Category Archives: Radio Commercial Production

A Step By Step Guide To Radio Commercial Production

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Posted by Roy Sencio on December 18, 2007 – 7:44 pm
Filed under Radio Commercial Production

A Step By Step Guide To Radio Commercial Production
By Roy Sencio

Radio Commercial Production is fun and easy… well maybe because I like it so much it comes off as more of a hobby than something serious like a job.

I have been producing radio ads and doing voice overs since 1993, that would sum up to almost 15 years…. wow, has it been that long?

These are the steps I usually take in producing radio commercials for our clients, granting this is the entire creative process. Sometimes clients already have copy that they would like us to simply produce, but the truth is most clients are not copywriters, so it would be best for us professionals in the field to be proactive about the process and really start from scratch.

Step 1 – Research & Analysis

You cannot possible sell a product if you know nothing about it, it’s competition, target market, its strengths and weaknesses, etc. You have to know the product inside out. I know it sounds a little complicated but the thing is, radio commercial production is not simply about writing copy, recording and sending the finished material to the radio station. There is a lot more to it than that.First of all, you have to write copy that works, copy that catches a listener’s attention and keeps that attention long enough for your radio commercial to deliver the pitch and the call to action.

If there is available information or data on past radio campaigns and radio commercials, it would be best to study them. The thing about advertising and marketing is, it actually is easy, contrary to what most people think. It is just a matter of making informed decisions based on facts, and constantly tweaking to find out which chances yield better results. When you make decisions out of assumptions or notions without hard fact to back your actions, then you are flying blind and wasting your advertising budget.

Step 2 – Copywriting

With all the information you have gathered, studied, and analyzed… you may have now a couple of conclusions. You can now prepare a project or mission statement and declare, you want to put together a radio commercial that is this and that, because this works based on past data, or your customers react favorably to this kind of commercial, etc. Always present a basis for your proposal, the rationale behind the copy.

Prepare two different pitches and two different offers, to alternate and identify which one works best. To do this, it would be best to also present two different contact methods in order to evaluate results. For example for one offer or call to action, 1800 number A is used, and for the other offer, 1800 number B is used. That way, you can measure which offer appeals more to your audience, based on the number of call ins for each number. Split test… marketing is constant testing to find which brings in better results.

Some clients rarely practice this, but it is best to do small tests on copy before going all out on a campaign. It is important to split test copy, offers, etc. Only then will you know if your copy can sell. Once you know which works well, develop and plan out the strategy. This testing is however done at a later stage, I just had to mention it now since we were talking about the copy.

Step 3 – Production

This is the part where you find the right voice actors for the parts on the copy or for the narrative. This is also when someone puts your radio commercial together, combining elements such as voice, background, effects, etc.

Step 4 – Testing

I like to refer to this portion as the mini campaign, a test period where you allocate a certain amount of money to test the effectiveness of your offer. This may not have anything to do with you if you were just a radio commercial producer or supplier, but you have to think like an agency who wants to ensure that the finished product you are giving to a client is something that will really benefit them. The trick is to let your mini campaign run and very specific times of the day for an identified number of days and with a predetermined success metric. You just simply want to find out which turned out better results, A or B, and then finalize.

Step 5 – Finalizing material

The results of your test will show which copy performs better and which didn’t. Prepare a final material that is based on the copy that performed. This is what you shall submit to your client as the final material.

Of course, those were just broad strokes of an otherwise long process, however I hope you got the idea and now have a guide in radio commercial production for advertisement that do work.

Custom Made Jingles, Commercials and Music for Television and Radio

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Posted by Roy Sencio on November 30, 2007 – 8:58 am
Filed under Radio Commercial Production

Custom Made Jingles, Commercials and Music for Television and Radio
By Tom Gauger

Looking for the right sound and company to produce that sound can be somewhat tricky, especially if this is your first run with TV or radio. While there are a number of things to look out for in terms of getting the best price with a great sounding commercial, don’t let the cheap price or the “We can just put in some “free” industrial music in the background,” take the lead.

The fact is, that great sounding commercials and effective commercials that really do in fact raise the bar with increased sales, are no stranger to great production work with seasoned and experienced writers. Our number one goal is to make great sounding commercials and jingles even if it costs us more in the end than originally anticipated. You don’t build business on half baked productions and you won’t build your business with cheaply made or in-house radio and cable made commercials. Saving a dollar almost always costs you the same dollars if not more without the increased traffic to your store front.

The number one rule when looking at broadcast media is credibility. Without the credibility you might as well throw in the towel. People like to shop and buy from companies with good reputations and they buy from who they’ve gotten to know first. Over 90% of consumers buy from who comes to their mind first. The next rule to follow is, consumers buy from who they’ve heard of first, but also with who they trust – In other words, who has driven home the credibility attribute.

Does your commercial drive home credibility? You can create credibility with credible sounding commercials. Image is everything they say and hopefully the way you do business will accommodate that image. Great sounding music with professional voice overs make the difference so much of the time that I wonder why companies will advertise on radio and TV when they throw together a cheaply made and viewed to be as cheap commercial.

Great sounding jingles and productions don’t have to cost an arm and a leg. If you remember nothing else from reading this article, remember that if you want increased sales with an image that looks like number one and with a rememberable jingle that will truly put your company first in the minds of your listeners, then get your commercial done right. Get great music with great voice over and music beds and you’ll be well on your way.

Mr Gauger is an accomplished TV and radio writer with too many credits to list here. You may contact the author at tgauger@reelmusicianpro.com or 615-300-5030. You may visit the author’s website at http://www.reelmusicianpro.com This author works with small business to national brand names.

Writing a Successful Radio Commercial

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Posted by Roy Sencio on November 27, 2007 – 8:56 am
Filed under Radio Commercial Production

Writing a Successful Radio Commercial
By Scott Perreault

When you enter the copy department of a radio station you see stress and creativity intersecting to form a radio commercial. This is an art form that is developed over time. When I was nineteen, there was an opening in the copy department of the regions number one station. The commercial load was heavy. It goes without saying, the station with the most ads is typically the favorite station. Advertisers need to reach the perspective consumers, and the best value for your advertising dollar is always with the most popular stations. The real test of the stations excellence is the copy department.

Handing copy to your radio personalities and then saying a prayer that it “turns out” acceptable to the advertiser is sadly a common occurrence in many stations.

Here are a few tips to help your write an effective radio commercial. The bottom-line fact still remains, the more talented the copywriter, the better quality of the commercial.

First, know your voice talent. Writing a script for a “Italian accent” without having someone on your staff who can effectively perform such an accent, renders the commercial a failure. Second, keep it simple. Too many commercials lose the intent with long explanations. You need to give the listener credit that after hearing the commercial, they will catch on. Third, never look back. Keep the commercial forward thinking. Positive. Finally, the object of the commercial is to sell. Ask for the sale. The commercial was sold to an advertiser by a sales representative who had to ask for the sale. Most copy writers spend all their time being creative with ideas. The exceptional radio copywriters spend the bulk of their time being creative on how to ask for the sale.

Scott Perreault (http://www.scottradio.com) is a commercial voice veteran with over twenty years of copywriting and voice work experience. From the writing, production and development of radio campaigns like the award winning “Oh Yeah©” campaign, Scott has experienced many facets of the voice business. Scott Radio offers free demo voice work. If you remember Promo code #98, the commercial is free.