Airforce Radio Commercials, Radio Adverts and Advertising Jingles

What can or can't you say in finance radio adverts ?

2012-01-25T08:28:00.000-08:00

RACC have published an easy guide relating to the mandatory inclusions in finance ads.

Read them here.

If you're looking for radio commercials that keep within the rules AND sound interesting, get in touch and we can draft a concept for free.

Click here for our contact details.

John Calvert

New Music Showreel !

2012-01-11T09:16:00.000-08:00

We've just given our music showreel a quick freshen up.

Listen to a selection of jingles and music soundtracks produced for local, regional and national radio advertisers.

It ALL sounds national !

Click here to hear it.

Let's set you to music. Click here to get our contact details on the Airforce website.

John Calvert

London 2012. Don't get sued !

2012-01-04T09:30:00.000-08:00

With the Olympic Games coming to London this year, many radio advertisers may be tempted to take advantage of this event.However, the rules surrounding the Games are tighter than ever.

Even just using the word 'Olympic' could land you into trouble !Get full details on what you can and can't do here.

Our recommendation ? The media will be saturated with all things Olympic. Therefore the stand-out factor for your Radio Advert won't be as good. Focus instead on what makes your product, service or brand a winner by adopting non-sport related parallels, metaphors and scenarios.

That way, you can still inspire minds AND save a fortune on legal fees !

...But if you're still tempted to have a radio commercial that has a 'games feel', seek quality legal advice.

John Calvert.

The Radio Listener is Unforgiving

2011-08-13T04:53:00.000-07:00

About 6 weeks ago, I got a call from someone I hadn't seen for at least 8 years.

The last time we spoke was when we were both working for a commercial radio station. He was a Sales Manager, I was the Commercial Producer. His relationship with Airforce stretches back many many years and he is a huge fan of our work.

To cut a long story short, I got the call because this chap had been called in to turn an ailing radio station around and he wanted us to improve the station's commercial output.

This is a small station with a poor track record. So the challenge of clearing up the mess from the past is going to be hard one. But this guy WANTS to make it work, the station's owners want to make it work and so do all the staff. In a few weeks, the station has re-branded and reformatted. To attract more 'national' revenue it will be going into RAJAR soon. Already the signs are good. Staff Morale is good, average order values are up and the audience is responding favourably to the new sound. Having said that, the station is very aware it has a long way to go. But no problem, they are on the case.

My job is to focus on improving the sound of the commercials. I am in regular contact with the sales team and doing everything I can to assist them. Such as accompanying them on sales calls. Even on projects that just require 'everyday' commercial production, I am trying to make a point of being there. If other businesses hear half-decent ads on the station, chances are they will want a slice of the action.

We're calling the initiative 'A New Creative Attitude'. My deal with the station is that we will provide free creative training, instigate at our own cost an on air creative strategy to attract new advertisers and embed a better creative mind-set in the sales team. In return Airforce will get new business leads. We win, the station wins, the advertisers win and the audience wins.

And while all that is happening, I get emails from 2 community radio stations asking how much Airforce charge to make radio ads. I gave them an indication and BOTH responded by saying words to the effect of: 'Those costs are too high, we're only a community station'.

Look: Just because you're a Community radio station, it doesn't mean the audience is going to be happy with your naff commercial output. Remember what Advertising Guru David Ogilvy once said ? 'The consumer is not a Moron, she is your wife'. Imagine you are the marketing manager of Ford cars. You are instigating a poster campaign. One poster site is in a small village with a population of 500 people. Just because it's 'only' 500 people, does that mean Ford would be happy to put up a sub standard poster up in that village ? Of course not. They will do the job properly and ensure that the product is ALWAYS presented in the best possible light regardless of the size of audience. Whether you're a national radio station, a regional station, a local station or a community station: The audience is unforgiving. They will ALWAYS opt for someone that comes across better than someone who sounds tatty and amateurish.

