Steve Cunningham, Holly Adams and Don May relax after completing the audio-visual set-up for the 2009 International Radio Creative & Production Summit.
Nancy Tyler emailed me this question:
How can I make character dialogue sound like natural conversation while still delivering the key copy points?
Hopefully those key copy points all focus on how the consumer’s life will be better if they avail themselves of the product or service the advertiser is offering. So just SAY it in the language THEY would use —you know, real people’s language.
It’s the difference between:
“How can one utilize commonly used linguistic patterns with a high degree of cultural resonance while simultaneously incorporating the manufacturer-to-producer transfer of benefits?”
and
“How can I make character dialogue sound like natural conversation while still delivering the key copy points?
A radio commercial is a conversation with the consumer. So speak conversationally. Use language they recognize, the same language that they use.
No real people say “storewide sale” or “friendly, knowledgable staff” or “family owned & operated” or “conveniently located”; why in the world would you speak to your prospects in a language that is foreign to them?
And by the way, they’re not key copy points if the targeted listener doesn’t care about them.
LEAP OF FAITH RADIO PRODUCTION with Bobby Ocean
I was fortunate enough to be at KFRC in San Francisco when certain prominent players arrived – General manager Pat Norman, who began work at RKO in San Francisco by overseeing the then overlooked FM’s duties, but was quickly promoted to the KFRC side (then, later headed up KHJ in Los Angeles); the Duke, Dave Sholin, who has worked within both radio AND record industries with seamless success; the entire Texas contingent of Micheal Spears, Beau Weaver, news greats Jo Interante and Dave Cook and many more; glad I get more than one shot here in Dan’s Blog, I’ll need it.
And, of course, fate had me at KFRC when, just as we desperately needed help with our ailing mornings, in came the fun Doctor.
Dr. Don Rose
Disc jockies who worked at KFRC get asked quite a bit about Doctor Don Rose. People want to now “Did you know him?, Was he that funny all the time?, What was he REALLY like?”, and anything else that pops into their heads.
Yeah, I really knew him. My memories of DDR start when he walked through the door. He rolled in, he exploded in all directions at once like a hand grenade, he conquered. He knew what he was doing and he was seasoned well.
He played a Rip Taylor kind of looney who sprayed wild tracks all over the place like seltzer water. I started out in Monterey at KMBY using those little drops, wild tracks, or recorded cartoony voices and sfx so I loved the concept, just wondered if it would work in a “sophisticated city” like San Francisco. It killed.
He had one of the longest, funniest, most successful runs at that station. His clever wife, Kay, often made light of in morning show jokes was his best negotiator. It is my understandng DDR was being paid both for his DJ work AND a percentage of his morning program’s sponsorship profits.
He really was simultaneously fun and a man of strong character. He really loved life and, to the point of near-corny, adored his wife and family. He was an extremely compelling guy to listen to in the morning, changed everything, made it fun. Never been another like him; he was the last.
Went to his last rites, too, where he seemed to put the “fun” back in funeral. Best of all the DJ interments I have ever attended; not maudlin, distinctly celebrative. (Preacher: “I told the younger children, who were confused about what happens when people die, that the “shell” of their grandfather is still here, but the NUT is away at the moment.” – Huge laugh) He left us with his heart’s fondest fulfillment – an absolutely wonderful family.
BTW, that squeaky little cartoon voice you heard – for YEARS both on his TV cartoon show and on his KFRC morning wake-up show -that said, “ha-ha-ha, that’s right, Doctor Don!” …was me. An out-take that, early on, he and his flawless board operator, George Zema, immediately claimed as their own.
As we look around at the business today, and begin thinking of ways to rebuild, re-think, restructure our radio dream, remember DDR, and “have fun.” Doctor’s orders.
Excerpted from Mike McVay’s Radio Programming Secrets
Mike McVay
by Mike McVay
1. NEWS & INFORMATION IN THE MORNINGS Winning radio stations present informative news reports and have community information so listeners can plan their lives. The most successful of these radio stations present news that, were it in print, would mirror a local weekly small community newspaper.
2. PRESENCE AT COMMUNITY EVENTS Being everywhere, being seen by everyone, being involved with anything that matters to the community, attaching your name to those things the community cares about is extremely important.
3. FAVORITE MORNING SHOW How often do people change their radios in morning drive? They all do it in the car, but seldom do they change the clock radio in their bedroom.
4. BEING FUN TO LISTEN TO The person working in a steel mill considers your air talents’ job (being paid to play music and talk) as anything but work. Encourage your on-air talent to sound as though they’re having fun.
5. BEST FOR LISTENING AT-WORK Successful music stations have a product that is compatible with at-work listening locations. You MUST be a “Listen While You Work” radio station to be successful.
6. MOST CONTESTS We’ve all seen studies that indicate only 5% to 10% of the audience plays contests. But the most successful stations have contests and games on the air. Radio stations that win … play games.
7. HERITAGE/LENGTH OF TIME IN FORMAT/CONNECTION TO THE MUSIC A radio station that brands one name with the type of music it plays and doesn’t keep changing will have the greatest opportunity for success. Find something that works …. And stick with it.
You’ll find more of Mike McVay’s Radio Programming Secrets here.
Here’s the structure of that commercial:
A) Here’s something that’s not smart.
B) Using our advertiser’s product or service is smart.
Guess what? You could substitute any product or service without changing that commercial at all:
“You want to hear something that is smart? Getting your pet spayed or neutered.”
“…Buying your groceries at Winn-Dixie.”
…Signing up for Verizon’s long distance phone service.”
When you can yank the advertiser out of the spot and replace it with one from a completely different category, you’ve got a truly bad radio commercial.
You know what’s not smart? Throwing your money away on radio advertising that doesn’t focus on the results of the product or service being advertised.
