Country Radio Seminar What can TV do for your station? What Works & What Doesn't? Production vs. Air Time All that matters is RESULTS

What can TV do for your station?

Is Television best suited for creating Brand Awareness or a Call to Action? Every visual communication on TV creates brand awareness. The 'look and feel' of your commercial, the way it sounds, the message you communicate all MUST match the personality of your product. Even if you are asking listeners to tune in at 7:20 AM and win $1,000 (call to action), you must always be committed to staying true to raising POSITIVE, consistent brand awareness. What are a few trade secrets you can share with us to create effective outdoor? 1) Hook the viewer in the first 5 seconds. Say or show something unexpected to get their attention. 2) If you can get ONE message across in 30 seconds, you're doing great! 3) Sometimes it's OK to tell them what you going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them. I repeat, repetition is OK. 2x4 advertising works, as in, whack them with a 2x4 to get the message across. 4) It isn't creative if it doesn't sell, or if the viewer remembers the spot but not the product, or if the viewer doesn't get the message. ALL THAT MATTERS IS RESULTS. 5) There MUST be ONE single clear message. 6) TV costs much more money and takes much more time to create than a radio campaign. It takes many weeks to produce TV as opposed to just a few hours to get a radio spot on air. Please please please provide as much lead time as possible to produce a superior TV spot. More time in pre-production is a good thing. 7) The storyboard, please. TV is a visual medium. There MUST be a storyboard. I like to use a 30-frame board for a 30-second spot so everyone from client to editor understands proper shot timing and how the spot flows. In your experience, what should a station consider when choosing the type of commercial that is right for them? The personality of the TV spot should mirror the personality of the product. What is your all-time favorite TV campaign for radio? Check out our website! www.RoslerCreative.com »

What Works & What Doesn't?

What are some of your favorite TV commercials for other products? Federal Express. Classic problem/solution advertising. David Ogilvie would be proud. UPS. Great job of creating a brand awareness and a personality for 'Brown'. They took an ugly truck and made it a powerful symbol. IBM. The blue letterboxed spots are droll and often dynamite. Good job making 'Big Blue' look human while reinforcing brand awareness. Milk. 'Got Milk' creates brand awareness for a generic product. That's a good trick. What are some bad examples of TV advertising? Beer ads - all the same. Great production, lots of T&A and no real brand identity (except for Budweiser Clydesdales). Was that spot for Miller, Molson, or Becks??? Same for car ads - many are beautiful, but was that a Nissan, Toyota, or Ford?! Any Basketball shoe. Time to move beyond hip-hop and slam dunks.

Production vs. Air Time

Radio managers often struggle over the production and air time costs. Stations either spend so much on creative, they don't have enough budget left to buy an effective schedule, while other stations sacrifice the creative to buy a bigger schedule. What would you do in this case? My very rough rule of thumb is to spend around 10 to 20 percent of your media buy on quality production. So if you're planning a $500K media buy, consider spending $50K to $100K for production. $200K TV budget should spend $25K for production. We produce many very effective spots in the $10K to $15K range for smaller-market stations spending less than $100K on their local media buy. If you can't afford an effective schedule, you shouldn't be on TV. I suggest at least 300 Gross Ratings Points a week for at least 6 to 8 weeks. NEVER go cheap on creative to afford buying an extra show or two. That's penny wise and pound foolish.

All that matters is RESULTS

One of your signature radio ads, is "Real People." Are listener testimonial ads still effective today? Take a serious look at TV commercials and you'll realize that many are actually testimonials of some sort. The most effective ones use REAL real people. If done properly (a BIG if) they will be effective forever because of their credibility and imperfections. That's right, these are NOT perfect people. They're NOT actors. They ARE believable, often humorous and totally relatable to ordinary viewers. (Have you been in a focus group room recently?!) We keep shooting RealPeople because they keep on working and frankly, nobody does it quite like us. What's the shelf life of an effective TV commercial? Many of our RealPeople campaigns run for 2 to 3 years, if we update them periodically. A very heavy media buy for a one-joke spot that irritates viewers the third time around may burn out in weeks. On the other hand, a great spot can defy the odds and last a LONG time. Clients tend to get tired of their TV campaigns long before they lose effectiveness in the real marketplace. Watch TV today and you'll see many 'classic' spots that return year after year...because they work. See previous reference to the Budweiser Clydesdales for an annual brand awareness favorite. Because ALL THAT MATTERS IS RESULTS. What's wrong with most radio TV Commercials you see today? Boring. Or stupid. Often both. Cheap looking. No visual concept. Creative by committee. No clear communication of a benefit. Enough generic video clips already! What is the most effective way to use TV for radio today? Announce something, or introduce someone, or provide a believable benefit. Give at least one real reason to ask for the order and build CUME. Who is Peter Rosler? Decades of creating powerful TV campaigns that really work for every radio format. Ad Agency Creative Director for Frito Lay, Quaker Oates, Holiday Inns, American Airlines, and Zales Jewelers. Hundreds of Awards: Clio, One Show, Addys, and Telly Awards. Rosler is best known for REAL PEOPLE TV spots (quick- cut, genuine and believable listener testimonials spots). A favorite of consultants and strategic researchers because Rosler spots test well and provide genuine results. Peter Rosler can be reached at 800 707-1414 or at peter@roslercreative.com