If a radio station believes businesses will only pay tuppence for radio advert production, tuppence is all you will get. But if you're a station that believes that it's worth forking out a few more quid to get things right, then your clients will believe that too. Last week another Community station called and asked Airforce to help out. So far we've worked on 2 projects (One directly, one indirectly)and on both occasions, clients have invested significantly more money in their sound because we helped them understood the value of doing so.

And all that links back to the station we're helping to turn round. OK, the station we're helping is just a wee bit larger than the community stations, but the principal is the same....

It's all about mindset. We have 2 stations that don't believe and we have 2 stations that do.

...Which of these stations do you think will ultimately be most successful ?

John Calvert.
Whether you're a radio station or a radio advertiser, let us help to turn things round. Contact us here.

What's wrong with radio advertising ?

2011-06-23T04:31:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I received a call asking if I would like to be nominated as a judge for the radio advertising panel at the Cannes Lions Awards held in Cannes.

I was flattered, but due to various commitments I was unable to take the project further.

Fast forward a few weeks and i read this article.

It is true, in recent years respect for radio advertising has gone through a rather iffy stage. There are a lot of reasons. Firstly, the recession hasn't helped. Thousands of advertisers are playing safe with their creative. A few days ago, I presented a new creative concept to a major client of mine. "We love it !" They said. "But it's just too much of a risk to change". And there lies the danger. By not moving with the times, your marketing blends in with everything else.

Another reason is...And for goodness sakes, I don't know how many times I've said this ! But on a local level, nmany radio stations are selling their medium wrongly. Far too much emphasis is being put on selling airtime rather than proper advertising. Airtime is a commodity. It is purely the portal for the message. Because of this, a creative strategy doesn't get a look in. If stations sold Advertising, then everything would be taken into consideration in equal measure.

Thirdly, the value of radio is being undermined. There are radio stations selling some airtime packages that are shockingly cheap. At face value, they appear to look fantastic. But dig deeper and you'll discover these packages will only work for a small amount of advertisers. I've had numerous station Sales Execs tell me they have to sell these packages and they hate doing it. They tell me they are time-consuming, high maintenance and because little-to-no money is allocated for creative, the majority of the ads sound crap. A few years ago, I published my views on some of these packages in an article for an industry magazine. A few days after publication, I was at a radio event and a station boss came over and gave me a complete bollocking. "You don't realise how much revenue these packages bring in for us !" he blurted. His rant lasted ten minutes, but during that time there was no mention of any benefit of these packages to the advertiser.

The fact is, many of these cheap airtime packages don't work sufficiently well for the advertiser to re-sign. The result ? Another business disillusioned with radio advertising. If they DO work, then the station faces another problem. You have a happy client, so you present to them an advertising package that's bigger and more expensive. The client responds by saying: "I'm not interested in that. I'll stick to the original cheap package I booked thank you."

And of course, there's another reason why radio advertising may not be as attractive as it used to be. Could it be because of the quality of output of some of the commercial radio stations ? Don't get me wrong, there are lots of stations that have some great output. But there are LOTS of radio stations who constantly pump out bland and unimaginative output. (Notice I don't say 'programming' ?) The presenters talk, but they have nothing to say. The music is repetitive, unbelievably safe and predictable. The 'localness' is pseudo-local. And where is the engagement ? How often does something amazing being broadcast on a commercial radio station put your life on hold until the item has finished ? When Chris Evans was doing the breakfast show on Virgin, there were countless times when I was late for work because I was still in the car listening his breakfast show.

Sure, many of these stations have good audiences, but the public deserve a lot better. I cannot accept that the only way to attract audiences is to just keep pumping out music with the presenter saying "That was...This is...Katie Price...Coming up next...Brought to you in association with...Lady Gaga's dress...More ways to win"

I am hoping with the embarrassing news that there were no UK finalists in this year's Radio Lions will be a wake up call. Not just for agencies, but the entire commercial radio industry.

John Calvert. Airforce.

Les Paul Guitars and Google

2011-06-09T07:48:00.000-07:00

It won't be on for long, but Google have done a great thing with their logo to pay tribute to Les Paul guitars.

Check it out here.

