Getting The Most From Your Radio Ads – Top Tips
As part of a small
business you know that big advertising and
marketing budgets are rare; small companies
have to come up with cost effective
campaigns that give them good returns. It is
for this reason that many smaller businesses
use local radio advertising; a low cost but
effective way to get your message across.
To help you get the
most from the radio, Martin Sims of radio
specialists Eardrum has come up with some
top tips on the things you should (and
shouldn’t) be doing with your
advertisements.
Make sure you have ONE
simple message per script. It's very
tempting to cram in a variety of items,
prices and product details, but that can be
confusing to listen to. The same goes for
contact details. Having a website, address,
phone number and email address is too much
for the listener to take in, so keep the
call to action simple as well.
Radio is a very
personal medium; people listen to it when
they get up first thing in the morning. The
last thing they want is someone yelling at
them about the price of office equipment.
You need to engage with the listener.
Research shows that listeners pay more
attention to commercials that talk to them
as a friend, rather than shout at them like
a street vendor.
The rise of reality TV
has made us used to hearing real people
speaking on the airwaves. So a radio
commercial with unrealistic, clunky,
dialogue will stand out like a sore thumb.
Don't worry if the words aren't
grammatically correct on the page, it's how
they sound when said out loud that's
important.
Clients often ask
"Without pictures, how will people know
what's going on?" But no one listens to The
Archers and says, "I don't understand what's
happening". Radio is very effective at
presenting images. If you set your
commercial somewhere like a pub, with
realistic sound effects and great acting it
will sound visual and stand out on air.
'Peep Show' and 'The
Office' can be watched again and again
because they're funny situations. Whereas a
bad joke is just a bad joke. And if you hear
that same bad joke in a commercial 10 times
in one weekend, you'll want to throw the
radio out the window. So go for amusing
situations not punch lines or puns, they'll
leave the listener amused, rather than
groaning at an awful gag.
Don't let personal
taste get in the way of your product. If
you're a Hank Williams fan but you're
advertising on Xfm, don't use country music
(unless it's a spoof). Having said that,
don't be boxed in either. Just because
you're advertising on Classic FM, you don't
necessarily need classical music. Otherwise
you may simply blend into the programming
and not stand out at all.
If a celebrity is
highly relevant to your product or script,
consider using them to voice your
commercial. However, research shows that
celebrities voices aren't always as
recognisable as we think. They can also be
very expensive. You may also find that using
the 'star of the moment' means they are not
only in your ad, but also the three that
follow it. In the end it's more important to
cast the right voice for the script, who may
or may not be a celebrity. (Of course, being
a small business advertising locally, using
a celebrity might be a huge cost for little
effect!)
If you're planning on
being on air over a long period of time a
Sonic Brand Trigger (I.e.: A short jingle)
can give you a 'sound identity'. But for
every "McDonalds" or "Intel", there are
thousands of "John's Bikes" who have a Sonic
that does nothing for their business. Sonics
are great if you use them consistently on
your radio/TV/web advertising. But if you're
only doing a one off burst for a sale, you'd
be better off without a forgettable three
second tune.
Repetition is the most
annoying thing about radio commercials, but
the fact that people hear radio ads again
and again is one of the things that makes
them so effective. It's a fine line. Refresh
your message as often as possible to keep
the listener entertained and engaged. Make
as many commercials as you can afford and
rotate them often.
Let's be honest, no one
listens to the radio for the ads. They
listen for things that interest and
entertain them and sometimes that can be a
radio commercial. Listen to your commercial
as a listener, not as a business owner or
brand manager. You need to connect with the
listener using humour, information or in
some emotional way that isn't just marketing
speak.
For more information on Offline Adverts
visit our article here.
Further information on Branding and how it
can benefit your business is available in
our article here.
For more information on Straplines and how
they can help your advertising and branding
read our article here.
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