DAN O’DAY TALKS ABOUT RADIO

The client comes to you with a terrible idea for a radio sales promotion.

It won’t succeed for the client (who then will say, “I tried radio, and it didn’t work”).

It will harm your on-air product and drive away listeners.

And your station doesn’t want to lose the sale.

Don’t say, “No.”

After kicking it around with your Creative Team (whatever that might mean where you work), tell the client:

“No, that won’t give you enough bang for your buck. We’ve come up with an idea for you that will make you much happier.”

Download Great Radio Promotions & Contests here.

One of my readers was browsing through Ambrose Bierce’s THE DEVIL’S DICTIONARY and was inspired to create a small glossary for radio people.

But in the interests of keeping his job, he requests anonymity.

With his permission, I’ve adapted, edited and added to his original definitions. Here are the first five; more to come.

“Anything for you, brother.” — Response to a request for help from someone who can fire you.

Copywriter — One charged with the responsibility of translating illegible nonsense into legible nonsense, paying particular attention to retaining the most nonsensical parts of the nonsense.

Discrepancy Sheet — A non-existent document of which disc jockeys have no knowledge.

End Date — A day sometime in the past after which the commercial you currently are listening to was not supposed to air.

“Love to, can’t.” — Response to a request for help from anyone who cannot fire you.

Last week I critiqued a radio commercial by Kathy Lepak, who had ordered my How To Create Maximum Impact Radio Advertising course and subsequently uploaded a couple of commercials for my review.

Here is Kathy’s second spot, followed by my comments (which, once again, she has given me permission to share with you.)

The combination of the music and the number of words you need to deliver results in my not being able to hear the actual message.

If this really were a children’s story, you wouldn’t be speaking so fast.

Suggestion: See if you can cut literally 50% of the words from your script.

You might not be able to remove that many, but I suspect you’ll discover quite a few you can do without.

Of course, trying to serve three advertisers in a single 30-second commercial is, to say the least, a bit of a challenge.

This is an experiment.

Kidd Kraddick’s death affected so many of us in part because it was so unexpected.

Unfortunately, usually Life doesn’t give us enough, if any, warning. We don’t get a second chance to say goodbye.

Here’s the experiment.

On the 4th Friday of each month, I’ll devote this space to thanking someone who helped me professionally.

By “professionally,” I don’t necessarily mean “helped me get a job,” although that could qualify. I just mean…helped or inspired me personally.

I hope each installment will generate two reactions:

1.  Anyone who also had positive encounters with the individual I’m writing about will relate them there.

2.  You will post your own story here about one person who helped you professionally. More than one person has helped you? Great. Save all but one for next month.

Gary Owens

I was in my 2nd-to-3rd year in radio, working in the unrated, unheard-of market of Lake Wales, Florida.

Prior to moving across the country to start my radio career, I had lived in Los Angeles for a couple of years. That’s when and where I learned that Gary Owens wasn’t just the announcer  on Laugh-In. He was an exceptionally funny disc jockey on KMPC.

KMPC was a “middle of the road” (MOR) station, playing music that a teenager raised on rock ’n’ roll had no desire to hear. But what Gary said between the records was so clever that I listened every afternoon.

I don’t recall if I had written to Gary (whom at the time I hadn’t met) in advance; I don’t recall how I arranged this. But when I returned to L.A. on vacation, I dropped off an aircheck at the KMPC studios in the hopes that Gary Owens would listen to it and give me some feedback.

Before I returned to Florida, I made another trip to KMPC to pick up a 2-page, handwritten letter from Gary…offering feedback on my radio show and career advice.

(One of the markets he suggested I try was Phoenix. I wish I’d saved the rejection letter from the program director of KRUX, telling me “I don’t think you’re KRUX material.”)

There’s a lot more I could say about Gary Owens — all of it with admiration and appreciation. I’ll save the other stories for future postings.

But for now I’ll just say: Thank you Gary Owens for helping that young kid you never heard of from that tiny market you never heard of.

That’s my Radio Kidd Friday memory. What’s yours?