The Weyland Whitepaper

Dead Duck Creative

 

Word on the street is that Aflac Insurance is thinking about ditching the duck. But how could that be? Isn't the duck supposed to be one of the greatest advertising icons ever created?  Sure we all know the duck. Unfortunately after millions of dollars spent on advertising, the duck is about all we know about Aflac.

The problem, according to Aflac's chief marketing officer Jeff Herbert, is that most consumers still haven't a clue what his company sells. So, he intends to 86 the duck and concentrate on advertising that is more educational, less entertaining. I agree with him in this case. National advertisers get the creative wrong just like local direct advertisers get it wrong. They tend to forget that their advertising must do three important things:
1. Teach potential consumers who you are
2. Teach potential customers what you do in language they absolutely understand with no cliches
3. Teach potential customers how to get in touch with you.   

Don't assume that just because most people recognize a commercial when they see or hear it that they will necessarily relate back to that spot when it comes time to buy. In Aflac's case we all may know who they are, we may even know how to get in touch with them, but if the ad doesn't give consumers compelling reasons to contact the advertiser they won't. Research seems to indicate that most people aren't calling Aflac to buy, because Aflac forgot to tell us what Aflac really does and how we would benefit directly by doing business with them. So they screwed up Rule Number Two.

The same is true with the Pacific Life whale. Sure the whale is pretty. The whale is big. The production must have cost a fortune. Pacific Life's CEO or their agency's creative director takes great whale shots. But I'll be darned if those commercials ever give me a single good reason to go to Pacific Life and buy. Sorry, but they'd probably sell more of whatever it is they sell if they hadn't screwed up Rule Number Two. In my view the whale spots are about as effective as a dead duck.

What about clients that get Rule Number Two right but mess up Rule Number One or Rule Number Three? For example, people are still talking about the funny commercial featuring the office full of monkeys. The problem is that hardly anyone remembers that Careerbuilder.com is the advertiser. So then, what's the point of buying the commercial time?  So the creative director can win an award? The monkey spot is cute, but if it's not delivering for the client, then the spot is about as valuable to Careerbuilder as a dead duck.

Remember the spot two years ago about the man with his arm down the garbage disposal?  Remember his look of dread when his wife came in, flipped the switch and said, "Oh, you've put in a new ceiling fan."  Lots of people remember that spot. But when I ask them who the advertiser was most people say Home Depot or Lowe's. That's a big problem, wouldn't you agree, for Ace Hardware who paid for the ad? In this case I'd have to give that spot a big, fat "F." Their spot was another dead duck. They violated Advertising Rule Number One and Advertising Rule Number Three.   

Follow the Three Rules for creative when you're dealing with local direct clients and you're miles ahead of many of the "creative geniuses" on Madison Avenue.

Let us know about the "dead duck" commercials you've seen or heard that are failing the client. 

Why You Tube Is Getting Your Budget

It's no secret that many radio and television account executives are running into real trouble trying to make  budget.  Sellers who have prospered for years dealing primarily with advertising agencies are seeing their precious  billing siphoned away to newer, shinier media.  Expect this trend to continue.

This year agencies are expected to pull even more budgets away from radio and television and into new "interactive" media campaigns.    In fact according to Advertising Age Magazine, last year's trend toward You Tube type viral media campaigns will  become standard fare for 2007. The main reason?  It's the trendy thing to do.  The shallow reality is that  agency creative directors, once eager to "make their mark" in television are now flocking to the newest "cool" medium, the Internet.  The new goal is to somehow create a viral  campaign on a site (or sites) like You Tube.  Logically of course, very few of these campaigns will succeed in helping advertisers break through the clutter, but damn the results.  The agencies are going there anyway.

As a consequence, agency-oriented broadcast salespeople are finding that  in order to make their numbers for 2007 they must focus on local direct business.  The problem is that many of these veteran broadcast salespeople are a little rusty when it comes to hustling up local direct contracts. Unfortunately the pressure is on.   If you are feeling pressure to bring in more local direct billing here are some things you can do to immediately  improve your chances.

