How to Write a Radio Advertising Campaign
Essential Tips for Beginning a Series of Radio Scripts.
Jul 4, 2009
There is an old radio adage and one still very much relevant and true today that goes along the lines of “Double your revenue, sell two ads.” Many radio scriptwriters and radio sales executives think that their job begins and ends when only one radio commercial is written, presented and sold to the client. Nothing could be further from the truth, and the wise and savvy radio sales management will encourage their team to ‘Think Campaign.’
Think Radio Campaign
The hardest part of any journey ‘they’ often say is the first step. Once that’s completed it gets easier. The same applies to writing a radio campaign. Thinking radio campaign means:
- At the beginning, writing a number of ads
- Thinking of an advertising solution that ‘has legs’, or can run for a period of time
- Looking past the initial airtime or sales order to further campaigns and orders
- Considering a number of options and styles (more than one) to present
- Investing more time in more creative and scriptwriting work at the outset, for later rewards
Writing say five or six scripts for one client does not necessarily mean that the creative workload will increase by five or six times. All the hard work is generally invested at the start, establishing the style and agreeing the format with the client, and then simply continuing that theme for future campaign albeit with possible varying treatments.
From Initial Brief to Brand Theme
Starting with the client or advertiser’s brief is always the safest and most sensible place to start. Developing a campaign from this brief may not be as difficult as first thought. Creatively it’s often helpful to have a few thoughts and questions in mind when considering answering the initial brief, and developing a radio campaign for it. .
- Is there enough information about the advertiser to write a long term radio campaign?
- What’s the single biggest brand proposition and is it big enough for a campaign?
- Is this a brief for a one-off sale promotion only, and could radio help the business better?
- What’s the vehicle, sound or style that that will carry the brand?
- How does the advertiser want the listener to feel about their brand?
- Does the advertiser currently have a brand image or tagline that’s appropriate for radio?
Various marketing gurus and brand specialists will often talk about the importance of ‘brand consistency,’ and ‘brand development’ and any radio work for the brand should be helping to promote the brand in the same way.
Writing the Campaign
When the first script is written for an advertiser the writer, based on the brief, will generally have decided on one of the following audio treatments:
- Straight or single voice over, and the way in which this is delivered
- Two or Multiple voice-overs and possibly an audio scenario, a small radio play
- Music feature, either custom music or bespoke theme
- What sound effects to use
- A new or current selling line, or brand statement
Simple as it might sound to write a radio campaign rather than just one ad, it’s important that the style of the first ad is carried through on subsequent ads. Maintaining this style should very quickly and easily lead to ideas for another two, three, four or more scripts all based on the theme. Rather than constricting any creativity it leads to a greater increase in the number of ads all based around a common theme, and because the writer isn’t now starting from a standing start, and a void of ideas, there are a number of good signposts to follow.
Success and Future Developments
Interestingly once the client accepts the concept and the development of the campaign idea, writing further scripts for various selling propositions; sale time, special offers, more generic ads, seasonal promotions becomes even easier. The writer knows the parameters and has a starting point, and the client knows how the ad is going to sound and has already approved the style. Success all round!
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