Want to write, produce (or get) better radio creative? In no particular order, here are six key insights (plus a link to more tips below) from Tom Evans, founder of Radiosteak, and writer/producer of highly memorable radio spots for many many years.
1. Eyes can shut. But ears can't turn off.
The human animal has evolved to learn how to "turn off" its ears simply by subconsciously conditioning itself to not pay attention. For a radio ad writer, this is both a curse and an opportunity. The curse is that even though the medium is playing, and the media folks have done a good job of making it reach the target, and the target has his or her radio on, he or she nonetheless might be using the whole auditory experience as background noise. The opportunity? If you can write advertising that cuts through and grabs attention, you generally have FULL attention for the time it takes to deliver your message. A person can be 100% tuned-in to what they are hearing, or 100% tuned-out, but–like having two conversations at the same time–they can't very well be partially-tuned-in. So, if you've got 'em, you've really got 'em.
2. Jiu-jitsu the medium.
Radio is a busy medium. But, like jiujitsu, you can use the opponent's techniques against itself. Which means, in radio, there are two readily available ways to cut through and grab a listener's attention. Be even busier than the medium, or be dramatically less busy than the medium. The quietness of a single announcer with an appealing or interesting voice speaking convincingly, often without so much as background music or sound effects, can really stand out against the backdrop of most over-produced radio content. Similarly, the power of a really fast-paced back-and-forth dialogue commercial can grab attention because it actually outpaces the pace of the medium. The dangerous turf is the radio execution that rolls along at about the same pace as the medium, or just turns up the volume for no reason other than to be "louder." Those are the dead zones. Avoid them if you can.
3. Beware the "other" competition.
Most brands know their competitors and build their marketing accordingly to combat competitive positions, claims and threats. But, in broadcast mediums (this includes TV), the "other competition" is every other spot that plays during the same station break, regardless of whether they are in your particular business's competitive set or not. Let's assume that at best a listener is going to remember one spot of the two to eight they might hear before the DJ comes back from the station break. That means, in the short frenzy of that creative cage fight, you better hope you have the most powerful commercial in the mix. Right then. Right there. And, you don't even know who you'll be up against. The GEICO lizard, maybe. Ouch. At Radiosteak, we like to call this winning the station break. It's why creativity and entertainment value are often so crucial to making radio effective, not just messaging points.
4. Embrace radio's oddball and weird sides.
Radio doesn't always translate as directly from the strategic brief to the written execution as other media. And, if you're OK with that, you'll get better radio. That doesn't mean your radio has to be off-strategy to work. Or, brand-dissonant. It just means that it may have to have stuff in it that isn't noted in your brief to make it perform powerfully in the medium. If radio is part of your total advertising mix, trust us, it's often the weird part. Even if your brand is funny nowhere else, it might be wise (and entirely acceptable if done correctly) to be funny in radio. Everyone loves funny radio. Speaking of which...
5. A funny script is an accomplishment. A funny commercial is a miracle.
OK, someone famous in advertising said that, but we've long since forgotten who it was. Suffice to say, the written word can appear funny, but unless you're Dave Barry, you'd better be sure it really is funny before you hire actors and an audio studio and record it. Of course, the opposite is also true. A spot that doesn't seem that magical on a written page can turn into something very cool and memorable with the right casting, performances, timing, music, audio engineering and editorial finesse.
6. Radio isn't expensive (relatively), but you do get what you pay for.
Casting, for instance. If you listen to our work, you'll hear some big names like the late great Tom Poston, or the currently great Ellen DeGeneres, or the incomparably unique Estelle Harris from Seinfeld fame. The rare great radio actors are just that: rare... and the truth is, they know it and charge a premium for it. Sometimes the return on investment to get their stellar voices on your spot is incalculably positive.
WANT MORE TIPS? WE HAVE 15 MORE IN OUR "RADIO AD WRITER'S CRASH COURSE."
The above are over-arching observations. For some more granular and technical tips about how to write, direct, mix and produce radio, check out our short "Radio Ad Writer's Crash Course" of 15 particularly useful secrets every radio writer and producer should know. You'll learn stuff like:
- Why the script you got approved by the client needs to be changed before you record it.
- An easy trick to determine if your music bed is too hot.
- One mistake most writers make when determining if their written script is the correct length.
- A set of words most voice actors almost always over-emphasize incorrectly.
- And more.
You can link to it here. But, you'll need a free password to access it. Just email us with the subject line "Crash Course Password" and we'll shoot it to you. Of course, then we'll have your email (evil laugh goes here) …but we promise not to bombard you with a ton of SPAM; maybe just a friendly touch-base now and again.