What Makes An Effective Radio Ad???

The Radio Ad Lab scientifically measures reactions to the commercials we all listen to, getting a sensory and emotional response to the spots they test.  It’s a bit spooky and personal to go so far as to test zygomatic muscles which are indicators of positive emotional responses, but this is what they’re paid good money to do.  Why ask why???

So what were their latest results as to what makes a good radio commercial?  To begin with, strong beginnings make a difference.  “An involving point of entry distinguishes some of the most successful radio ads in our study”.  Secondly, word selection matters.  “Words that are sensory-laden, emotional or empowering have a demonstrable impact on the emotional reactions of consumers.”  Thirdly, audio can be powerful.  “Audio can generate stronger emotions than visuals, especially when the tonality in the ad is used effectively.”  And the fourth highlight that came out of the study - brand mentions have an impact.  “The best radio ads mention the advertiser’s brand multiple times, strategically placed to correlate with moments of high consumer engagement.”  Stop me if you’ve heard of some of these study highlights before…

There’s lots more in the Radio Ad Lab study available including a moment-by-moment study of spots produced by ALLSTATE, Campbell’s soup and Oscar Mayer.  All 3 commercials tested well.  You mean the Empire Carpet commercials didn’t test well???

Personally, I was happy to hear that “Mr. Opportunity” is now knocking on a door in the Honda radio commercials.  Thank you Honda for wisely figuring out that you can’t knock on a TV screen for radio…

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1938] Grand Salami Champ: Lou Gehrig hits his 23rd career grand slam against the A’s - his career record for grand slams still stands…
2. 1953] Dropping a bomb: The Soviet Union publicly acknowledges it had tested a hydrogen bomb…
3. 1964] Anti-poverty: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs a nearly $1 billion anti-poverty measure…
4. 1977] Voyager 2: The U.S. launches Voyager 2, an unmanned spacecraft carrying a 12-inch copper phonograph record containing greetings in dozen of languages, samples of music, sounds of nature and the Murray The K show open…
5. 1989] A self-defense claim: Record executive Jose Menendez  and his wife Kitty are shot to death by their sons Lyle and Erik, who claim self-defense after being abused. The 1st trial ends in hung juries but eventually the brothers are convicted and are still serving their terms…
6. 1990] Don’t let the door hit you on the way out: George Steinbrenner  steps down as Yankees owner after being banned from baseball by Commissioner Fay Vincent, Gene Michael is named VP/GM. Steinbrenner is reinstated in 1993…
7. 1992] Vote for us: The Republican National Convention nominates President George H.W. Bush and VP Dan Quayle for a second term…
8. 1998] Payback: Retaliating 13 days after the deadly embassy bombings  in Kenya and Tanzania, the U.S. strikes against al-Qaida training camps in Afghanistan and Sudan…
9. 2006] Can’t hold that Tiger: Tiger Woods wins the PGA Championship by 5 strokes over Shaun Micheel…
10. 2007] ‘Queen of Mean’ is gone: Leona Helmsley  dies from congestive heart failure at 87…

Music Memories:

1966] Number One on this date: …”Beauty Is Only Skin Deep” - Temptations…1974] “Angie“ - Rolling Stones…

Commentary:

The Columbia/Epic Records Alumni Group informs that Irwin Segelstein, former president of Columbia/Epic Records has passed away suddenly here in New York.  Funeral services will be held Thursday, August 21st at 12:45 p.m. at Riverside Memorial, 76th Street and Amsterdam Avenue.  Irwin was a giant in television at ABC & NBC, mentoring Fred Silverman before moving into the record industry where he became “Mr. Everything”.  He will be sorely missed by everyone that knew him…    

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”:

Joan Allen (52), Al Roker (54), Robert Plant (60), Jim Pankow (61), Connie Chung (62), Graig Nettles (64) and George Mitchell (75)…

Timeline Countdown: 12 days until Labor Day and 15 days for the NFL opener (Washington @ NYG)…

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August, 20, 2008 at 07: 10:10 p08 and is filed under Today's Post. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.