Success for Airforce radio commercials at Vox 2011

2011-05-22T09:07:00.000-07:00

For Vox 2011, productions created by Airforce were nominated in no less than 4 categories.

We're pleased to say 2 were won !

In 'Best Male Voiceover Performance', Guy Harris picked up the award for his performance in our radio commercial 'Mr Intoxico' produced for Dorset Police.

Guy was thrilled and we are thrilled for him too. Not only is he an all-round good egg, but he is hugely talented too.

And if that wasn't enough: In the 'Best Female Voiceover Performance', Laura Shavin picked up an award for her performance in our commercial 'The Message', produced for Lincoln Furniture Warehouse

Recognise Laura's name ? Listen to 'The Now Show' on BBC Radio 4 and you'll hear her regular contributions. A highly in-demand voice, Laura's tones regularly appear on our productions and it's terrific her talent has been recognised by industry professionals.

We are particularly pleased because this year, commercials by Airforce picked up more awards than anyone other entrant. In addition, Airforce commercials received more nominations than anyone else too !

You can hear Laura's ad here.

You can hear Guy's ad here.

If you're unfamiliar with 'Vox'...

It is a yearly gathering of voiceover professionals and producers from production companies and radio stations. Due to the 'down the line' technology that exists, many of us don't actually work with voices face to face in the studio. So Vox gives us the chance to put a face to the voice.

One of our favourite voices is Gina Mellotte. Gina's voice also featured in the 'Mr Intoxico' commercial. We've worked with her for ages, but Vox 2011 was the first time I actually met her in the flesh !

You will hear Gina's voice on many high-profile TV productions. ITV, BAFTA, Radio 2 and many more.

It was also a great opportunity to catch up with some people we haven't seen for an age. Many were discussing how the recession had effected their business. Many are doing well, some had seen revenues go down rapidly. Scary stuff. But it does teach me that marketing marketing marketing is the way to get new business. This year we're spending more on it than ever before.

A huge gathering of people who use their voices to earn a living is a deafening experience. But I am thankful to be working in an industry where everyone is an absolute delight.

There are some amazingly professional people out there, all willing to give their all to even the lower-budget work. All these people look like ordinary members of the public, but every day their voices and their productions guide us, inspire us and inform us in great creative ways. Amateurs are never cost-effective substitutes, they simply make your business sound...Amateurish ! Always employ professionals with a proven track record in their field. In the long run, it will be the best investment you'll ever make in your marketing.

Congratulations to everyone who won at Vox 2011. We're happy, but not contented. Next year, we'll enter more work and push you harder to vote for it all to win !

For award-winning radio commercials and radio advert production featuring award winning voices, call us now ! Click here to contact Airforce.

Airforce is in the finals of the Vox Awards

2011-04-24T03:57:00.000-07:00

The finalists have been announced for the 2011 Vox Awards and we're delighted to see that productions by Airforce feature in 4 of the 7 main categories.

'Cabinet' in the 'Best Retail' category, produced for Lincoln Furniture Warehouse.
'The Dream' in the 'Best Services' category, produced for Tanbridge House School.
'Mr Intoxixo' featuring Guy Harris in the 'Best Male Voiceover performance' category, produced for Dorset Police.
'The Message' featuring Laura Shavin in the 'Best Female Voiceover performance' category, produced for Lincoln Furniture Warehouse.

We're naturally delighted to have so many commercials featured in the finals. The winners will be decided by votes so we need
your help !

To hear all the finalist commercials and cast your vote, visit the Vox Awards website here and follow the instructions.

You have until May 19th to vote, so vote NOW !

Many thanks.

JOHN CALVERT
www.airforce.co.uk

How Powerful are Your Words ?

2011-04-18T05:41:00.000-07:00

I am grateful to my Facebook friend Clive Dickens for posting this wonderful short film.

Whatever kind of advertising medium you favour, this film reminds us that that it is always possible to add powerful meaning to even the most ordinary of propositions.

That doesn't mean you need to spend squillions on your advertising campaign. For local and regional radio advertisers, all it takes is a little bit of extra thought.

