Make your message RELEVANT and about THE LISTENER
By creating a message that’s relevant to your target demo’s life, they’ll create an interest in your commercial, and want to know more. Once you get a listener WANTING to learn about your product or service, their minds are open to absorb information, and you can brand your company’s name into their long term memory. Illustrate the experience of using your product, show how your service benefits them, and use terms and concepts that paint a picture. If listeners can see it in their life, they’ll create a need for it. If you start an ad only with information about your company, you may lose the listener before they even realize they want what you sell. Give them a relevant reason to care about you first.

Make your message INTERESTING and HARD TO IGNORE
A common ad is a common mistake. When creating, don’t fall into the trap of worrying about what a radio ad should or typically sounds like. Try to avoid being like others. If your commercial has unique elements, it’ll better stand out in the commercial clutter and make people curious to learn more. If it’s filled with common clichés and generalities, not many will remember it. Since today’s consumers are hit by over 5000 advertisements a day (signs, tv, online, etc), you really need to be different to make an impact. Find one or two really interesting and beneficial points, and don’t let people ignore the message, or even worse FORGET it. But how do you avoid being ignored? Be entertaining, make an interesting point, tell a story, be anything but the usual!

Read the rest at www.formula52.com

1. Don’t Underestimate The Power of Radio

The voice is a wonderful thing.

Used properly, it can move you to tears, unleash a fury of anger, sooth both physical and mental pain, irritate you like chalk on a blackboard, hypnotize you into the most embarrassing behavior, fire you up & motivate you to accomplish the most daunting tasks, fire up a nation to battle, seduce the most cold-hearted soul and yes, it can certainly convince you to happily part with your money.

In fact, the people who make radio production their livelihood, are paid quite handsomely to get you to do things that are not on your priority list.

Ever listen to a movie trailer? Listen to the announcer. His job is to get you to see that movie. Whether you realize it or not, the impact of that voice lasts longer than you may be aware of.

You may remember the visuals, but it is the EMOTIONAL AUDIO IMPRINT that leaves you with a “I’ve got to see this when it comes out!” memory.

It is the same subliminal effect that radio can create.

2. Get The Best Creative Production Possible

Why do you want the best creative possible? Well, there are several reasons.

1) it makes your advertising more effective

2) the cost of your campaign can actually be lower if more people respond to a better commercial, as fewer spots are necessary to make the same impact

3) better creative is more memorable.

4) strong creativity entertains and sells at the same time

5) powerful creative radio spots get people talking about the spot & consequently the product

“OK,” you’re saying, “but this sounds like it’s going to cost a fortune!”

Nothing could be further from the truth. What will cost you a fortune, is a radio advertising campaign that falls flat because the production was not up to scratch!

Remember, advertising is an investment if you eventually get back more than you paid. It’s a fortune if you don’t get back anything!

In order to make sure that there’s a payback, I highly recommend you look at all the variables and creative production is high on the list!

3. Develop A Strategy & Stick With It

There are many ways to use radio. Short campaigns, long campaigns, image building, promotions, product launches etc.

The first thing to be aware of is that new advertisers have to develop name recognition with a station’s audience. This isn’t as important for long time advertisers who have used other media, but it is crucial for first-timers.

Well known advertisers are seen as reliable and trustworthy. The longer you advertise, the more favor you win with listeners. It is like money in the bank.

I advise all new advertisers to start with an introduction campaign to highlight who they are, what their product is and the benefits of shopping at their store.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t break the rules and have a grand opening with a fantastic door crasher special. Certainly that will work. But ideally, the best results for that type of scenario come when a “teaser campaign” precedes the grand opening.

Let me state that much of the advice offered here is what I believe to be the “safe route” to effective radio advertising. Even under less optimal conditions, radio can be quite effective!

What you want to do, however, is not succeed by throwing tons of money into your advertising, but rather cover all the essentials so that you have an effective and cost efficient campaign.

Good planning can go a long way.

