Giantsize your business with great radio ads!

Have you ever been pinned in a corner with the office bore on a night out? He looks at you expectantly. You realise with horror he's waiting for you to answer his question - only you have no idea what the question was. No - because you were too busy looking around desperately for the party animals. You came here for fun right?

You wanted to let your hair down, have a laugh ... and this guy just wants to tell you about his boring life - no wonder you missed what he was saying.

That's exactly what bad radio advertising feels like. You came here for a laugh and you got stuck with the resident Mr. Mediocre.

If you want to really grow your business ... radio is a great place to do it. I work at Galaxy 105-106 in the north east of England. We have almost half a million listeners for you to flirt with, show off to, tempt and liase with. You can get big, fast. I've seen it happen. I've helped it happen.

Galaxy listeners are up for fun - they want to have a good time, that's why they tuned in. All you have to do is show them a good time, entertain them, challenge them, amuse them, make them feel good and they'll hang on your every word, remember you ... and most importantly of all: They'll be gagging to get into a relationship with you.

Think about your new radio campaign as the start of a new flirtation. You don't launch right in on your life story. You don't list your best features. You don't say 'I've got a great sense of humour'. You demonstrate your charm by raising a laugh. You look to share a common experience, to show you understand and appreciate your listener. You might ask questions to learn more and refine your approach.

Now ask yourself: Does your advertising work this way? Or are you too busy telling people how great you are to get into a relationship with them?

So. You're briefing the creative team for your hot new radio campaign: You start by telling them what you want right? You tell them what kind of music you like .... Or you say: 'I want an ad that sounds like that one the other guy had ... you know, the one with the talking fish' ... Or you tell them 'I'd like the ad to start by saying that my company has been in business more than 25 years and our quality and service are unrivalled'... yep that's the way to do it eh?

Wrong.

This might be a shock to the system, but your creative team aren't actually here to please you. Sure they want your money, but if they're worth their salt, they're here to get you the results you want, not to make the commercial you THINK you want.

Instead of focusing on what YOU want, a good creative team will focus on what your customers want. They'll look at what will drive listeners to your store, your website, your event. A good radio creative will help you identify a need, wish or desire that your business satisfies. They'll build up a picture of a person who NEEDS what you have to offer - the WHO of the radio brief.

If your product or service appeals to different people in different circumstances, then your creative team will create several briefs ... each with it's own WHO.

For each of these briefs you will need to tell your creative team what you want listeners to do when they hear your ad. Maybe you are looking to increase traffic to your website or outlet? Do you want them to call you direct so your staff can sell them? think about exactly how you're going to measure the success of your radio campaign.