Radio IS, the Mother of All Media

RADIO was talking before film had a voice.

RADIO was singing before birdies could tweet.

RADIO was your music before there were downloads.

RADIO was interactive before books had faces.

RADIO was wireless before there WAS wireless.

Throughout 2012, BENMARadio will be offering a promotion for radio stations across the fruited plain called, "RADIO-- The Mother of All Media." It's meant to do two things---make your listeners understand commercial radio has a rich and innovative 80 plus year history, and second, while social media may be new and sexy, radio is the one who's given birth to all those so-called 'new' ideas, and is still the one that delivers messages and entertainment best.

That doesn't mean radio isn't without issues. As a member of a few Linked In groups, I see discussions every day that rage about the future of radio---- some even ask if it has a future at all.

The answer is simple----entertain them, and they will come.

Radio has the advantage of immediacy and theater of the mind. At any one time, we can be anywhere, or be any-THING to any-BODY. But what corporate radio has lost, and what they haven't taught you, is--- radio needs to entertain, to keep people coming back. Radio, when it was at it's best, has always been about giving the audience a reason to listen. That means your stop sets as well as your air talent.

It doesn't mean every commercial has to be a Busby Berkeley production (if that reference is too old, wiki 'Busby Berkeley')-- it means, you need to be aware of the fact that the listener is there to be entertained. A commercial that drones on for 30 or 60 seconds without having at least SOMETHING to attract the listener, will be of no use to you, or your client.

In the coming weeks, I'll be offering suggestions about how to make your ads more colorful,and entertaining (yes, even the ones that now drone). I will also be discussing our Radio Mother promotion to help your cluster make money and raise it's visibility and image.

Stay tuned. As Al Jolson once said, 'you ain't seen nothing yet.." (yeah, right, I know. Just wiki 'Al Jolson').

Writing to the Talent

No--this doesn't mean leaving notes on the desk of the air staff. It means, writing spots that bring out the best in your talent, and air sound.

Since deregulation back in the 80's, radio has put an overwhelming emphasis on sales, sales training and just about anything associated with--- you guessed it--sales. Which means, budgets for creative got slashed. After all, who needs to worry about developing talent when your format calls for liner notes, T and T or just warm and fuzzy breaks.

Well, that leaves us today, in 2012, with a lot of quality professional voices, who are NOT radio actors. And that means, the way you write a spot, is as important as what is contained in that copy.

Ideally, you want to 'groove the pitch' for your talent, to borrow a hackneyed baseball expression. That means writing copy that works to accentuate their strengths. It's a cardinal rule for anyone who wants their clients to enjoy success on the air that you must write to the level of your talent. The key element is always keep in mind, who's doing the read.

The other side of the coin? Well, here's an example that's probably happened to you once or twice or fifty times. A client offers an opinion that goes something like this:

"Hey, I've heard this great spot on the air lately (usually no retention of the product or service name) where there's a guy and a girl and they're really cute together and then these two friends of theirs come over and it's all really funny. I want to do something like that."

Your first response? Pure, unmitigated panic. You know what's going to happen if you ask for something like that. BUT---sales is king. The client has a check that will not bounce. And so, the request is submitted. And what happens next is, unavoidable. The announcer is a staff jock who's fabulous on the air, but can't act. The Prod Director usually will take one of the male or female voices, which leaves secretaries, sales assistants, hangers on and salespeople to fill the other roles. The result? High school radio, a spot guaranteed to cause tune-out but especially damaging if it piggybacks to a national ad. This benefits NO ONE.

It's unfair and in some cases, insulting to ask quality radio talent to be good at something they're not. You embarrass them---you even run the risk of them losing credibility with their audience.

Think of it this way-- imagine someone said the following to you:

"Hey, I know you're good at sales so I need you to negotiate the release of two hostages being held at gunpoint in a downtown building."

There are techniques for helping talent get the most from their abilities. You can bring out the best in ANYONE, if you simply cater to their strengths (maybe using power words, short thoughts or playing to a talent's ability to rhyme) and avoid their weaknesses (accents, fast talking or impressions).

Of course, even easier than all that is, call BENMARadio. It's what we do best, it takes the burden off you and in turn, works with EVERY client you have, not just the difficult ones. We write to bring out your best--and that turns into happier clients, better stop sets and increased revenues.