I realize that every time I say this, I make enemies.
But my experience tells me that — with notable exceptions that deserve our gratitude and admiration — most radio stations’ claims of being devoted to the success of their advertisers ring very hollow.
Two-Part Station Management Quiz
1. “We are committed to the success of our advertising clients.”
— True or False?
If you answered “True,” please continue to Question #2:
2. Which of the following is true for your station?
A) Every employee who ever writes a commercial for a client has had professional-level education in how to create effective radio advertising.
B) We have specific deadlines for salespeople to turn in their copy orders — and we enforce those deadlines.
(Recently one of my Radio Advertising Letter subscribers told me, “Neither our Station Manager nor our Sales Consultant believes in deadlines.” So much for Quality Control.)
C) Just as we provide training manuals, audio/video training, and/or live training for our sales staff, we provide similar training for our copywriters and commercial producers.
D) Just as we support our sales department’s desire to attend sales conferences, we support our creative and production departments desires to attend creative or production conferences.
If they’re honest, most stations answer “False” to A, B, C and D.
“Commitment” requires more than saying you’re committed. It requires a continuous investment of time, money and resources to back it up.
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Actually, our station would and could answer True to all of the above, but when their writer strongly advises that the client NOT make changes to the sales message, the seller doesn’t present the case to the client because he “just wants to get the client on the air.” The first time client is now elevated to radio marketing guru? More like a sheep that becomes a lemming once the check clears. Hard to be heard when quick money drowns you out.
I wish our company as a whole would invest more in train to write better copy. We’re a small radio station company with about a dozen stations in three states. Full time staff where I work is 4 with a part time front office person. So that mean that not only do sales people (me and one other) sell the client, we are also writing and producing a majority of the spots. I think we do a decent job but we could do much better.