One of the biggest misconceptions of what radio imaging is, is that it’s ‘marketing’ when in fact it isn’t at all, it’s ‘advertising’.
The difference between marketing and advertising is that marketing talks about the company (in this case the radio station) where advertising talks about the consumer (in this case the listener) selling the positive attributes of the product, your radio station!
Radio listeners are a hardened bunch, which comes from years and years of being bombarded with messages not just through the radio, but through the TV, on billboards, even in public bathrooms. Everywhere they go someone is trying to sell them something! Radio listeners have become quite adept at using their bullshit alarms. When they hear BS it shuts out the message. Radio imaging that takes the ‘marketing’ route is automatically ‘STOPPED’ from entering the brain and your message that you are “The Rock Station the REALLY Rocks!” is lost in the ether.
There are two kinds of advertising:
”call to action’ advertising and
”brand’ advertising.
In the case of radio imaging ‘call to action’ ads are your typical: “Listen at 5 for the Drive at Five” or “coming up in the next 30 minutes your chance to win…” a message that asks the listener to do something (listen) at a particular time of the day or to do something specifically as it relates to the radio station.
Effective radio imaging is ‘brand’ advertising
In order to do effective brand advertising you need to first understand how you are perceived by your listeners. I’ve said it many times before “branding starts in the listeners mind”. Once you understand that you can build on it and then help the listener to expand what he believes to be true about your station with each progressive imaging liner…with each progressive imaging campaign.
If you want to win the hearts of your listeners you need to get into their minds. And the key to getting into their mind is not through marketing…it’s through brand advertising.
Consumers don’t buy products anymore they buy brands. What are you doing to build your radio station’s brand?
Whether I’m lecturing on the subject of radio, writing for media or how to market your small business, one of my main mantras is that sex doesn’t sell…fear sells! It’s one of those pesky survival instincts that we still carry around from our caveman days.
If your message isn’t relevant to my immediate situation (and survival) I won’t pay attention to it. Craft your message so that it’s relevant to my immediate situation and your message will be burned into my memory.
What’s On Their Mind
Think about what’s on the mind of your potential client as they are discovering your message. Are they exposed to your message while reading a magazine? What’s the subject of the magazine and how can you craft your message to coincide with what they’re thinking about? Perhaps they are exposed to your message in the form of a poster in a hockey arena…how can you create a relevant message to sell your product/service?
Being Relevant
If you’re a home decorator and you’ve decided to attract all of the hockey Moms of your neighbourhood at the arena with a poster, play up the fact that while they’re “…stuck here at the arena, who’s updating the look of your home so you won’t look ridiculous when all the other hockey Moms come over for coco later”…?
How can you make your small business message relevant for the places you’ve decided to do your marketing?
One marketing message for all situations won’t work, you need to make it relevant!
Sometimes the art of communicating ideas is about the art of communicating through color. I’ve been aware of the Pantone annual report for several years, as many other Montréalers do, I have friends who work in the fashion business and use the info religiously to plan their work.
Last year the Pantone color of the year was Turquoise, in 2009 it was Mimosa, in 2008 it was Blue Iris, etc.
Well, this year (2011) the Pantone color of the year is Honeysuckle:
Honeysuckle emboldens us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor. A dynamic reddish pink, Honeysuckle is encouraging and uplifting. It elevates our psyche beyond escape, instilling the confidence, courage and spirit to meet the exhaustive challenges that have become part of everyday life.
You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words? Well, a color is something that is beyond words…it’s primal.
Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going – perfect to ward off the blues…[it] may also bring a wave of nostalgia for its associated delicious scent reminiscent of the carefree days of spring and summer. – Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®
Color goes inside of you and activates something in your soul, it communicates an idea that just goes without saying.
Color is a powerful communication tool, so how are you going to get it working for you?
Contrary to popular belief I’m not in the voice over business…I am in the storytelling business. Every script I receive is a story in one form or another and I’m hired to tell that story. If you’ve attended one of my lectures you will already know that this is my core approach to everything I do.
That said look at this awesome :30 second story, told without a voice over at all:
David Tyler is a creative communicator and voice over talent with 35+ years of experience in the broadcasting.
His mantra of ‘Stop Communicating and Start Connecting’ is his counsel to anyone attempting to use media, old or new, broadcast or online.
He writes and lectures on “The Art of Communicating Ideas.”
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