Click Here to Learn More With Radio Advertising 101

Source: Blog Universal

In the marketing world, radio has earned the reputation of being the odd step-cousin. You know the one. No one knows quite what to do with him. Especially at family gatherings when everyone tries hard to avoid sitting with him. (After all, who knows WHAT he’ll start talking about.)

Much of that reputation comes from radio being tough to track. On one hand, radio does work. Businesses do notice an increase in sales when they add radio to the mix. However, radio doesn’t test well. In surveys and other tracking methods, radio tends to be the one with the dismal scores.

A good friend of mine, who’s also a marketing consultant but before that she sold radio for many years, has a theory about that. She says radio works on a subconscious or unconscious level. People remember the ad, but not that they heard it on the radio. So, they tend to credit a different medium for the ad, like the yellow pages. Yellow pages gets a boost while radio drops a few points.

Regardless, radio should not be ignored because it does work. And many marketing consultants will probably tell you radio is an excellent medium to reach a local market.

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Every business wants it, but few know how to get it. I’m talking about instant recognition. The kind you get when you hear a slogan, some piece of music or even see a logo that brings a specific business to mind. Many businesses try to get that kind of recognition, but most go about it in all the wrong ways.

To promote social inclusion across the pools of the country and sometimes all over the world, radio advertisement is extremely flexible and feasible for business owners as they get fame for their business and for relevant commodity in few seconds. The duration of a radio ad is always no more than 60 seconds and some times it is about only 15-30 seconds only. So for getting more attention of the listeners depends on the power of radio ad. Radio ad producers always try their best to produce a radio ad that dose not listen or sounds before it and have lot monotony. So they write a powerful jingle and custom ad that has the ability to get the attention of the listeners at once and can strike their attention from all other tasks for which they are busy. This ability of the jingles (a sound behind the voice in the radio ad) impresses a listener a lot and remains active for a long time in one’s mind.

Another major advantage of radio advertising is that it is inexpensive to produce ads and to place them among the audience. This allows small business owners the luxury of placing advertisements on more than one station in a given market. Direct response radio advertising is a very powerful way to grow a business profitably.

Jingles and their lyrics have vaulted countless companies and products to worldwide fame, because they’re 400 times more effective than a commercial that’s simply spoken. While you’re innocently tapping your foot to a jingle and its lyrics, it’s communicating a message disguised in a melody that you’ll remember, and it’s giving life and personality to products normally regarded as ordinary, boring household items. Suddenly, these products are transformed into amazing inventions that you desperately and immediately want. And, much like nursery rhymes, remembering a product is easier when it’s associated with a catchy tune and simple, memorable lyrics. Amazingly, this technique can help us remember things for more than 20 years.

Benefits:

1. Build branding for your company. Nothing reinforces your image like a consistent, quality message. Jingles make a quality, catchy tune that’ll have your customers singing happily as they walk in your store!

2. Cost Effective. In the long run, jingles can prove its value. Instead of paying huge sums of money every month for a new commercial, your jingle stands the test of time and continues to impress months after it first hits the airwaves. With a simple update in copy, you can keep it fresh all the while keeping your audience updated as to what your company is promoting that particular month or week.

3. It’s a great word. Is there a cooler name than jingle? We think not.

4. Easy to remember. You know what it’s like, you get a song stuck in your head and all day long you’re singing it. Just imagine when a potential customer is singing about your business all day long!

5. They’ve stood the test of time. Jingles have been around since 1923, right around the time that commercial radio came to the public. 80 something years later, we feel like we do justice to this age old practice, let us prove it to you!

Source: Push Button Jingles

Transitioning a consumer from merely an interested party into a potential customer, is one of the most important steps in advertising. This period is known to marketers as a call to action and can take on numerous forms. Traditionally 800 numbers and websites have been the most popular methods utilized across all advertising forms. In the world of radio advertising though, the website is currently the most popularly utilized call to action. But is it the most effective?

In the world of radio advertising, the most common call to action traditionally used was the website. But it begs the question, where are consumers listening to the radio? Generally, it’s not somewhere with a computer in immediate range. Right then and there, potential customers are lost because of their inability to engage with the advertiser.

