopted a slogan that still inspires radio writers today: "I saw it on the radio." I have that poster hanging by my desk to prompt me to always write radio to the imagination's eye.
Radio as a medium can serve advertisers more than ever before. Here are some suggestions based on the experiences of our staff:
- Creative Copy and Sound
Radio copy can say as much as imagination (and time) will allow. That's exciting! A few sound effects, an appropriate voice, and you're there. Imagine: a beach is brought to you by one sound effect, you're on a NASCAR racetrack with the sound of cars screaming by, or the noise of a huge crowd and you're at a college football game. Write the words to take you there and you've communicated plenty without a huge production budget. The words should be simple and have an honest appeal. One of my favorite PSA's I ever produced was an elderly woman describing, in phrases, her feelings after having been the victim of a telemarketing scam. Her voice and her choice of words were mesmerizing.
- The Right Voice
In South Carolina, we have some amazing and versatile voices for a fraction of the costs demanded in cities like Atlanta or New York. In fact, we have great relationships with talent who have moved from here to these areas and send us tapes or MP3's from their studios at the same great rate. We suggest using real pros when the spots call for that. That is especially important for spots that require acting. You've seen or heard ads with horrible acting and I'll bet you did not get past the messenger, when you needed to hear the message.
- The Right Personalities
Scripts for radio personalities to read are great IF the announcer reads it as if he or she wrote it. There are certain announcers who are wonderful about that and if they have their own show, it's very valuable to have them read something for you. If an announcer merely reads it without injecting any of their own personality, it's possible they will sound bored. That will not give your product or service the respect that you have paid for!
- The Right Audience
A newly released radio study shows that, more than ever before, listeners are turning to radio to connect on "an emotional and targeted, personal level." (Wirthlin Worldwide radio Ad Effectiveness Lab). Semaphore Media Buyer Cindy Wade suggests occasionally enhancing detailed print ads with "name recognition" ads on electronic media. Since the radio market is so specialized, it's easy to get to a target market. Because most of the listening is still done on commutes to and from work, it's a captive target market. Listener loyalty to certain stations is not likely to drastically change unless a new station comes into town, so you can bank on that audience, too.
Be careful, however, that you are sensitive to the radio audience for a particular show or timeslot. Auto parts would not necessarily play well on "Delilah" unless, and I say unless, you write a great ad about how much your husband shows he loves you by taking care of your car. Add a nice ballad behind it and ....see? There's no limit to the possibilities, with tailored ads!
And save yourself some work: Cindy is great about matching up the right audiences, stations and dayparts to best suit your objectives!
- Ever-Changing Technology
A new company, Naviguage, has just entered the market to compete with Arbitron in tracking radio numbers, so the tools are improving as well. Satellite radio, in fact, does feature some advertising. Internet radio and TV streaming are on the rise.
Digital editing software for production is better than ever and cost-efficient. You may remember the days of recording from tape to tape and then using a razor blade to cut and paste. Now, it's three clicks and you have an edit. What used to take us 2 days now takes us three hours! Ironically, for one of the world's oldest electronic mediums, there is constant change and innovation.
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Semaphore is a premier full-service advertising, marketing, branding, public relations and Internet development firm.
Semaphore Inc.
828 Woodrow St
Columbia, SC, 29205
PH 803.799.6464
FX 803.254.5186
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