1.  Prospect the easy way-Don't just call on accounts that other stations already have on the air.  Go to product/service categories that are completely over-represented on other media (like attorneys in the Yellow Pages) and completely unrepresented on your station.  Cull out one advertiser from one of these categories and tell him you've found a hole in his competitor's marketing and advertising strategy that a B-52 could fly through.  Then simply explain that the media "lake" he's fishing on is actually being tremendously over-fished.  Meanwhile, you have a perfectly good lake with lots of fish in it and not one single business in his product/service category is fishing your lake.  The client would have practically a monopoly on your lake.
2.  Convince your prospect that using your station is not a "gamble", but in fact a good, calculated risk.  Determine the client's average sale and gross margin of profit.  If the client owns a funeral home his gross margin would be close to 55 percent and his average sale would be six to eight thousand dollars.  I mean, come on...how many...ummm...new bodies would would you really have to deliver in order to justify your measly little 10 thousand dollar weekly schedule on your station?  What percentage of your total 12 plus total CUME audience would that "magic number" represent?
3.  Make sure that your prospect realizes that you are an expert on making good "bait."  That is, you are an expert in the difference between good and bad advertising.  For example, use the Best Friend Test on the client's copy to ferret out cliches.  Explain to the client that if he wouldn't say those exact same words to his best friend that the copy is cliche and needs to be replaced with words that really do identify and solve consumer problems. 

Once the client realizes that your plan for his success is better than his own, he'll surrender and let you lead.  By showing the client that it's in his best interest to let you drive the bus you'll get more long-term contracts with less rate resistance and less "added value."  You'll sell more local direct whether you're number one or number twenty, regardless of your format or program.  And by working local direct you'll have more control over revisions and cancellations with less worry about meeting a media buyer's ridiculous cost per point.  Working with local direct clients after a career of dealing with agencies can actually be a liberating experience.

If you would like to improve your local direct numbers contact us.  Use our products.  Every one of them is guaranteed to help you succeed in selling more long-term local direct. 

Happy New Year, kindest personal regards and Good Selling.

Paul Weyland
President
Paul Weyland Communication Strategies
(512) 236 1222
www.paulweyland.com

How You Can Really Help Your Auto Dealer

Here is the article from Radio Ink's September 18 issue.

Higher gasoline prices are putting the squeeze on domestic auto dealers, so as usual, the auto dealers (and their agencies) are putting the squeeze on radio stations. The recent schedule cuts are coming largely from domestic dealerships who sold their souls last year with zero percent financing and employee discount programs. Combine that with declining sales because guzzlers don’t sell well when gasoline prices are soaring, and the domestic dealers find themselves in a “perfect storm.”

Saddled with SUVs that aren’t moving the way they have in previous years, many domestic dealerships are canceling or cutting back on their schedules.  And, of course even when they cut back they still want more for less in the form of bonus spots and free remotes.  In order to salvage our car dealer budgets, we must first confront an issue that has held broadcasters hostage for many years, horrible creative.

Broadcast stations have been on the “victim” end of the dealership relationship for decades because we allow them to treat us that way. Dealers usually buy a lot of frequency with us and we elevate them to “elite” client status. We take their money and we do what they tell us to do and we run what they tell us to run.  This is a mistake because a majority of auto dealer commercials fish our lakes with “bad bait.” When times are good the dealerships do well despite their inefficient spots because they run so much frequency. The problems arise when the economy turns south and free popcorn and balloons for the kids (fish don’t even like popcorn as bait) no longer motivate potential buyers.  And when the fish don’t bite who do they blame? The lake they’re fishing on, which happens to be our stations. They threaten us. They intimidate us. They insult us. They buy around us. And then to get back to their good graces…