...Which for some reason, only a small amount of local and regional radio advertisers tend to do !

Let it be known that constantly spending your advertising money on telling listeners you've cut your prices is flawed strategy. In this day an age, it is essential that radio advertisers invest in attracting new believers. And to do that, you have to 'frame' your proposition in a completely different way to your competitors. The film Clive posted is a perfect example of that.

Come on. Challenge Airforce to take your proposition and present it from a completely different angle.

You can listen to examples of our radio commercials, radio adverts & jingles here.

John Calvert

Can Wills and Kate endorse your product ?

2011-03-28T00:57:00.000-07:00

A lot of advertisers will be wanting to jump on the Royal Wedding bandwagon.

But what can or can't you get away with in your radio advert ?

An agency client forwarded us a note from Global Radio which we thought you may find useful.

The recent announcement from Clarence House that Prince William and Kate Middleton are to marry next year poses many questions: will there be a national holiday? Who will design the dress? Is hat-wearing going to be mandatory across the British Isles? And most importantly as far as advertisers are concerned: can we refer to this happy event in our advertising?

Broadly speaking, advertising should not claim or imply that a particular product is endorsed by the Royal Family or imply that a product is affiliated to royal events when it is not. This is line with the general provisions on misleading advertising and the fact that the CAP Code urges marketers to obtain written permission before implying any personal approval of the advertised product and reminds marketers that those who do not want to be associated with the product could have a legal claim (rule 6.1).

Specifically, members of the Royal Family should not normally be shown or mentioned in a marketing communication without their prior permission (rule 6.2) and the Royal Arms or Emblems must not be used without prior permission from the Lord Chamberlain’s office. References to a Royal Warrant should be checked with the Royal Warrant Holders’ Association (rule 3.52). For information regarding the sale of souvenir products please see the guidance issued by Clarence House.

The ASA has in the past upheld complaints about advertising that implied Royal Endorsement. However, the Code states that an incidental references unconnected with the advertised product, or references to material such as a book, article or film about a member of the Royal Family, may be acceptable.

We would expect that advertising products with references to the Royal Wedding which do not feature the prospective bride and groom such as 'invite everyone round to watch the wedding and enjoy X', are likely to be acceptable in the same way as marketing referencing sporting events would be.

Get your radio commercials made in advance of the royal wedding. Contact Airforce now on 01249 821679. Initial script ideas are free.

When scheduling of your radio advert fails....

2011-02-21T00:56:00.000-08:00

If you're paying good money for your radio commercial to be broadcast, make sure the next commercial in the break doesn't ruin things for you.

Listen here

John Calvert

When people have their heads firmly implanted up their back-sides, this is what can happen...

2011-02-14T06:36:00.000-08:00

What WERE Groupon and their agency thinking when they thought this ad would be great for business ?

Read the article here.

John Calvert

Changes to the small print. Do your radio commercials comply ?

2011-01-31T06:26:00.000-08:00

The rules in financial advertising are having a bit of a shake up.

The Radio Advertising Clearance Centre (RACC) have forwarded us the following note:

The Consumer Credit (Advertisements) Regulations 2010 (CCAR) replace the 2004 Regulations on 1st February 2011.

Certain credit ads are exempt (e.g. if the ad makes clear that credit is only available for business purposes).

Ads must include the name of the advertiser (the advertiser’s address is exempt for radio ads).

Where the ad includes a rate of interest or any amount relating to the cost of credit (whether a sum of money or a proportion of a specified amount), the ad needs “a representative example”.

A “Representative Example” consists of the following minimum information:
• the words "Representative Example"
• total amount of credit
• an APR, worded thus: “Representative X% APR” (the APR available on 51%+ of deals arising from the advert)
• cash price
• amount of any advanced payments and any other fees (if relevant)
• duration of the agreement
• total amount payable
• amount of each repayment of credit (if relevant)

Please note that…
The phrase/tag/qualification “Representative X% APR” can be used on its own where the ad:
• is for “bad” credit risks (e.g. “can’t get credit?”)
• contains a ‘comparative indication’ (e.g.“low cost loans”, “our lowest rates”, “save money”, “low monthly payments”)
• includes an ‘incentive’ to take out credit (e.g. “nothing to pay for a year”, “get cash fast”, “2% off our usual rates”, “low deposit”)

Please don't curse the RACC for this. These aren't their rules. They are simply here to ensure the new law is adhered to in radio advertising.

