I’m a big believer in clients recording their own commercials. You must be comfortable with the concept. If the thought scares you maybe you shouldn’t record your ads. If you can overcome your fear there are a few advantages to doing your own commercials. Your voice on the air will give you separation from the other advertisers. Your message will be more personable. Listeners will feel they know you personally. We all tend to do business with people we know and like. Just be careful you don’t let ego take over. We’ve all heard ads were the person speaking sounds like they’re pretending to be a deejay from the 1950’s.

 Think about having a conversation with your best friend. Tell your story in your normal speaking voice. You’ll be far more believable when you relax. Every time I’ve had a client relax and talk about how they serve their customers, the results are magic. Their real passion for their business comes through. Passion is contagious.

 Actually it gets tougher once the client realizes that they’re being recorded. I’ve been in the studio with my creative director and a client before the recording session. The client is answering questions about their business. The creative director looks at me and says I wish I’d had the microphone on.  

I’m a big believer in clients recording their own commercials. You must be comfortable with the concept. If the thought scares you maybe you shouldn’t record your ads. If you can overcome your fear there are a few advantages to doing your own commercials. Your voice on the air will give you separation from the other advertisers. Your message will be more personable. Listeners will feel they know you personally. We all tend to do business with people we know and like. Just be careful you don’t let ego take over. We’ve all heard ads were the person speaking sounds like they’re pretending to be a deejay from the 1950’s.

Think about having a conversation with your best friend. Tell your story in your normal speaking voice. You’ll be far more believable when you relax. Every time I’ve had a client relax and talk about how they serve their customers, the results are magic. Their real passion for their business comes through. Passion is contagious.

Actually it gets tougher once the client realizes that they’re being recorded. I’ve been in the studio with my creative director and a client before the recording session. The client is answering questions about their business. The creative director looks at me and says I wish I’d had the microphone on.   

A study from Arbitron, Media Monitors and Coleman dispels the industry perception that radio listeners tune away from commercials in large numbers. The study conducted in Houston, Texas analyzed 93,876 radio commercial breaks. The study compared the audience level for each minute of a commercial break to the audience level for the minute before the commercials began.

During the average commercial break, radio holds more than 92% of its lead-in audience.

“This study shows that the long-held perception that listeners tune away from commercials in large numbers is simply not true. Radio does a remarkable job of holding audience through commercial breaks,” said Bill Rose, senior vice president, Marketing, Arbitron, Inc.

“For years, people in the industry have assumed that many listeners change stations or turn off the radio when the ads come on,” said Jon Coleman, president, Coleman, a media research firm. “These findings indicate that audience loss due to commercials may not deserve the hyper-focus it has received from radio programmers.”

I’m going to sound like a broken record. Pardon me for preaching. I’ve been writing and commenting on this topic for years. Most radio commercials are written from a flyer, or a newspaper ad. Most commercials make the business the focus of attention. The ad list tons of features. It’s usually written with a ton of information about the business. The print ads sometimes list a ton of products and may include pictures and even some attractive prices. This is not a bad concept for print. The business is saying “look at what we have.” When you take this same information and cram it into a radio commercial you’ve created a boring ad. You also confuse the listener with too much information.

How do you write a good commercial?

First, don’t write an ad. Write as if you’re sharing information with your best friend. Tell a story about how your product makes the customers life better. Forget your products features. Focus on the benefits the customer receives. If you can, include proof of your claim. Customer testimonials provide strong proof that your product delivers.

I realize this sounds simple. It’s actually very hard to do. As you start to write about what you offer you’ll keep thinking of more things you think the customer should know. It’s hard to focus on a single benefit. Give it a try. I’m sure you’ll see what I mean.   

Whoa. Wait one minute. Why would a radio marketing consultant say radio doesn't sell? Have I lost my mind? Well, some people may want to debate that issue. Putting the whole "I'm crazy" thing aside, let's look at the incident that got me started on the subject. Just the other day I was talking with a buyer for an advertising agency about a mutual client when she states "radio doesn't sell cars." I was dumbfounded. It's not the statement that stunned me. I hear versions of how radio doesn't work all the time. I was stunned by the fact that I was hearing this statement from someone who should know better.

Radio is the medium. It's the delivery system for the message. It's the message delivered that either sells or doesn't sell. The same is true of any medium. That includes TV, newspaper, Facebook, direct mail, or any other medium. They're the delivery system for your message. Think about it. What are you saying to your customers?

Radio is still the number one reach medium for local business. Radio reaches 70% of the population every day; 93% every week. A recent study confirmed that in-car listening to terrestrial radio is by far the hands down winner over every other medium including satellite radio and CD players. Radio done right is still at the pinnacle of the advertising mountain.

If your advertising isn't working, then you need to take a closer look at your campaign. Something needs fixing. If you need help figuring out what's not working, drop me a line. I'd love to help.