We give them……. Free remotes for their Big Pizza Giveaway sizzling’ summer Extravaganza Sales Event. Just look for the Giant Pink Gorilla on the roof! And then they’re disappointed in the lack of qualified traffic we generate. “Uggghhh! Are these people really representative of your station’s audience?” the dealer asks as the usual prize pigs (you know the type, with eyes so close together from inbreeding the left on is in the right socket and right one is in the left socket) waddle off his lot with three large pizzas each, which they throw into the back seat of their dilapidated car (literally held together with bumper stickers from your station). “Well, no,” you say. “This was a stupid promotion with nothing but a few pizzas as an incentive and you get what you pay for and I’m sick of taking the heat and being punished because you advertise these lame events that only our twelve most wretched listeners would ever want to attend.” Yes, that’s what you say (to yourself).

It’s time for us to start driving the bus and help our dealers come up with creative that will drive traffic. Imagine how much more effective and efficient the dealer’s commercial could be. Here’s how you could look like a hero and get into your client’s circle of trust (Remember the movie Meet the Parents?) and stop taking the heat for bad promotions.

· Use unscripted “reality spots”. People believe other “real” people more than they believe disc jockeys or the dealer himself. Let’s use some of the dealership’s best customers to tell people what they like about your client, but without reading a script.  Scripts usually make real people sound fake. Let these testimonial evangelists identify and solve your listener’s transportation problems in the listener’s language rather than the dealer’s disingenuous, cliché language.

• When      advertising SUVs emphasize cost per      mile over miles per gallon. For      people with big families it may still make economic sense to drive a large      vehicle. Today’s SUVs are built      better, may be less expensive and require fewer repairs than before. Today’s      SUVs are also safer than previous models.
• Point out      that advertising should be like your front door…inviting, not insulting or      circus-like. We’re selling high-dollar vehicles here, not tickets to the      fun-way at a carnival. Remind your dealer that once a potential buyer      comes to the dealership, nobody      talks to him the way they do in their commercials. Instead of barking meaningless cliches      and empty promises at that customer, the salesman on the lot points out      features and benefits of particular models. In other words, the car dealer      identifies and solves consumer problems. Why don’t we do the same thing (identify and solve consumer      problems) in the commercials? Consider some of the following headlines:

1. “The high price of gasoline has everybody’s attention right now, especially if you commute. The vehicle you’re driving now may not get good mileage, but nine of our new models at _______________ Ford get over thirty miles to the gallon! Everybody says that gasoline prices will continue to go up, not down. Think of how much money ____________Ford can put back in your pocket by getting you into a more fuel-efficient vehicle right now.”

2. “If your present vehicle is over three years old it may not have side airbags. But ___________of our new models have side airbags as standard equipment. That means that you and your family are much safer in a new car from ____________. Test-drive one right now at ___________ and get yourself and your family into a safer vehicle as soon as you can. For example our new ___________model has side airbags, very responsive handling and anti-lock brakes as standard equipment. Things like that really do make a big difference when you are confronted with a potentially dangerous situation.”

3. “If you haven’t test driven the new _______________ at _______________Chevrolet you won’t believe what you’re missing. The car has the look and feel of a real sports car because that’s what it is. The ___________ is designed for up to five passengers but you will not believe the acceleration, handling and braking. The dashboard is sporty and functional, bathed in amber light. The seats, steering wheel and shifter are designed after those in an actual sports car. And the __________ handles so much better on slick roads and around curves than the family car you’re driving now. With all-wheel drive the __________is probably much safer than your current car, with standard side airbags and much more fun to drive.”

4. “You don’t have to compromise size to get a more fuel-efficient vehicle. All of the talk now is about more fuel-efficient cars. And at ___________Chrysler we have them. Including the new Chrysler ___________, a full-sized passenger and cargo vehicle that gets 32 miles to the gallon. You’ll love driving the Chrysler ___________. It’s a passenger van that responds more like a sports vehicle. It has plenty of room for up to ____ passengers and still plenty of cargo room for groceries, boxes, equipment and even a dog.

