Why Fit In When You Can Stand Out
Why fit in, when you can stand out. #ideas #creativeideas pic.twitter.com/gvk22PH36x
— David Tyler (@DavidTylerVO) October 27, 2015
3 Tips for A Better Cup of Coffee
There is no better feeling especially on a dark, rainy September day, than knowing there is a hot cup of coffee waiting for you at work. All you need to do is ordering coffee pod delivery in NY and enjoy your coffee.
As a voice over artist I know there are plenty of voice coaches who say you should never drink coffee because it’s a diarrhetic and will dry you out and they’re right, however I find the benefit of a more open airway outweighs that warning and because of being able to breath better it actually helps me do my voice work.
Like I explain to students who take my online course, caffeine is a drug that is very similar to theophylline. Theophylline is a bronchodilator drug that’s taken to open up the airways in the lungs. A study done in 2007 scientifically demonstrated that point.
All things considered I never, ever put any dairy products into my coffee because it make’s your mouth sticky or ‘clicky’, which is most definitely not good for recording voice over. The biggest reason people give for adding milk or cream to their coffee is usually because it just doesn’t taste good.
So if you’re like me and want to enjoy your coffee to the fullest here are 3 ways to do it!
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Get a French Press:
A big part of the taste of coffee comes from the oils it produces. Sadly those who use a paper filter between bean and cup are losing some of those flavour oils in the process. To keep the oils in your coffee consider using a French Press like the one pictured to the right. You’ll taste the difference right away.
2. Pre-Heat Water before using:
If you have no choice but to use a drip coffee machine with a paper filter consider it’s biggest drawback…the water never gets hot enough to get the most flavour out of the grounds!
Try this next time: preheat the water by running it through the machine without any coffee. Then after setting up your filter and coffee, run that same pot of now hot water through for a second time! Remember, the hotter the water the better the taste.
3. Store Beans Properly:
For the best tasting coffee also consider how you store your beans before you use them.
You should never take beans directly from the freezer and put them directly under steaming water. The beans you want to use are the ones at room temperature.
If you buy your beans in bulk divide them up into weekly sealed containers. Keep what you’ll need for the week on the counter at room temperature (or in the fridge) and the other weeks’ portions in the freezer to preserve them for later use.
Bonus Tip: Buy your coffee beans freshly roasted and only grind them when you’re ready to use them.
If you love coffee like I do, try these 3 tips on for size and let me know your results!
The 5 Truths About Commercial Copy Writing
The path between a great idea and a great broadcast ready commercial is paved with excellent copy writing. Unfortunately, often times and at no fault of the copy writer, the message gets obscured because of the too-many-cooks principle.
If it was up to copy writers alone all commercials would be divine inspirations that communicate an idea clearly and effectively. However as you know there’s more to the process including well intentioned sales people, the clients themselves and don’t forget the client’s knowledgable hairdresser who believes the product name should be said at least 6 times in a :30 second commercial to be most effective!
If you’re a commercial copy writer and you’re looking for ammunition to pull out when all of the above “cooks” start trying to help make the commercial better, arm yourself with my 5 truths about commercial copy writing.
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Commercials are meant to sell, not entertain
A successful commercial is not one that wins awards for it’s creativity or that’s funny, it’s one that motivates the listener to act. To go out and buy the product, period.
This should be your main goal as soon as you sit down to write and if it’s not you’re being unfaithful to the client’s needs.
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Less is more
It’s not just a cliché. Retailers who buy commercial airtime sometimes think that they need to fill it with as much information about their product as they can possible squeeze in. You’ll need to explain to them that this approach works against the purpose of the commercial…stimulating an emotional response which then motivates the audience to act.
My friend Nick Michaels takes it a step further when he says, “The more words you use the LESS the listener gets to actively participate. Does your message allow for the act of discovery or is the listener a VICTIM of the message?”
The white space you leave between the words is where the audience gets to participate through introspection and inadvertently internalizes the message you’re trying to convey.
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Advertising solves problems
Let’s be honest, people don’t care about the product, they care about what the product can do for them.
When you’re tasked with writing a commercial the first question you need to ask yourself is “what problem does it solve?” and then build a message that conveys that information to the listener in a meaningful way.
It’s a 3 step process:
Step 1 – Identify the need that will be filled or problem that will be solved
Step 2 – Make the listener aware of that need or problem
Step 3 – Show them how the product will solve that need or problem
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One core message is all you need
More today than at any other time, your audience is busy living their lives and will only respond to a simple, crystal clear message that they can relate to.
If in your creative meeting you conclude that XYZ Money Lenders ‘will solve your money problems’ make that your core message and build the commercial backwards from there. Your core message is the bullseye of the entire commercial and the fact that their lineups are short, their staff is friendly or that they have 18 convenient locations, is not. Anything that is outside of your target will only confuse the message.
If the client insists on mentioning more than one core message suggest a separate commercial for each of them.
