9/15/05 TVBR #181) - - she in turn, commenting on Clear Channel's LIM. She says, "Simply put, it is nearly
impossible to get most clients' information crammed into a :30 ad and generate a listenable spot that doesn't sound like it's on fast forward and will still pull results."
When a marketing campaign is a laundry list of phone numbers, prices, and details then yes, it's ridiculous to try and use a :30. But, why are you taking that approach to begin with? My agency spends enormous amounts of time un-doing the hideous mentality of the more you cram into the spot, the "better" it is. Nonsense. By sticking to a single selling point, reinforcing the clients name and location (if retail) or contact information (if a service) you can easily make listenable, and effective advertising :30's. It's basics that go back half a century.
Considering I spend 99% of my time writing :60's, I can speak from decades of experience on this. Clients seek to shove amazing amounts of data into their spot, even when shown everything from a simple word-count (too many words, trim it down), to the ping-ponging of thoughts and ideas as multiple selling points are crisscrossed in that :60.
I once was PD at a station where our spot philosophy was simple. Stand up, speak up, shut up, sit down. If you can make it effective in :30, use a :30.
If the concept or the single selling point really does warrant a :60, use a :60.
I have no love for the Evil Empire, and several of their finest creative people are my best colleagues. But their across-the-board mandate on :30's is absolutely asinine. What's the problem with simply using the length necessary to make the most effective sales message?
Even Arbitron's Spot Load Study 2005, on page 19, under "Recommendations," number five says, "Producing BETTER, not just fewer commercials is an answer to protecting time spent listening and generating better RESULTS FOR ADVERTISERS". And number six adds, "Stations tend to spend lavish resources on promoting and programming... Applying the same focus and creative energy to advertiser messages will make a station more fun to listen to and better RESULTS FOR ADVERTISERS"
Hire GOOD scriptwriters who really know HOW to write for radio. The whole :30 vs :60 argument is stupid. It's yet another pile of crap foisted upon advertisers (along with the deluge of statistical data as to why one station is "better" than another), that does nothing more than confuse clients, annoy creative departments, and appeal to stockholders and the suits in the carpeted offices.
It's not rocket science. It's only advertising.
Thanks for letting me vent.
Regards,
Andrew Frame
BAFSoundWorks
Lehigh Acres, Florida
Are you reading this from a forwarded email?