You get the idea. Educated customers buy more than uneducated customers. So let’s educate them about the benefits and results they’ll get with specific vehicles from your dealer. In the short term commercials like these will break through the clutter and reach listeners who are shopping for a new vehicle right now. In the long run your client will stand out from his circus clown competitors.

· Manage your dealer’s expectations about results on your station. The typical dealer’s NET profit per vehicle is somewhere between $800 and $2000 per unit. So how many cars, trucks and vans do you really have to sell in a week in order to justify your little measly $3500 weekly schedule?

Will we change the way car dealers advertise overnight? Probably not. But right now would be a very good time to start the process. By casting better bait your auto dealers will catch more fish on your lake. Your good advice might cause a client to fire their miserable agency and come back to you as a loyal local direct account. Wouldn't that be nice? Well, it sure would be better than a slap across the belly with a giant pink gorilla.

How are you helping your dealerships?  What's working in your market?
 

Ferrets on Crack

What’s your daily routine? Do you have a daily plan? It’s amazing how many sellers don’t. Here’s a routine with no road map. Don’t you know a few people like this?

“I get to the office at 8 or 8:30, okay, 9 in the morning. It’s not my fault I’m late. The traffic is terrible. First I go to the coffee machine. I can’t work without my coffee. I run into a coworker. We discuss the game or “Desperate Housewives” or something else we saw on TV last night. After coffee I go to the restroom and then go back to the break room for another cup. I told you; I can’t work without my coffee. A couple of more conversations with coworkers. Hey, it’s time for a cigarette break. I need to smoke when I’m working. And Bill and Susan are out there. Okay, time to check the email. Lots of jokes to read and delete. And I have a bunch to send. I make a few obligatory client phone calls. Have to. The boss wants us to make a couple of calls. Then, it’s lunch time! I might as well go home for lunch. Oh, yeah. Better stop at the cleaners and…is that new store finally open? Shopping here is fun. Oh no. What time is it? What happened to the time? I have the attention span of a ferret on crack. I’d better hurry back to the station. Darn. I forgot to ask anybody at that store if they do any advertising. Oh, well. I’ll do it later. Man, it’s already two in the afternoon. I’d better get back to the computer to crank out some crappy computer-generated proposals for clients. The clients won’t understand them, heck, I don’t even understand them. They’ll probably reject them anyway. Everybody does. But these are really for the boss. The boss has been on me lately because my billing is down and suddenly she needs to see proof that I’m really working. Of course I’m really working. It’s not my fault the economy is down. Besides, our station sucks in the ratings. Ooh, a message from that furniture client. Says it’s important. Better call him back. No, that would be a bad idea. He’s probably mad at me because I didn’t call him yesterday. If I call him now he’ll probably cancel. Well, it’s five o’clock anyway. Better start shutting it down for the day. Don’t want to miss Happy Hour. Man, this media business sure is hard work. I deserve a drink. I wonder how long they’ll keep paying me for this. Thank God I’m still getting a salary against commissions.”

Moral  of the  story:  If you don't know where you're going , any  road will get you there.

Extra Money from Existing Clients?

I had a conversation this week with famous Texas broadcaster John Barger.  John is one heck of a salesman and he brought something up that many of us seldom think to ask when we're working with local direct clients. It's the simple question, "Where else do you make money?"   

John says he met with the owners of a golf course who were adament in saying they didn't need to advertise golf.  They were always booked up.  John then asked, "Where else do you make money?"  The client told him that they made a lot of money from doing weddings at the club house.  The average sale and gross profit margin for weddings was high for them and they said they could definitely be doing more of them.  Boom!  A sale.

How about opthamologists?  They sell glasses.  "Where else do you make money," you could ask.  The doctor probably sells contact lenses as well.  Now you have two schedules instead of just one. 

Vacuum cleaner stores sell vacuums.  "Where else do you make money," you ask.  "We make a lot of money selling janitorial supplies." 

Think of all of the different ways your clients might be making money but you just don't think to ask.

