Waikiki. Yeah, that’s my car.
I’m walking down the street in Waikiki and I pass a guy who waves a brochure at me and says, “We’ve got a whale watch!”
I guarantee he would’ve gotten more people to stop — and more people to sign up — if his opening line had been, “You should be going on our whale watch tonight!”
Why? Okay, obviously the second approach would have focused on the targeted consumer, rather than on the whale watch excursion provider. But it also would have begun a conversation with (some of) the passersby.
Oh, really? Why?
What makes you think I would enjoy whale watching?
No, thanks. I get seasick.
What exactly is a whale watch?
Which Brings Us To Radio Advertising.
A good radio commercial is a conversation with the targeted consumer. Before you write the opening line of your new radio spot, ask yourself: “Is this a good way to begin a conversation with my prospect?”
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Way to net it out, Dan…thanks!
Can you watch whales at nighttime too! Big Kahuna Spotlight.. I am just a Californian; I get the spirit of the message…Dan is it that the Driver ‘gave up’ with a question like that maybe losing steam as the day progressed or you think he was ill prepared throughout with a Closed pitch like that? Though that is moot your point is valuable. I think the writing is so key. The DJ most likely will cut the spot..little acting awareness and good direction not listened to 90% but still write it well.
While I agree that the whale watching guy should be engaging the target by making his ‘sell line’ relevant to them (speaking to them, not at them) I have something else to add for consideration…
How many of these whale watching stands exist within the few blocks the average tourist is walking?
The answer is a lot more than one.
From my experience in Hawaii, I’ve observed that the majority of whale watcher providers are singing the same song, “You should come on our Whale Watching tour”, or something quite similar.
In an effort to stand out from the many other tour companies, what about saying something completely different, if only to stand out from the crowd? When I was on Maui, I was so used to the generic “Whale watching here” line, I always just kept walking.
If I had heard “Spear-mint, not whales” or “You might not see a whale, but we’ve got booze” or something a bit out of the ordinary, I’d be much more inclined to stop and check things out.
Bottom line: In a ‘market’ so crowded with almost identical products/services, it’s essential to stand out, above and beyond your competition – the same notion rings true for radio spots in a competive market.
Thanks for reading…thoughts/comments?