(By Pat Bryson) John Wanamaker is credited with saying, “Half of my advertising is wasted: I just don’t know which half.” Whether or not this is true, we know that successful advertising campaigns contain three elements:
- Enough repetition weekly so that half of your audience hears the message a minimum of three times.
- Enough consistency (read: long enough) that the message can penetrate the brains of consumers and be placed in long-term memory. This is accomplished in no less than 52 weeks, sometimes 2-3 years depending on the gestation period of the product you are selling.
- A commercial message that resonates with consumers and is RELEVANT to them.
Let’s talk about the third. People buy based on emotional need. Your message should create an emotional response in the listener. Write the commercial from the standpoint of your customer’s customer. No litany of facts allowed, only benefits. What’s in it for the customer? Why should they shop in this particular store? Buy this particular product? What’s the experience of shopping there? Your commercial message should answer the question, “What’s in it for me?”
What’s the one thing you want customers to remember about your business and never forget? What emotional component does your business satisfy?
In radio, we have a secret weapon called “Theatre of the Mind.” With sound, voices and impactful copy, we can create worlds in the minds of potential customers. “Theatre of the Mind” invites the listeners to step into the world they are hearing. They can see themselves using that product, eating at that restaurant, and experiencing that trip to a new land.
So much of the time, we take the easy way out with copy. We ask, “What do you want your ad to say?” What we get next is a litany of facts from our clients. It’s up to us to ferret out the benefits and create a message that resonates with the listeners.
My favorite question to ask is, “If I stood outside your door and asked the next 10 people who came out why they shop here, what would they tell me?” Now I get benefits of shopping the store from the end-users.
And, by the way, I haven’t seen a “Theatre of the Mind” ad created by AI yet. This is still the realm of real, live people who have real, live emotions and desires. Write messages that entice the listener to create a picture in his mind. As Roy Williams tells us, “Where the mind has repeatedly journeyed, the body will surely follow.”
Pat Bryson is the CEO of Bryson Broadcasting International, a consulting firm that works with sales managers and salespeople to raise revenue. She is the author of two books, “A Road Map to Success in High-Dollar Broadcast Sales” and “Successful Broadcast Sales: Thriving in Change” available on her website. Read Pat’s Radio Ink archives here.
