Tuesday 29 September 2009

This is not great.

Cringeworthy and completely un-realistic. Surely there must have been a better way to do this ?

Thursday 17 September 2009

Give your Radio Advert an idea !

Let’s face it, a fair chunk of the local commercials broadcast on radio consist of 30 seconds worth of prices and special offers. Above that, there are radio commercials with some kind of ‘idea’ or thought that the advertiser is wanting to tell you. And above that, there are a small handful of commercials that when you hear them, you really want to buy that product.

Yesterday I encountered a commercial for a particular brand of coffee. At the end of it, I had no idea what I was supposed to feel or indeed do. It was a TV commercial, so we have to assume the campaign was an expensive one. So what a waste ! If a commercial simply shows the product and really doesn’t tell you why it’s good for you, how is anyone expected to know what to do or feel after the commercial has ended ?

Advertisements for products like coffee, make up, cars etc have to reach out and touch you. The brand has to show it can make a great contribution to your life and somehow, things will only be second-best if you choose not to buy it.

To be honest, I find few radio commercials to be aspirational. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve head radio ads for skip hire companies telling me I can hire a bloody great skip for only £50. Fantastic if I need a skip, but if I am not told why they are good for me, I am going to ignore the commercial completely. I have heard radio ads for half-price sofas. But I will be only interested if I am in the market for buying a sofa. I have heard commercials for cheap diamond engagement rings. But if I had a girlfriend and was not sold the idea of popping the question, the chances of me buying the special-offer ring won’t increase. In all 3 cases, the advertisers could have sold us ‘the idea’ of their products and services. Just like a ‘serving suggestion’ illustration on a packet of food, radio adverts would attract a larger amount of interest if the commercial had some sort of ‘lifestyle suggestion’ or better still, clearly show the positive outcome buying the product/service would bring.

Too many advertisers believe that ‘just telling’ will somehow turn on a metaphoric tap allowing a torrent of new business to come their way. In reality, it’s more likely to be a trickle. No one will buy anything unless they want or need it. The ‘special offer’ should really be treated as the final incentive to buy.

This week, I am off to take a brief from a brand new client. He’s dabbled with radio in the past, but never done anything (in his words) ‘serious’. His business is in a very crowded sector, but in our initial conversation on the phone the client said “People don’t buy our products on just price alone. There’s a lot more to it than that. People buy our products because the lifestyle it gives them is absolutely second to none.”

Fantastic. By cutting out all the price-related crap, there’ll be ample room to get listeners salivating with desire. Sure price, is important. But all of us know that when we see something that really ticks all the boxes, the mind has an uncanny knack of finding a way to make us buy it, regardless of what the price may be.

For a free consolutation, visit www.airforce.co.uk