What makes a good radio ad?
A “good” radio ad is an effective ad. The objective is to bring potential customers to your business. If the radio ad succeeds at doing this, it’s an effective ad.
So, what makes an effective radio ad?
Simply, an effective radio ad should grab attention immediately, focus on a single clear message, and have a direct call to action.
Determine why you’re advertising?
Why are you running this campaign? Is it for a specific sales promotion, product launch, or for general awareness?
Who are you targeting? Generic “catch-all” radio commercials and brand awareness commercials will not be as effective as those with a specific purpose and demographic, especially in a local marketplace. It might work for Coca-Cola, but they have millions of pounds available to build their brand; you have hundreds available to get people through your door and buying your product or service.
Avoid information overload
Avoid the temptation of cramming too much information into a radio commercial. A good newspaper or magazine ad will use devices such as white space and eye-catching photography. A good radio commercial will use an attention-grabbing script and production elements, and run at a comfortable pace. There are no benefits to radio advertising if your 30 second commercial has to be spoken by the voiceover at breakneck speed. It – and the voiceover artist need room to breathe!
Everything said in a radio commercial must be said for a reason, and every element of production should be chosen for a reason. If the content doesn’t support your key objective then it doesn’t need to be there.
Try and stick to one clear message to avoid clutter and confusion. Don’t be tempted to add “we also do x, and we can also provide y’” – if you want to advertise something else, do it with an additional commercial.
Do you need all that contact information?
One of the biggest mistakes in radio commercials is to try and include every possible way a listener can contact you. If your contact details take up half the commercial you’re wasting your time.
Remember, radio listeners are usually listening while doing something else – e.g. driving, working, cooking, at the gym. Consider this when you decide what to include and how much information they can absorb. For example, what’s the point of giving out your phone number if there isn’t a chance of them remembering it or being able to write it down? (It is, after all, often a random sequence of numbers). If they like what they hear, they’ll look you up and call you.
An exception to this may be a taxi company, for example. A telephone number is obviously crucial to this type of business, however it’s likely to contain a memorable sequence of numbers that can be recalled easily, especially if it’s being sung in a jingle.
Radio listeners don’t need your full address and postcode; your business name and a road will suffice if yours is the kind of business that people visit in person. Or give a familiar landmark if you are close to one.
Include your website if it’s easy to remember, but if it’s long and confusing – “or find us online at w w w dot Terry underscore Jones underscore Gas underscore Engineer underscore Services dot co dot uk” – definitely leave it out (that’s 9 seconds of your commercial right there) and it’s probably time to get a shorter, more memorable url!
Also, you don’t need to include the “w w w dot”. That alone is 2 seconds of wasted time!
Similarly, if you’re active on social media, you could include “find us on Facebook” or “follow us on Instagram for exclusive offers” but avoid providing the long-hand version: “follow us on Instagram at Terry Jones Gas Engineer Services for exclusive social media-only offers.”
Think twice about providing exact opening times: “We’re open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, Saturdays 9am to 6pm, and Sundays 10am to 4pm” takes 7 seconds when it would be quicker and easier to say “open every day” or leave listeners to look you up online.
Ideally, your company name should appear three times in the commercial – beginning, middle, and end. This repetition gives your name prominence, and will help listener recall.
Use word economy. Try to say what you want with as few words as possible. Make it clear and concise. You can stare at a flyer or a press ad all day long, or pause a TV commercial, but with radio, remember, the listener is likely doing something else whilst listening and may not be able to write anything down, or rewind back to the start of the ad.
Avoid clichés
One way to keep your commercial free of too much information is to avoid the radio ad clichés.
There are so many clichés that it would be impossible to include them all here, but these are some of the common ones…
- We’re a family-run business
- Free parking
- Conveniently located at…
- Established since x / We’ve been in business for x years
- One Stop Shop / For all your x needs
- There’s never been a better time to…
- Are you looking for x? Then look no further than…
- Friendly and knowledgeable staff
None of these are a bad thing for a business to be or have, but they are so over-used that they no longer hold any meaning for the listener. Some should be aspects of every business (if your staff are not friendly and knowledgeable then it’s time for some staff training!), and in most cases these are throwaway lines that do not contribute to your key objective and use up time that could be utilised elsewhere.
The main things to remember are:
- Think about who you are targeting and what you want to say. Generic “catch all” and “awareness” commercials aren’t as effective as those with a specific purpose and target market/demographic.
- Get to the point – a radio ad is between 30 and 60 seconds at most, so radio is no place for long lists of features, offers, or corporate waffle. Get the listener’s attention, make a relevant offer, and generate a phone call/visit. Focus on one idea and drive it home.
- Your company’s name should ideally appear three times – beginning, middle, and end. Try to get the location of your business in as well so that people know where to find you, but don’t use your full address and postcode.
- Don’t include your phone number. Listeners will likely not be able to remember it after hearing it. As long as they have your name (which has probably been said three times), they’ll look you up.
- Avoid clichés – try not to use the cheesy over-used lines.
One last thing… remember it’s radio!
It should be obvious, but don’t forget that radio is an aural medium. There are no visual aids to convey your message. You can tear an advert out of a newspaper, stick a flyer on your fridge door, snap a photo of a billboard, or pause the TV commercial.
You can only hear the radio. Sure, you could grab a recording with your smartphone, but as mentioned previously, listeners are often doing something else while listening so may not get the chance to do so.
Radio ad copy will be delivered by a voice, so should be read the way people speak. The words should flow. I’ve been sent scripts with bullet point lists, and parentheses/brackets often it’s because it’s been copy/pasted from a print ad or flyer). This is fine in printed text, but you can’t convey that in speech. It just doesn’t transfer to radio.
Source includes workspace.co.uk and freshairstudios.co.uk