Tell us about non-traditional ways some of your clients make extra money and how you might help them make even more.

Integrated Marketing-

During the recent Texas Association of Broadcasters convention I sat in on a panel that discussed integrated marketing (what we used to call NTR) and I was facinated by some of the new revenue opportunities available to broadcasters.  There are podcasts, morning wake-up phone calls, myspace pages, new ways to sell web sites and they're all facinating.  Shamefully, many stations will never even explore the potential of most of these opportunities, much less package and sell them.  Why? 
They're still stuck in the past or they are afraid of trying to sell something they don't understand.  This is a mistake. 

You can live it or live with it. A friend of mine used to whine and complain about government spending and government waste.  He finally determined that he could not change the bureaucracy so he filled out paperwork and started getting government contracts for his modular housing business.  I don't hear him whining any more about government spending.

I remember back in the old days when our management team told us that in addition to selling radio spots we were going to start selling ads in a country music publication.  We were floored.  For years we had been taught that newspaper was the enemy and now we were supposed to sell it.  Some of our team weren't even able to reach their broadcast quota, much less take on a whole new medium.  In time the idea completely fizzled out and died and we didn't have to sell newspaper ads in addition to spot schedules.  That was then.  This is now, however and the playing field has changed dramatically.

We must be able to look beyond the ends of our own noses if we are to remain relevant.  New electronic media are springing up every year and instead of fearing them we should be embracing and selling them.  Instead of thinking of ourselves as terrestrial broadcasters selling only radio and television commercials, we should be broadening our horizons and repositioning ourselves as content providers. 

Just consider the elements we could be integrating into our local direct sales.

Podcasting-If you have a music oriented station but one of your jocks interviewd a major star, put the interview on a podcast and invite listeners in on-air promos to access it.  Rotate spots in the podcast.  On television, reporters and news editors could provide extended, more in-depth  interviews with newsmakers.  Promote extended interviews during newscasts.  Sell and rotate spots in those extended interviews. 

Text messaging-Listeners/viewers register to get regular updates on their mobile devices and email on news and weather updates, contests, celebrity news, etc.  Do it and sell it.

Wake-Up Calls-A company called MediaBounce  (www.mediabounce.com)  has a technology that allows your audience to register on your website and have a personality phone them every morning and wake them up.  The personality records a daily joke, news headlines or a weather forcast.  The listener or viewer automatically receives a call every morning.  The personality could say, "Good morning.  Time to get up.  Today's forecast calls for __________.  By the way, remember to stop by McDonald's and pick up the new Chicken Mc___________ sandwich for just ninety nine cents."  Sell a sponsorship.

Myspace pages-We learned in the forum that audiences are very interested in myspace pages for your personalities.  Set up those pages and sell sponsorships.

Always sell these additional sponsorships.  Never give them away for free.  Package them with spots at a higher rate than you would normally get and tell the client, "We're aware of new media and we're all over that.  When you buy from us we automatically make sure that not only are you advertising on the station, you're also on the Internet, Podcasts, myspace pages and you're even rotated on our telephone wake-up service for our most loyal listeners/viewers."  Worried about new media encroaching on your clients?  Instead of doing nothing, embrace new ideas and make money in the process.  Remember, you can choose to live it or live with it. 

What is your station doing to embrace new technology?  What works for your clients?  Let us know.

Selling Against Other Media #2

Here's part two of our series, Selling Against Other Media.  Today we focus on broadcast television.

Since it’s inception in the 1950’s television has become one of the most effective advertising vehicles in history. Despite television’s higher cost (both production cost and spot cost) advertisers can’t seem to buy enough of it. Twenty six cents out of every dollar spent in advertising still winds up on television.

Television advertisers enjoy the best of three worlds; sight, sound and motion. When used correctly, television can be a highly effective medium because it takes advantage of a basic human instinct. Like cats, (another predator with eyes centered on the front of the face), people preternaturally like to watch things move. Television plays right into that basic human instinct.

