In a webinar by Audacy last week titled “Audio Creative Guide for Advertisers,” marketing industry experts spoke on how to create radio and podcast ads resonate with consumers. Here are some tips.
Don’t talk about the competition
According to Amanda DiMarco, Director of Client Success at Veritronic, it’s important to mention your brand early on so consumers know what they’re listening to right away. Then, they can focus on the selling points they’re hearing about your brand. It is also better to talk more about your brand than the rival. “The more you mention the competition, the more you are putting someone else’s name out there,” DiMarco said. “You have valuable time, whether it’s 15 or 30 seconds, you have to fill that time with what is important about differentiating you and your brand.”
Incorporate a call to action
Offer listeners a promo code, or refer them to a website or a number to call or text for additional information. This will help engage listeners and give them a reason to follow up with some action upon hearing an audio ad.
Focus on one selling point
Resist the temptation to push too many selling points in one spot. “The most common misconception is overwriting scripts and throwing too many things into one spot where it is not conversational anymore,” said radio ad producer Dylan Riggs. Ads that take a laundry list approach leave listeners confused or tuned out.
Riggs recommended that if a client wants to highlight numerous selling points, multiple ads that rotate are a better option than trying to list a bunch of benefits in a single ad. “We need to have a clear message – especially in radio,” he said.
Don’t repurpose a TV ad for radio
Another temptation advertisers must resist is the desire to turn a successful TV ad into a radio ad. Since sound is the only sensory element at an advertiser’s arsenal disposal, you need to make sure you are utilizing sound to its ultimate potential. Stripping a TV ad of its visual components will likely leave you with sonic elements that are not as powerful as they may have seemed when combined with the visuals.
DiMarco said there is mounting empirical evidence for why TV ads should not be repurposed for radio. “Who is watching TV, listening to radio, or listening to podcasts – there are variations there,” she said. What resonates with a TV audience will likely have different results on another medium.
Be authentic
Host-read ads can have a big impact, but they must come across as plausible to listeners.
“Listeners can also tell when the involvement is genuine,” said Je-Anne Berry, Executive Producer of Branded Podcasts for Pineapple Street Studios, “so you want an influencer whose involvement with your product is going to come across as genuine because the audience is decerning.” She said that if a brand is integrating with a show because of the host, keep in mind that the audience has heard that host’s stories. They will know “the host’s journey and the way they talk about things,” Berry said.
If a host cannot honestly endorse a product or service based on their own personal experience, Berry suggests they talk about how it could help someone in their life, or how it addresses something they have been curious about.
For more tips on creating great radio ads, visit the Strategic Media, Inc. Newsroom. And for help getting your radio or podcast ad on the air, contact us today.