Radio Adverts: Create that new habit !

This is a typical Wednesday in the Calvert household:

I get up at 7am. I go downstairs to feed our cat Archie with a special food to stop him getting even fatter. In the office by about 7.20. I download all emails on my HP PC and print off the scripts on my Epson printer for an ISDN voiceover session I regularly do every Wednesday with the BBC. I could get up later, but if I do, I think I sound slurred. About 45 minutes is enough to fully wake up and catch up with things that need my attention.

After the session, the wife is usually awake. Dan, my 3 year old son will be tucking into Coco Pops and a drink of Tomato Juice. (It’s the only thing he’ll drink other than water.)

After tidying up the kitchen, it’s back to work. My wife drops Dan to Pre-School and returns to work on the accounts for our two companies.

I work solidly without any break to about 2pm. It could be anything from scriptwriting to recording voices via my Audio TX and mixing commercials on Pro Tools. From there, I gather some documents and jump into the BMW and head to a meeting. I always stop at the Esso station in Wootton Basset to buy a pasty and a can of ‘V’ energy drink.

At the meeting, I present the document and play audio from my Bose Acoustic Music System. In my opinion, nothing sounds better.

After the meeting, I check emails on my Iphone. On longer trips, I bring a small hard drive of all the radio commercials and music Airforce has ever recorded in the last 3 years. Then it’s off home. In Lyneham, I will usually stop at Tesco to buy wine for me and the missus. I drink white, Mrs C drinks red. She used to drink Rose, but now after drinking just one glass of Rose, she’ll get a migraine the next day.

It’s back into the office until about 6pm. Then it’s family time. Having said that, I keep the phone on because I know a few clients may call after 6. Dan will have had his tea, (he loves pasta) and will watch Waybuloo on C Beebies. Me and the wife will be discussing some business (She co-owns Airforce) while we crack open the wine.

Later, I will bath Dan. He likes Matey bubble bath, but we wash his hair with Johnson’s Baby Shampoo. Dan will then rest on the sofa with some milk and usually drop off. At 7.30ish, I will cook dinner and then watch TV on our Samsung TV. Later, I check emails on more time, then it’s off to bed.

So what’s the point behind me telling you my daily routine ?

We all have one. Every day, we go through the same routines, rituals and habits. You may not be aware of it, but you’ll have superstitions as well. You’ll do things in a certain way because you’ll believe your day will be a better as a result doing things ‘your’ way. You may avoid walking on cracks in the pavement. You may never walk under a ladder. You won’t buy a pastry from the bakery on the street corner because you heard someone got food poisoning there. You may think that if you buy a Lottery ticket with a specific set of numbers, you stand a better chance of winning. You will stick religiously to certain personal hygiene products because you believe they are more effective than others. You will always park in the same area every time you visit your local supermarket. You may think Christmas isn’t Christmas without a tree and a Turkey. The list goes on and on.

Our days are dominated with routines, rituals, habits, beliefs and superstitions. Some will be very subtle, whereas others you will be completely aware of and apologise to others for them. We carry them out to make us feel comfortable and in control. Many national advertisers know this, so they create products that help to maintain and enhance that feeling of well-being. Think about it. For hundreds of years, the human race survived perfectly without mobile phones. Today, if we leave our mobiles at home or the battery runs out, we feel vulnerable. The mobile companies have us where they want us.

As for local advertisers, I think they are missing out on a trick. They too should be encouraging listeners to create new habits and rituals with their product bang-slap in the middle of everything. So today, as you sip your daily Starbucks Frappuccino (because you believe it’s the only way to wake you up), think about making your advertisers products and services a way of life, a comfort zone, a ritual or dare I say...

...A pleasant and welcome addiction.

Fof help on making your radio commercials tap into the minds of your audience, visit www.airforce.co.uk