Broadcast television generally offers a very high reach potential. That is, many people are likely to be watching a broadcast television program at any given time, especially in prime time. And advertisers (national, regional and local) will pay premium rates to reach these larger audiences.

Many businesses perceive that television advertising is more “glamorous” than other media, that somehow television is a more prestigious advertising vehicle than say, radio, billboard or direct mail. Advertising agencies may recommend television to their clients because with higher rates and more expensive schedule costs, the agency’s commission is higher. Agencies also make big bucks from television spot production.

Television’s higher cost presents a problem for some advertisers. That is, television spots may be so expensive to buy that you can’t afford to run your commercials as frequently as you’d like. So when buying television, there is always a trade-off. You’re buying a large audience (reach) but you can’t afford to advertise as often (frequency). Compromising lower frequency for higher reach is the gamble you take with broadcast TV, so the commercials that you air had better be efficient and effective.

Here are some of the reasons local advertisers like broadcast television.

• Sight, sound and      motion-Local direct clients can use sound along with photos, animation,      graphics and video.
• High reach-Broadcast      television stations have massive CUME audiences, usually bigger than the      newspaper’s readership number.
• Formatted by program-One      television station could reach many demographic groups with an array of      different program choices.
• Level playing field-The      biggest advertiser on a station can only run thirty seconds or less. A small advertiser can also run a thirty      second ad. The largest client on a      television station might run two spots in a program. A smaller advertiser could also own two      spots in a television program.
• Prestige-Many clients      perceive that advertising on television represents the pinnacle of      success. Some advertisers stroke      their egos by appearing in their own commercials.
• In-home advantage-Viewers      invite commercials into their homes. 

Here is what competitive media may be saying about broadcast television and how you might respond.

• Objection-Commercial time on broadcast television is      expensive-Television’s cost per spot is much higher than with radio or      cable.

Response-You get what you pay for. If we reach a significantly larger audience than other media, we deserve to be paid for it. 

• Objection-High-cost production-Because of all of the elements      involved-video, graphics, and sound, television commercials generally cost      more to produce.

Response-This is no longer necessarily true. With the advances we’ve made technologically it is now possible at many television stations to make agency-quality commercials for a fraction of the cost. 

• Objection-Long production lead time-Due to the tedious nature      of television spot production and a shortage of production facilities it      can take a while to produce a new spot.

Response-In the past this may have been the case. But again with modern production facilities we’re able to work much faster than before.

• Objection-No frequency-Because      of television’s higher cost per spot it’s difficult for a local business      to buy a lot of television.

Response-That depends on a number of factors, including how and when you buy us. Let’s work out an ROI analysis and see whether or not you can afford not to use us.

• Objection-Almost all viewing is done at home-People don’t      usually watch television at work or in their cars.

Response-This may be true, but don’t discount the time people spend in front of their televisions at home. Hours upon hours at a time in many cases. Other media still don’t compete when it comes to time spent watching television at home.

• Objection-Increasingly fragmented home audience-The      proliferation of competitive devices like video games, DVD players and      computers is impacting the number of hours that people watch television.

Response-We’ve had competitive media in homes since the first VCRs and Atari game machines first came along. Before that we had other competitors like Monopoly and card games. Television viewing was then and still is today number one in the home. 

• Objection-Digital video recorders allow commercial      zapping-TiVo and other DVRs are becoming commonplace in most homes.

Response-Research also shows that since the inception of DVRs that people are actually watching more television than they did before. Clever television commercials can cause people to stop fast-forward and watch.

As you can see there are many ways to take advantage of the “holes” in other media and at the same time defend broadcast from attacks by other media. The most effective and least used strategy for getting dollars from other media is to go after products and services that are completely over represented on other media and under represented on yours. 

