From a radio station copywriter:
“Earlier this week, an account executive at one of the top stations in a top ten market turned in a piece of paper with two words scribbled on it: ‘Heritage Golf.’
“Nothing else.
“Golf course?
“Golf store?
“Golf range?
“What is it?
“Where is it?
“From this he would like me to write a 60-second masterpiece.
“I called him and asked for more information. He told me, ‘Google it!’ and hung up.
“I then went to the Production Director, who said to me, ‘Well, he is one of our top sellers’ and went back to work.
“So I e-mailed the Sales Manager and told her the story. She flipped out!
“The Sales Manager called the A.E. on it.
“The A.E. then complained to the Production Director.
“Did the Production Director support me? Oh, absolutely not. He told the sales guy — with me standing there — ‘I’m sorry. It’s just a trade ad. We can do it. I don’t know why she’s being so difficult.’
“By the way, if you Google ‘Heritage Golf,’ you get 824,000 results. I think I’ll just pick one and write the spot.”
Every day, salespeople are told by prospects, “I tried radio…and it didn’t work.”
The next time someone tells you that, you can thank that major market Account Executive and that major market Production Director.
“Just a trade ad”? Is that what they told the advertiser when they arranged the deal?
Did the Account Executive say, “Okay, in exchange for membership in your golf club, we’ll give you a worthless commercial”?
Was the client told, “You give us a $15,000 membership, and we’ll throw together some piece of crap advertisement without any concern at all about whether it will help your business”?
That Account Executive and that Production Director shame everyone who works in radio.
Comments on this entry are closed.
If it’s “just a trade ad,” then let the Production Director write it.
Exactly why this business is dying. That “trade ad” would be one of 8 (or 12) ads in a row, none of which heard by anyone paying attention to the radio (if they WERE paying attention, they would have punched out after one or two – I know, because I’ve seen years of PPM minute by minute data).
In a world of almost infinite listening choices, we expect people to put u p with, not just commercials, but ads that have no more creative direction than this.
Shameful, and sad for those of us who have given our lives to this business.
“Arrrgh…Just Do Your Magic” . Spot Starts ASAP; Runs TFN. ” Some things never change.
I’m surprised at how rude the AE was to the producer. Perhaps that’s a major market thing?
Nothing new under the sun. This is why my cardiologist told me to leave radio.
I don’t know if I’m more appalled at the sales rep, or the production director!
What’s the big deal? I was done in 15 seconds thanks to “DAN O’DAY’S AMAZING BAD COMMERCIAL GENERATOR”:
Say! It’s golf season! And Heritage Golf is your golf headquarters! Are you looking for a great deal? Then call us today at 321-555-1212! Yes, it’s sale time at Heritage Golf, where you’ll find a friendly, knowledgeable staff. So for all your golf needs, call us at 321-555-1212! This sale is going on now, and you won’t believe our quality service! Yes, you’ve got us where you want us, because we’ve got to clear off the showroom floor before the new models arrive. So hurry on down to Heritage Golf, where the customer comes first and with prices so low, you know they won’t last! So call now at 321-555-1212. That’s Heritage Golf. 321-555-1212. And remember our motto, “It’s our people that make the difference!” That number once again is 321-555-1212! That’s 321-555-1212! 321-555-1212!
😉
But seriously, that’s really bush league on the AE and Prod Director’s part.
I once heard a high ranking person at a radio station say, “I may not do production good, but I sure do it fast”.
As a former Prod. Dir., I treated every spot as if it were paid at the highest rate. It was my reputation on the line with every spot. That doesn’t mean that every spot I produced was award winning, but I never felt bad about putting it on the air. Sales people for the most part, there are some good ones out there, don’t care about the end product. They’re just concerned about getting the commission check. If you’re not proud of your product, why are you in the business?