Radio Advertising Kristi Murdock Agricultural Advertising & Merchandising
Effective Ads Creative hook Something that will grab your potential customers Something that will drag them to your business An emotional trigger that attracts buyers Something that appeals to the self-image of the buyer Affirmation you provide what the buyer wants
Effective Ads Types of Creative Hooks Slogan Phrase You deserve a break today Like a rock Jingle R.J. Ender Computers Unique look Taco Bell; Target A single line of copy Got milk
Effective Ads Ask these questions What are you selling and what makes it so unique? To Whom do you want to sell it? Why should people buy it from you?
Effective Ads Don t say one thing on radio and another in print Don t advertise one item on radio and another on television.
Effective Ads KISS Keep it Simple, Stupid Consumers flooded with information Computers, PDA s, radio, television, print
Effective Ads Phrases that attract the customer Clearance Discount Everything must go Final closeout Free Going out of business Grand opening Improved Markdown New Sale Overstocked
Effective Ads Do not use Profanity Slang Do words with more than three syllables Most newspapers are written to the 6-8 th grade level Make your ad simple in language, but creative in content and presentation
Effective Radio Ads Goals Grab the listener s attention Tell them something they want to hear Sell them something they may not need Mention the name of your business several times Get your phone number or Web address in their brains Motivate them with a call to action
Effective Radio Ads Spot Radio commercial 10, 15, 20, 30, and 60 second spot One minute (60 second spot) 180 to 200 words
Effective Radio Ads 30-60 seconds seems short Actually a long period of time Cover Who What When Where Why
Effective Radio Ads Who Mention the business name within first line or two What Don t try to sell everything Feature specific product in spot Avoid Too much information One solution: create two spots and rotate the ads
Effective Radio Ads When Calls to action offer ends Sunday hurry in today Where Phone numbers- if you include, do so a minimum of two times Make Toll free Avoid area codes Phone number or web Too confusing to include both Address Avoid numbers How?
Effective Radio Ads Why -- The why is everything Why should they buy from you? Sell your expertise Great price and terms
Effective Radio Ads Formats of spots Dialogue People talking Usually nobody talks like everyday Awkward to bring product into dialogue Comedy Poorly written are painful Just the facts Music (MX) Sound Effects (SFX)
Effective Radio Ads: The Script Putting in the proper form Write copy in ALL CAPS 60 second spot will fill a 60 second copy form
Effective Radio Ads: The Script At the top Company logo Company name Contact information Phone, address, e-mail, fax, etc Media and spot length Date Title of spot
Effective Radio Ads: The Script Set margins so copy area is 5 inches wide Set the line spacing 1 ½ lines Use 12-point and all CAPS 20-22 lines for 60 sec spot 10-11 lines for 30 sec spot SFX Sound effect MX Music
Effective Radio Ads: The Script John Q. Student House Rabbit Society :30 SFX: ANNCR: SFX: ANNCR: SFX: ANNCR: OUTDOOR SOUNDS, BIRDS, INSECTS, ETC. UP AND UNDER (03 SECONDS). (SOUNDS LIKE JOHN CLEESE.) Reginald X. Tapworthy here interviewing Thurgood J. Moxom, spokes bunny for the House Rabbit Society. Good afternoon Mr. Moxom. How are you today? OUTDOOR SOUNDS, BIRDS, INSECTS, ETC. UP AND UNDER (03 SECONDS). Ahem. Yes, well. Can you tell us about the House Rabbit Society, the international non-profit organization that rescues rabbits and educates the public on rabbit care and behavior? SOUNDS OF SCRATCHING. PAUSE. MORE SCRATCHING (03 SECONDS). (UNCOMFORTABLE.) Yes, er, well, I understand the House Rabbit Society is trying to get 1200 online memberships this year. Tell us, Mr. Moxom, what does one get with membership in the House Rabbit Society?
Effective Radio Ads: The Talent Who should read the script Doing it yourself Usually not a good idea Often sounds amateur Exceptions Dave Thomas Bad radio commercials sound like they are read
Effective Radio Ads: The Talent Listen objectively Listen as John Doe Does the spot give a reason to act? Does your voice motivate the customer Voice quality pleasant to listen to? Clear enunciation? Appropriate to character? LISTEN TO THE VOICE! Is the commercial memorable Do you sound believable Do you sound sincere Would I be motivated
Effective Radio Ads: The Talent Using a studio announcer on air personalities Cheapest way to go Often free of charge Talent fee If personality works for a different station Continuity if using other stations Doesn t sound like all the others
Effective Radio Ads: The Talent Hiring a Professional voice More expensive Don t work for single station Ed McMahon Tom Bodet
Project #1 Create a 30 second radio ad 1. You will work in groups of 4-5 people; I ve assigned people to groups for this project. 2. Groups will each select what product or service they are advertising. It should be a fictional product or a service for a fictional company. The audience for your ad will be assumed to be evenly male vs. female, mostly age 18-35, employed making $20k-$35k per year, living and working within 1.5 hours of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.
Project #1 4. We will record in this classroom on February 12. One group will be allowed in at a time and the room will be closed to the others. We will schedule recording time so you ll know when your group needs to be here. 5. We will use a mic and record to computer, so mobility will be limited. You can use surrounding computers to play music or sound effects if you d like or bring those in separately.
Sound Effects Strongly encouraged THINK THIS THROUGH! You will be Playing from your phone, a nearby computer, etc. into a microphone. OR you can bring the sound effect in a file. In any event, HAVE IT READY! We will do some minimal sound editing during your recording session. You will have NO MORE than 30 minutes, though!
Schedule for the near future: Today rest of class, work on Project #1 Thursday, 2/5 1 st hour TEST short answer/essay. -- 2 nd hour -- discussion of Super Bowl ads. Super Bowl Ad Analysis Worksheet due. Tuesday, 2/10 go over test, work on project #1 Thursday, 2/12 recording Tuesday, 2/17 Listen to and evaluate ads. Lecture.
Suggested Process Make up a product (don t waste too much time on this!) Do a quick analysis which need(s) from the hierarchy are you targeting? Who is the competition? What is your competitive position? Write the script Find sound effects Rehearse and CHECK TIMING!!!!
Groups for Project #1 Autumn, Amber, Ashley, Ashley Emma, Breann, Christian Christina, Jennifer, Jennifer, Michael Michelle, Spring, Brent