For example, most tire stores advertise in print, the newspapers and the Yellow Pages. Smart broadcast sellers cull one client from the herd and say, “Look. The Yellow Pages/newspaper is a good medium. That is, it’s a big lake with lots of fish in it. I also represent a big lake with lots of fish. But Mr. Tire Man, in your particular product/service category, wouldn’t you agree that the newspaper/Yellow Pages is being a little over fished? When somebody comes to the newspaper/Yellow Pages, they’re shopping all of your competitors. Every single one of you has a line in the water when you use the newspaper/Yellow Pages. But look at our nice lake. We have thousands of consumers who will need tires sooner or later and we don’t have one single tire dealer fishing on our lake. You’d practically have a monopoly here on our lake.”

Use your strengths against other media’s weaknesses and get more local direct advertisers. It may take time to whittle down a die-hard newspaper or Yellow Pages user so do it in stages. Over time give your client ammunition he can use against his reps from other media. Help the client chisel out a budget for you by cutting back on his buys on other media.

Let us hear from you.  If you work for a broadcast television station how do you defend yourself from salespeople from other media who are calling on your clients?  What do you tell clients about media they're using outside of television?

Selling Against Other Media #1

In this multi-part series we'll look at the pros and cons of various advertising media.  First we'll look at radio.  If you work in radio you will definitely want to read this.  Respond if you have anything to add.  Keep in mind that while you are prospecting other media, other media are also prospecting you.  You should know what to say when a competitive medium points out radio's weaknesses.  Tomorrow we'll look at broadcast television.

Radio is still a favorite advertising medium for local direct clients and it has been since the 1930s. Clients can “narrowcast” on radio, that is, they can pick and choose among many different formats to reach specific demographic groups. Over 95 percent of all Americans still listen to the radio every week. Most people listen to the radio in their cars. A radio commercial may be the last advertisement a consumer is exposed to before he parks his car and makes a buying decision. For all of radio’s in-car advantages, in-home listening for radio is generally low.

Because radio spots don’t cost a lot of money advertisers can afford more frequency which means they can afford to run more ads. The trade-off for radio’s higher frequency potential is its potential lack of reach. Because of the high number of radio stations in a given area the radio audience is split many ways. So in order to achieve a high reach the advertiser would have to buy more stations and sacrifice radio’s low cost incentive in the process.

Radio stations can broadcast live and/or endorsements. A product or service endorsed by a listener’s favorite personality lends credibility to that business. In many cases a listener will walk in to a business and tell them that the personality recommended them. Clients can also tie in to station promotional activities that give their businesses extra exposure.

Radio production is inexpensive and even free to local clients in most cases. Due to lack of graphics and video, radio spots can be produced or changed very quickly.

Here are some of the things advertisers like about radio.

• High frequency-Low cost means you can buy more spots.
• Emotion-A well written and produced radio commercial      can evoke an emotional response in the listener.
• Promotions-Clients may buy live or endorsed      commercials. Clients may also tie      in with other clients during promotional events.
• In-Car-Radio still dominates in-car advertising.
• Competitive protection-Radio stations try to avoid      running commercials from clients from the same product/service category      back to back or during the same quarter hour.
• Level playing field-The largest client on a station      can only run sixty seconds or less. A smaller advertiser can also run sixty seconds. The largest advertiser on a station can      only run about a spot an hour. A      small client might also own a spot an hour, for a day.
• Immediacy-A client can change copy quickly, sometimes      within one hour.

Here are some of the problems other media salespeople like to point out to clients about radio and ways you can respond.

• Objection-Low      in-home listening-People listen to radio only in their cars. Hardly anybody listens at home.

Response-This is not true. What about people who wake up to their alarm clock radios and then listen as they’re preparing for work and school? And what about at-work listening? Many people listen to the radio all day while they’re working. Yes, radio dominates in-car advertising. What’s wrong with that? And at the same time we reach people at home and at work.

• Objection-Radio      commercials are not tangible. You can’t hold the ad in your hand and carry      it into the store like you can with newspaper.

