If you advertise or are thinking about advertising on the radio please heed this warning…. RADIO COMMERCIAL PRODUCTION COUNTS. (This is the script, voice-over, background music, theme, sound fx, etc. used in your commercial). I not only say this because I own a production company, but because I want to see my clients and friends who own businesses succeed. Many times the “QUALITY” step in radio commercial production is completely thrown to the wind.
Here is the scenario: A hard-working business owner will make the decision to advertise on the radio. The owner will put loads of their hard earned cash into an advertising schedule… What is the next step? Creation of a compelling commercial message – A key step in any advertising campaign. However – Many times this step is done with minimal care, or none at all. Either a business will use a radio stations “Free” production services or go to a dirt cheap production house and hope for the best… Not all, but most of the time these “free” or dirt cheap production services tend to be “free” or cheap for a reason. Just as there is a reason the lemon car on the close-out lot is $100. Is it a car – Yes. Will it get you where you need to go – No.
The business owner will get their commercial on the air, see little to no results and then come back and say the infamous words “radio didn’t work for me”. When in reality, it was the specific piece of cheap production that didn’t work for them. If a car runs out of gas and leaves you stranded because you didn’t fill it up, you can’t blame car for not taking you from point A to point B.
If a business is spending more than one thousand dollars on advertising placement, wouldn’t it make sense to invest the extra couple hundred dollars it costs to put a quality and compelling radio commercial together? If your radio commercial is creative and compelling it will likely yield results, if it is carelessly thrown together from a “free” or dirt cheap commercial-by-the-dozen production service it likely won’t. Even worse, you will have thrown away thousands on advertising time with an in-effective message.
A good radio commercial production company will-
1- Ask questions, communicate, and get to know you and your business. They should find out what You’re goals are for your commercial, and an idea of the over-all feel you would like for the commercial.
2- Be able to provide examples of previous work (hopefully you will be able to recognize some of these samples from casual listening).
3- Be able to provide honest insight and feedback to your questions and suggestions, not just say “YES” to all your questions in order to get you out the door.
4- Be able to show you multiple Positive reviews from past clients, so you know you’re dealing with someone who knows what they are doing.
5- Deliver a quality product in a timely manner.
Creating an effective radio commercial isn’t rocket science, but it is a craft that should be left to qualified professionals who care about the success of your business. If you don’t succeed – businesses like mine would not succeed either. A radio commercial production company that understands and lives by this basic principle is a key to helping you succeed in the marketplace.