Mobile phones on the other hand are generally on hand wherever the customer may be, presenting a viable option for easy interaction between the consumer and the advertiser via SMS Marketing.

So in this day and age a web address may not be the most effective way to appeal to customers and the case studies are backing it up!!

A New Zealand Tourism company would give a definite yes. By implementing a SMS marketing component to radio advertising, they experienced some excellent results the easy way. For the duration of their campaign, two separate calls to action were offered – the traditional website choice and a SMS marketing option. The addition of the SMS marketing option nearly doubled the total responses received by the company, drawing hefty praise from their marketing team.

Far from a unique case though, when a multinational financial company offered three separate calls to action in their radio campaign, which one do you think received the most responses? SMS marketing proved to be by far the most popular and effective choice, receiving twice as many responses than the internet and three times as many responses as a free-phone number.

Source: www.webmarksolutions.com

What does Radio advertising cost? Great question! How much airtime do you want? That’s the answer. All ad campaigns are different, just look at your advertising budget in other areas. How much does your newspaper advertising cost? Ask your business friends and they’ll give you different replies. Do you want hourly, daily or weekly exposure?

An owner with a single store may spend $5000 a month and get some solid exposure whilst a chain store might invest ten times that number during a specific campaign.

When you’re driving around in your car, you hear the same ads time after time, so you know they work. If you want to get the word out about your product, you need to air your ads many times during the day. Regular radio advertisers know that to get results you need to air your ad frequently to get results.

They are prepared to invest to get their messages heard. Rather than asking about radio advertising costs you should ask what investment am I prepared to make to ensure that they work.

That’s all fine but what does it cost! You need to think about how many people will get to hear your message for a good CPT (cost per thousand). It’s better than any other method available today. Prices will be different from town to town, talk show to talk show and will also depend on the time of day you want to air your message.

Popular stations will charge you more than less popular stations and prices inside a popular station will vary depending on shows that you want to use. It all depends on who your customers are…

Radio is a great medium because it has really flexible costs and availability to almost any business. You really don’t need a mega budget.

Source: Articles Base

No doubt you’ve heard this famous quote on selling before, but do you realize just how critical it is to your next radio advertising campaign?

TV ads show you what the wrapper looks like but radio is a brilliant, made for medium to sell the “sizzle”. The mind is magical. Make your audience taste, feel and touch your product through the power of their imagination. Communicate your message this way to get customers banging down your door.

Small business owners aren’t necessarily professional marketers and are hesitant to take place their first radio ad.

Don’t be. Follow a few simple steps and you could be benefiting from the power of radio this weekend.

As with any marketing campaign you must first decide who your target market is, otherwise you’ll lose money. Have a plan of attack and monitor your results, closely.

Do something different.
Don’t copy an ad promoting a product similar to yours. Certain death awaits radio ads that copy an existing format. Find an angle. Offer something different. Can you discount if customers buy in bulk or order before a certain date.

Enter everyone who buys after hearing your commercial into a free competition. Stand out, be creative.

Repeat, repeat, repeat.
Radio advertisements benefit from being repeated, building response rates over the life of your campaign. It’s important to work out a long term deal when it comes to negotiating a contract with your local radio station.

Be ready for the response.
Make sure your business is ready to handle the increased demands resulting from your successful ad campaign. Ensure your website is up to date and has sufficient bandwidth to cope with the extra demand.

Call to action.
Your radio advertising campaign will not be a success unless each ad includes something to make people act. Your message has to grab and keep the listeners attention,long enough for them to make the call or enter your website’s url.

Source: Creative Advertising Blog

Every year, the Radio Mercury Awards are given to the best radio commercial of the year.

Take a listen to the best radio commercials from previous years.

