Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Steal These Ideas (Thanks, NAB And RAB)

On September 28, 2007 NAB President/CEO David Rehr announced that the NAB was hiring marketer Kelly O'Keefe, saying
"This is an important moment for radio. We must decide: Do we want to keep moving forward or stay behind?"

Over the intervening 17 months there have been moments when the campaigns which emerged seemed to me to be a bit naive and perhaps overly simplistic when viewed from the perspective of someone who has seen hundreds of local station perceptual studies, focus groups and music tests of all sorts, however the general direction has absolutely been worth emulating as you build your local station's loyalty and awareness campaigns.

"The new music series" spots, provided the nucleus of a great idea (click to hear and download them). No, you probably don't want to promote Caitin Crosby's new song unless she means something to your listeners, but you'll want to hear the newest spots:

"Radio's accessibility, content diversity and personality make it an essential part of the weekly routine for 93% of Americans. Each spot brings to life the different ways radio connects with 235 million weekly listeners."- Rehr

"The next generation of Radio Heard Here spots reflects the marketing efficiencies of strategic and creative radio commercials. In today's advertising climate it's more important than ever for our industry to remind marketers that radio advertising is an ideal solution to deliver their message to consumers."- RAB President/CEO Jeff Haley

Then why not customize them - using your brand in place of "this radio station," i.e. grab the next exciting superstar artists who come to your town/microphones, for example, and invite them to do something using the same scripts, talking about your radio station?

1 comment:

Rod Schwartz said...

Rod Schwartz

It's not uncommon for retail and service businesses to build advertising campaigns around testimonials from satisfied customers. Many advertising salespeople, copywriters and producers (as well as advertising agency account execs and creatives) have found this technique to be effective in establishing or building credibility for their clients' brands.

How many radio station sales departments are using this same approach to help establish their value in the minds' of new advertising prospects?

Can you think of a better way to influence businesses that are otherwise unfamiliar with the successes your stations' advertisers are enjoying as a result of their radio campaigns?