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Radio is a visual medium
I’ve spent more years working in radio than in television but the truth is that building a picture in the mind of the listener and igniting introspection, is at the core of radio’s success. This is thoroughly explained in an article titled Visual Imagery: Applications to Advertising on the Association for Consumer Research website (quoted below).
[blockquote author=”John R. Rossiter, Columbia University”][Mental] imagery may prove to be the primary principle for the psychology of learning.[/blockquote]
From a practical (ie. budgetary) standpoint when you’re writing a radio commercial vs. TV commercial you have much more freedom to create than in TV. When you’re writing for radio use the medium to it’s fullest potential.
Conclusion: Commercial copy writing isn’t a lost art but it does sometimes get overlooked in the fast paced, day-to-day operations of connecting clients to consumers. I hope this list helps you do that in a way that benefits both you and your clients.
What would you add to my list? Leave your thoughts or commercial copy writing truths in the comment field below.
Better Radio Imaging Through Better Understanding
Admittedly, one of the hardest things for radio people to do is to listen to their radio station the way a listener listens, but it remains a crucial skill that broadcaster’s need to develop before they can properly brand their radio station.
For far too long radio programmers have thought they heard listeners say they wanted “Less Talk, More Rock”, yet that was an over simplification of what listeners were asking for from their radio station.
With radio’s ever increasing competition from satellite, streaming, and internet radio, not to mention a flotilla of other entertainment options like digital TV, home theater and video games, we have to better understand what listeners come to our stations for and echo that proposition in our imaging statement.
It doesn’t matter how hard you want to be “The Rock Station That REALLY Rocks”, if the audience doesn’t see you as being that then you will only be “The Rock Station That THINKS It Really Rocks”. Branding begins in the consumers mind so the first step to better branding is to understand how we are perceived.
What’s For Dinner
As an entertainment option, let’s try to understand why people turn to radio. Imagine this: You and your significant other go out to a restaurant for dinner with a couple of friends. What are you actually going out for, the food? Not necessarily. While the food is the object of the get together, it isn’t the reason for getting together, you want to talk, catch up and share stories. In the same way, your listeners are coming to you for the music (or information if you are a News/Talk station) but what’s making them stay and what compels them to come back time and time again? As I’ve said in other articles, songs (or information) are the bricks of this ‘radio house’ if you will, but what holds it all together is the mortar…what’s holding your ‘radio house’ together?
Better Radio Imaging Through Better Understanding
So how does all of this relate to imaging your radio station? As soon as you realize that the reason your listeners are listening to your radio station isn’t just for the music you’ll see that “Less Talk, More Rock” isn’t a very good way to brand yourself in fact it’s quite limiting. Saying that you play “10 Songs In A Row” or “100 Songs In A Row” for that matter, doesn’t cut it either. If that’s what they really want they’ll just plug into their iPod and get 1,000 songs in a row! It’s necessary to understand what makes your listener listen and then give them that wrapped up neatly in your imaging. If your audience’s understanding of what your station is doesn’t match yours then ask yourself why? Then decide if you should change your station or adjust your imaging to match your listener’s expectations.
Time to Rethink
Branding is an art that honestly, most radio people haven’t mastered yet. You need to capture your listener’s imagination while reflecting their perceptions. To help make my point I use this example often: if a radio person were in charge of coming up with the imaging statement for Coca-Cola it would be something like, “Your Favourite Blend of Sugar, Water and Artificial Coca Flavouring”. Uh, yeah, that’s what it is, but how is it perceived in the mind of the consumer? It’s seen as being the number one Cola on the market, they defined what all Cola’s are, Coca Cola was the first cola drink most of us ever experienced, which is why it is better branded as: “The Real Thing”.
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- The Hudson’s Bay Company isn’t branded as “Cloths, Perfume, Kitchen Appliances and Furniture”, it’s branding statement is “More Than You Came For”
- Hewlett Packard is not “Printers” it’s imaging statement is “Invent”
- Bell Mobility isn’t “Cell Phones and Accessories” it’s “We Are All Connected”
- Microsoft isn’t “Computers”, it’s “Where Do You Want To Go Today”
Do you see how brand savvy companies have captured the spirit of how the consumer sees their product? So why would you brand your radio station as being the station that “Plays Your Favourites Of The 70’s 80’s, 90’s and Now”. It’s time to rethink the way you brand your radio station. Ask yourself, what is the unique proposition that you can offer a listener. Or better yet ask your listener what they think of your radio station.
Conclusion
While a perceptual study is a good idea I would never rely entirely on its outcome, the way they are done can be misleading. Remember it was a focus group that gave us “Less Talk, More Rock”… That being said listen to what your jocks are saying about the calls they get, at public events strike up a conversation with a listener or even hang around in the lobby and listen to what contest winners are saying about the station to your receptionist. You may be surprised at what you actually hear your listeners say about your station…because it won’t be about the food!
Connecting is the Key to Success
[blockquote author=”David Tyler”]Connecting is the key to influencing is the key to leading is the key to success![/blockquote]
