By Charles Lee Mathews. Radio may be powerful, but bad creative can turn expensive airtime into dead air. We chat to leading radio creatives about how brands can make ads that are simpler, sharper and more memorable.
Research suggests that an agonising amount of radio spend is wasted on bad advertising. MarkLives MEDIA asked people who know how to make great radio commercials for their advice on how to ensure you don’t squander another rand.
“Radio is the most expensive medium to reach consumers. In fact, the cost per consumer reached is even more expensive than television,” laments Pepe Marais, the co-founder and group chief creative officer of Joe Public.
92% of ads are dead air
He points to a System1 study showing that 92% of the $750 billion spent on advertising globally is ineffective. “If the most expensive cost in advertising is the cost of media, and not your agency’s fees or your production cost, why would you not want to fill that space with highly memorable, emotionally resonant content?” asks Marais.
Excellent questions. Which is why MarkLives MEDIA has asked some of the smartest people in the industry what the best creative practice is for radio. “The biggest benefit of radio is that you can produce outstanding work at a far lesser cost than a television commercial. You are also dealing with the theatre of the mind, so you can take the consumer to the furthest place on the planet, right from within their vehicles during drive time,” says Marais.
Joe Public is the agency behind the multi-award-winning radio advert for Hansa Pilsener’s “You Deserve a Beer” campaign for SAB AB InBev. The humour in the commercial is drier than the pilsener.
Overcomplicate at your peril
Marais’ best practice advice for creativity in radio? “Keep it simple. Say one thing, and say it well. Less is always, always more. Trying to fit a laundry list into one commercial and thinking you are doing your job well by ticking all your boxes fails to tick the most important box: effectiveness. Keep it insightful. We have such a rich tapestry of culture within our country. Tap into it,” he says
“I would rather reach less consumers and know that I have reached them effectively, than reach a mass, knowing that they won’t remember a word I have said,” says Marais.
When it comes to assembling a playbook for creative best practice in radio, Mohlalefi Lentsoane, executive creative director of Avatar Agency Group, says it’s best to abandon established formulas. “My brain doesn’t quite work when I hear words like ‘rule book’. I’m not trying to be pretentious, but the only rule in that book should be: “What’s the idea?” If the idea is good enough, then the execution should try to throw away all the rules in the book,” he advises.
The big idea wins
“I find that we are no longer playful enough with the medium, and I think it’s because of the shiny new things we’ve found to play with in our industry. But the idea is still, and always will be king,” Lentsoane notes.
What about the art of narrative? “Storytelling is everything in radio. I think what’s missing for me in a lot of radio adverts is the ability to build worlds. Many creatives go straight into writing dialogue, a soliloquy or a monologue, without knowing what world they are operating in,” he says.
“The ability to identify or create a world in which your words exist is very important. That way, you can bend the rules of that world to make your story more captivating. I know, I’m old school like that. Sorry,” Lentsoane explains.
Obsession is powerful
Lentsoane’s advice for creatives and copywriters making brutally short ads? “Obsession. It takes a long time to write a great 30-second radio spot. Believe me, it’s much easier to write a 60-seconder. It’s brutal, and the only antidote I have for pain is obsession. Just write, write, write,” he says.
Balekane Mokoditoa, creative director of FCB Africa, reckons that radio ads must be great from the get-go. “Ensure that you hook the listener in very early. A strong intro keeps the listener hooked, and they want to listen to more,” he says.
“Read and research the thing you’re selling. Tell me about it in a way no one else has. Or tell me about it in a way that’s out of character for that particular category. Don’t do banking ads that sound like banking ads. We expect that. But a banking ad that sounds like a Nike ad? Now you’ve got my attention,” says Mokoditoa.
Storytelling always engages
Marais is not a big fan of the early hook. “I don’t really buy this ‘hook people early’ argument. This is another rhetoric born of the digital tsunami of average. Our most engaging work in the social space is mostly long-form storytelling, with a strong twist at the end. Like telling a good joke,” he says.
“If it is interesting enough, people will listen to the end. Yes, you can bring the product in earlier. Apple is great at doing so, but the twist is left to the end. Research shows that when a consumer is left to complete the circle, the work becomes more memorable,” says Marais.
“True commercial value for me is communication that remains within the most valuable space available to marketers: the space between the consumers’ ears,” he adds. “Make the spot longer, and say less in more time, in a unique and outstanding way. That is the best you can do for your brand. Unless you have a 50% off sale,” Marais quips.
Turns out Kurt Cobain was right when he wrote that seminal line in “Smells Like Teen Spirit”: “Here we are now, entertain us”. If you’re not using creativity to engage your audience, they will tune out the ad.
Charles Lee Mathews is a senior editor to MarkLives MEDIA and a senior writer to MarkLives.com, as well as co-founder of The Writers, a writing consultancy.
