DAN O’DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO

Here’s a refreshing example of how to advertise a website via broadcast advertising.

In this case, it’s on television. But the same rules apply an effective radio commercial.

The Targeted Consumer Should Identify With The Person Giving The Testimonial.

This guy is young…ish. Contemporary but not attempting to be trendy. Casual but not a slob. Enthusiastic but not a goofball.

The set representing his home is uncluttered but comfortable. The guitar resting against the wall, the splashes of color. A college kid can identify with him; so can a young professional.

“The Modest Advertiser”

That’s the term I apply to advertisers who are smart enough to recognize their name is not the most important thing in the consumer’s life.

Instead of opening with, “I’m so glad I found Gazelle.com,” he says, “A friend told me about Gazelle.com.” He’d never even heard of the company…until a friend mentioned it to him.

“The Offer”

“They paid me cash for my used iPhone.” That’s what Gazelle.com will do — buy (some of) your old smartphones or other electronic gadgets.

Successful Advertising Intersects Common Human Behavior.

“I would just keep my old phones in this drawer.”

You don’t happen to have a drawer where keep your old cell phones and stuff, do you?

Advertising Solves Problems.

“Is there a place that will buy my old iPhone or iPad or Android?”

“What am I supposed to do with all these gadgets that I no longer use but were too expensive for me just to throw out?”

This commercial addresses those problems head on.

How It Benefits The Consumer

Getting cash for your otherwise useless iPhone is a pretty obvious benefit. But they dimensionalize it by having him point out that he used the cash he got for his old iPhone to help pay for his new iPhone.

(Think about all the television and radio ads you’ve heard where they’d oh-so-cleverly list all the “funny” things you could do with that $150.)

Overcomes Objections

When first you hear of a service such as this, you probably think, “Oh, it must be a hassle. First I’ve got to figure out how to ship to them….”

As a Gaselle.com user, I can tell you that they really do make it super easy. You can find out online exactly what (if anything) they’ll pay for your phone. They send you a pre-addressed, prepaid mailer to ship your phone to them. And they pay you quickly.

And he comes right out and says: “They made it so easy. Shipping was free. They paid me fast.”

Specifics Convince.

He doesn’t say, “I got some money for my old iPhone.” He says, “My phone was worth a hundred and fifty bucks.”

Call To Action

Instead of saying, “Visit our website for more details,” they ask:

“What’s your iPhone worth?”

And then the guy says, “You can find out at Gazelle.”

He gives you a specific reason to go to the website (find out what your iPhone is worth) and what to do there (again, find out what your iPhone is worth).

Of course, this commercial probably won’t win any big awards.

It’ll just drive targeted traffic to the advertised website.

I shared this on my blog a few months after I joined Facebook.

I offer it again here in my intermittently unending attempt to Save Our Planet.

Here’s a (real) guide to Twitter for Radio.

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.

A Loyal Reader Writes:

“On my radio show, I am not allowed to mention ‘Dancing with the Stars’ or that the newest iPhone is being released.

“That’s because our manager believes that saying these brand names during the normal course of conversation will give brands free air time and thus engender a potential loss of revenue for the station.

“Quoting from his critique of my program: ‘Speaking positively about local TV channels/media is giving them air time and unpaid publicity.’

“What’s your opinion?”

Your job is not to avoid giving unpaid publicity to other businesses or media outlets.

Your job is to engage your radio station’s listeners.

The easiest, best way to engage your listeners is to enter the conversations that define their daily lives.

Half your audience watched “Dancing with the Stars” last night, but you’re supposed to ignore that and instead try to get them interested in the fact that this is National Dental Hygiene Month?

Your listeners lined up outside stores the night before the new iPhone first went on sale, and instead of talking about that you’re supposed to encourage them to call to vote: “What’s your favorite color — red or blue”??

I suggest that your manager ask every one of your station’s listeners, “Why do you listen to this station?”

I predict:

• Many will say, “I like the music they play.”

• Some will say, “I really like their DJs.”

• Not one, however, will say, “I listen to your station because you never give free publicity to competing media or to businesses that don’t advertise with you.”

Why is that important?

Because a commercial radio station cannot survive without listeners.

Yes, “radio advertisers pay the bills.” But advertisers go where the listeners are.

The more relevant you are to your listeners’ lives, the more listeners you attract and the longer they listen.

News Flash:

Everything your audience does when they’re not listening to you is your competition.

If they’re watching the World Cup, they’re not listening to your music program.

If they’re at a concert, watching a movie, or reading a book to their children, they’re not listening to your station.

Following your manager’s (and many managers’) logic, that means you should never talk about the big local concert, the blockbuster movie…or children.