Response-Couponing on radio only fails when there is very little in it for the listener. If you really want to test radio then give away something substantial, like 42-inch flat-screen plasma televisions, instead of just a five percent off your regular price. I guarantee you’ll be inundated with radio listeners who hear your commercial and respond within minutes. Sound ridiculous? Not really, Mr. Client. What you’re really saying is that somewhere between a five percent discount and a flat-screen television would be a good test for our listeners. Use radio and newspaper together. Let us showcase your newspaper ad in our radio copy. That will help your newspaper ad stand out from all of the clutter in the paper.

• Objection-Audio      only-Limited information means no videos, pictures or other visuals. Radio      is limited to audio and “theater of the mind”.

Response-Did you say limited to theater of the mind? There is no limit. Radio can inexpensively paint a limitless supply of mental images in listener’s minds.

• Objection-Low      reach-Radio audiences are fragmented which means smaller audiences for      each station.

Response-Yes, and at the same time our rates are lower so you can afford to reach out to our listeners multiple times.

• Objection-Too      many stations-Like a Chinese menu, most communities have so many stations      with so many different formats that buying radio can appear confusing or      complicated.

Response-It’s not that complicated, Mr. Advertiser. You are trying to reach a specific demographic group. In this market that limits your options to ____ stations.

• Objection-Increasingly      fragmented audience-People are listening to other devices like MP3      players, satellite radio and compact discs in their cars.

Response-Since eight-track tape players came on the scene people have had access to other media in the car. Even now there is plenty of evidence that free radio is still by far the dominate medium in the car.

Nielsen to Track Ad Viewship

Ratings company Nielsen says they are about ready to provide ratings specifically for commercial breaks (previously Nielsen rated a television show in it's entirety) http://www.benton.org/index.php?q=node/2892.  This move has some television executives pig-biting mad, as they are afraid that when the research confirns that television viewing drops as the commercials come on, advertising rates will have to come down.

Television stations and networks will simply have to come up with innovative ways to keep their audiences watching and not flushing during commercial breaks.  But how?  Here are some examples.

• On-Air Contests-Stations could air a promotion that would involve a chance to win cash or prizes.  Clues to win could run for split seconds between spots.  Or, advertisers might agree to drop clues inside the commercials themselves. The station would heavily promote these contests. Viewers would have to sit through commercials and in fact watch them very carefully, to become eligible to win the prize.  You kill two birds with one stone.  Your ratings stay higher during commercial breaks and you solve your DVR zapping issues.

• Screen or censor Commerical Content- Stations and networks may have to learn to say NO to obnoxious commercials.  What?  Saying no to a car dealer?  But that would be tantamount to apostasy.  Television stations and networks obviously have many creative resources.  They should start using them to teach clients how to do make better, more effective commercials. Click here for more information on how to write better scripts. http://www.paulweyland.com/language.html.  They should explain to clients that their commercial is like their front door.  It should be clean and inviting and make people feel good about buying from you, instead of making the advertiser look like an ass.  Some television commercials are so bad that they actually drive people away.  Enough of these bad commercials back to back and you will definitely lose viewers during commercial breaks.  Television account executives should focus on getting the cliches out of commericals by using the "best friend test."  Read the script aloud.  If you wouldn't say those very same words to your best friend then the copy is cliche.  Help clients learn to identify and solve viewer problems in commerical scripts, in language the viewer would absolutely understand.  Combine that with non-cornball entertainment and you might have commercials that people actually enjoy watching.

Savvy television executives could actually turn this Nielsen situation from a sow's ear into a silk purse by explaining to advertisers that the difference between our station or network and our competition is easy.  We do everything we can to keep audiences glued to their sets during our commercial breaks. Could you say that at your station?  You sure could if you were airing the Super Bowl. During that single program more people care about the commercials than they do the game itself.  So let's use Super Bowl super logic for all commercial breaks and keep our viewers where they belong.  Glued to their sets.

What do you think?  Do you have ideas to boost viewership during commercials?  We'd like to hear from you.