(By Randy Lane) The most effective advertising is based on three primary components:
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- A strategic campaign
- A personality spokesperson
- Storytelling
Strategic Campaigns
We continue to see highly creative one-off commercials quickly forgotten, and worse; many people remember the spot but not the brand.
In his recent Ad Age article, Superbowl Marketing Has a Real Problem – Too Many Ads and Not Enough Campaigns, M.T. Fletcher notes, “People don’t remember ads unless they’re part of a campaign.”
Campaigns work for your advertisers, your station, and your show. The Bert Show has successfully used their tagline, “Real. Funny.” as an on-air and external marketing campaign for years.
Advertising campaigns are either solutions to the pain points of a product/service or highlight brand distinctions. The new Chipotle campaign For Real is getting attention as an antidote to all the processed food in America.
Personality Spokesperson
Several products/services feature personalities who become familiar to the audience and are associated with a brand. Think “Mayhem” for All-State and “Lily” for AT&T. Evan Bass from the Bachelor TV series is the face of the Men’s Clinic brand in Nashville and throughout the southeast.
The key word is personality, not the amateur spokesperson we often see for businesses on local TV spots.
Radio stations are wise to utilize their most well-known and successful personalities as marketing spokespersons for their external advertising. DeDe McGuire hosts the ensemble cast DeDe in the Morning, and she is the face of the brand for the show and K104 Dallas.
The combination of a strategic campaign and a personality spokesperson is key to creating marketing impact and memorability. What is your strategic campaign? Who is the face of your brand? It is your most popular air personality or show.
Tell A Story
Rather than rattling off facts about a product/service, the most effective ads communicate information through an entertaining or touching story. The beauty of campaigns is they are an ongoing storyline. It’s important to keep them fresh and updated.
In the words of bestselling author and Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Powers, “The best arguments in the world won’t change a single person’s mind. The only thing that can do that is a good story.”
Randy Lane is the owner of the Randy Lane Company, which coaches and brands radio and television personalities, business professionals, sports personalities, entrepreneurs, and pop culture artists, helping them master communication skills to have an impact on their audiences. Read Randy’s Radio Ink archives here.