2009     Motel 6
2008     Combos
2007     Subway
2006     National Thoroughbred Racing Association
2005     eBay
2004     Genius/Mr. Cologne Wearer
2003     National Thoroughbred Racing Association
2002     Hollywood Video
2001     Anheuser-Busch
2000     Anheuser-Busch
1999     Anheuser-Busch
1998     Summer Youth Pass
1997     Ortho Antstop Fire Ant Killer
1996     Sega of America
1995     Staples Office Supplies
1994     LEVI’S
1993     NIKE
1992     MOTEL 6

Consider the following:

• Your commercial can be set in any time period; the past, future or present
• You can set the scene in Africa, the Arctic, Russia or the deserts of Saudi Arabia
• You can drop your listeners on a desert island, the mountains of Switzerland, in the supermarket or take them on a wild and dangerous adventure.

Many radio commercials are made by the radio stations, but if you want to keep your costs down, and have some fun into the bargain, there’s no reason why you can’t write and even produce your own. All you need is about one hour of studio time, two or three out-of-work actors, a producer, and some pre-recorded sound effects.

But before you get carried away remember that like any other advertising medium radio advertising has three jobs to do: get the listener’s attention, create a desire, and encourage him or her to act.

1. The informational commercial. There are times when it makes sense to use a factual commercial. For example, if there’s an event you want to promote. In this instance, the commercial should deal with facts; what the event is, where it is, and when. That doesn’t mean to say you have to create a list of facts and read it out on air. You can still weave a story or plot around the facts to make the commercial more interesting. But beware: there’s a tendency for radio commercial producers to browbeat their audience by hiring over-enthusiastic local celebrities or radio presenters to provide voice-overs. For general audiences, cajoling them gently works much better. Try adding another voice and a plot to make your commercial stand out from the rest.

2. The dialogue commercial. A dialogue commercial revolves around a conversation between two or more people. Either (a) the announcer and others, or (b) two or more characters without an announcer. The dialogue commercial can cause problems for the inexperienced producer, especially if you decide to use company employees rather than professional actors. And, even if you do employ professional actors your commercial can still lack credibility. Let’s face it, how many times a day do you spend 60 seconds discussing a product or service with someone else? There are ways round this but generally speaking, it may be better to leave the dialogue commercial to the experts.

3. The dramatized commercial. Out of all the different types of radio commercials, the dramatized commercial is the most popular. Consisting of a short play or playlet, with the product as the hero, they provide a solution to a problem and let people ‘create an image in their mind.’ If you fancy producing a dramatized commercial you’ll definitely have to hire a professional cast otherwise it will sound phony. But, the extra cost can be worth it because this type of commercial can be very effective.

4. The humorous commercial. Humor is an extremely dangerous weapon, especially if placed in the wrong hands. It’s elusive and subjective. No two people will think the same things are funny. And, something that may have been amusing the first time around can be downright irritating on the 20th hearing. If you must use humor in your radio commercial, consider the following:

• Humor should form only part of your commercial. The rest should be used for information.
• Don’t use slapstick. To appreciate it, you’ve got to see it, not hear it.
• Don’t preach. Sermons are the death of humor.
• Keep it simple. The funniest things are the things that everyone does in their daily lives: sleeping, eating, money, family life.

A word about jingles

Some radio commercials can be improved if they have a jingle. Simple jingles lull the listener into a sense of well being, create a mood, and can become synonymous with a particular product. But, there’s a danger that while the jingle will make people want to tap their feet and hum to the music, it won’t motivate them to buy. For that reason you should think carefully before deciding to use a jingle in your commercial. And, don’t be charmed by the jingles catchy lyrics, up-beat tempo or foot tapping beat. Ask yourself: “Will it sell my product?” If you’re not convinced, leave it out.

Where to get help

There are a number of places you can go to get help with your commercial, especially if you’re advertising locally. Here’s a couple to get you started:

1. Your local radio station will have a whole library full of sound effects and music you can tap into. However most stations don’t volunteer this information so you’ll have to do a bit of legwork.

2. Consider hiring the services of a ‘jingle house’ — a company that can whip up music and lyrics to order. Make sure you supply them with information about what you want the commercial to achieve so they come up with a jingle that will appeal to your target audience.

Source: Articles Factory