THE STATE OF COMMERCIAL RADIO

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• John Pellegrini September 12, 2010, 7:10 am

  Excellent article and advice. This should be mandatory reading by all people involved in radio advertising.

  My suspicion is, unfortunately, it will be ignored by most sales people. I know of virtually no radio stations who bother to train their salespeople anymore apart from having them watch a video and go out with another experienced (more than 3 months on the job) sales rep on a couple of calls. Radio sales people are given no training at all in radio advertising strategies apart from how to write a contract, how ratings work, and “cost per point”.

  My previous employer insisted the “customer knew best” on how to advertise their business and it was not our job to tell them otherwise. . Of course it was never the sales staff’s fault when the ad campaign produced no results. It was the fault of the production person who did a lousy job reading the commercial and the fault of programming just because it’s programming.

  One can only hope that there are still some GMs and GSMs and SMs who value the commercial production their staff does for them by hiring, training, and paying for the best talent possible. But you’re more likely to find a new copy of the Book of Kells at your local bookstore.

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• Scott Chasty September 13, 2010, 10:16 am

  Your newsletters are always great Dan, but honestly, the best ones are when you talk about the fundamentals of radio advertising. Because, (unfortunately), so many of the issues most of us run into occur because we’re not following the basics.

  And the points, when laid out like this, seem so obvious. You wouldn’t go to hospital and start operating on yourself, because, “hey, it’s my body, I know it better than anyone.”

  Sure, you may go to a pizzeria and decide how you want your pie prepared. But in radio advertising, the client isn’t the one who is expected to consume their sales message. I find we spend too much time trying to entertain the client, (in every sense of the word).

  If only you could come down from the mountain with this article carved into two tablets. Unfortunately, most would be too busy attending to the golden calf to notice.

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• Mark Evenstad September 13, 2010, 10:58 am

  Dan, you are right-on about the lack of innovation in radio. I’m finding so many stations relying strictly on the music to “get by.” Managements thinking that a 70s format consisiting of “You Light Up My Life and every song by the Village People is going to bring back fond memories of the good ol’ 70s and listeners will stay with you craving for more of it. Information, entertainment, and a sense of community that you can’t get anywhere else gives radio its uniqueness. Where has it gone?

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• Joe Lomonaco September 13, 2010, 12:44 pm

  The best newsletter article EVER

  I’ve already forwarded it to our entire staff

  I also plan on printing, framing and displaying the newsletter on the wall outside my studio

  Thanks for putting it all into words!

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• Brian Rhodes September 13, 2010, 2:15 pm

  Definitely the best issue ever!

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• Anonymous November 15, 2010, 8:58 am

  Not everyone can write or be taught to write a commercial. I know some sales reps that could sell you anything. They’re personality and persistence is magnetic. But…they don’t write. Don’t like it. Don’t want to do it. You can teach them the fundamentals of what should or should not be in a commercial. They may learn to recognize these things. But that doesn’t mean they’ll ever be able to write a good commercial. Plus let’s not forget the time they’d be spending in the building attempting to write keeps them from selling.
  A friend once told me. I can teach you to appreciate a fine wine. Teach you what to look for and appreciate. But that doesn’t mean you can make a fine wine.
  Too many radio stations do not have a competent commercial writer. And I think it is sad for our industry that at so many stations the person who writes the client’s commercial is the person who sells the client. Yet…in all the years I’ve attended the creative summit, I’ve met less than 3 radio sales reps. So why would you make them write their client’s commercials.

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