The small print in financial advertising is at the best of times, pretty confusing. But this new rule in my opinion will not benefit the listener in any shape or form. Come on Law Makers, are you really in the belief the audience understands what 'Representative APR' actually means ? And if they do, do they actually care ?

I think cramming T's & C's in a radio ad doesn't do anyone any favours. It's a well-known fact the human brain can't absorb large amounts of information in one go. Therefore a radio advert with a monotonic voiceover rattling off technical prattle that only has meaning to those in the financial sector doesn't really give the consumer any protection at all.

I am completely up for protecting the consumer. So how about just saying 'conditions apply' ? It tells the listener they won't be getting something for nothing and that there is more to the offer than meets the eye.

Job done in a clear, understandable and consise manner. But let's face it. Many of those who enforce the laws don't actually think like us mere mortals. So the chances of things changing for the better are unlikely !

For advice on how Airforce can make the small print in your radio advert legal, yet as unobtrusive as possible, get in touch here.

John Calvert

Music to Picture...

2011-01-27T06:22:00.000-08:00

We did the music for this film recently.

Enjoy !

It's all about 'Desire' and not about 'Price'

2011-01-21T02:34:00.000-08:00

It's something we've been harking on about for years.

Price is not the be-all and end-all.

If you'd like to know more about what makes people buy, read this article.

In radio advertising, there is too much emphasis on telling folks something is cheaper. Sure price is important, but no one will buy anything unless they want or need it.

Remember the old Monty Python 'Piston' sketch ? The excerpt below perfectly sums it up....

Mrs Non-Smoker: Oohh hello, Mrs Smoker.

Mrs Smoker: Hello Mrs Non-Smoker.

Mrs Non-Smoker: What, you been shopping then?

Mrs Smoker: Nope ... I've been shopping!

Mrs Non-Smoker: What d'you buy?

Mrs Smoker: A piston engine!

Mrs Non-Smoker: What d'you buy that for?

Mrs Smoker: It was a bargain!

Mrs Non-Smoker: How much d'you want for it?

Mrs Smoker: Three quid!

Mrs Non-Smoker: Done. (she hands over the money)

Mrs Smoker: Right. Thank you.

Mrs Non-Smoker: How d'you cook it?

Mrs Smoker: You don't cook it.

Mrs Non-Smoker: You can't eat that raw!

Mrs Smoker: Ooooh ... never thought of that.

Radio commercials, radio adverts and advertising jingles must do more than sell a price reduction. If you want to advertise on the radio, we can show you how. Contact Airforce here.

John Calvert

Want to become a Voiceover Artist ?

2011-01-13T01:57:00.000-08:00

Every year, we get countless requests from people asking us to help them to become a Voiceover Artist. It takes an age explaining the pro's and cons, so I am extremely grateful to the good people from voiceovers.co.uk for publishing a book that explains everything you need to know. You can buy it here.

Airforce uses some of the finest voiceover artists in the business. But if you're considering using your own voice in your radio advert, here's a one-word suggestion.

DON'T !

With the greatest of respect, just because you own the company does not mean your voice should be the ambassador for it. Some of the most embarrassing radio commercials ever recorded are the ones that are voiced by the company's owners and/or staff. The result will usually be a production that conveys a company as amateurish and at worst: An absolute joke.

It's not just radio commercials either. I find it amazing how many companies still use their staff members to voice their telephone 'on hold' systems. The voice often sounds nervous, winey and hesitant. Worse still, the voice is recorded in an echoey room. It all comes together to create something that massively lets the brand down. A customer's first approach is often on the telephone. Ensure you sound as good as your product or service !

To hear a great example of how it should be done, give American Express a call on this number: 0870 600 10 30.

To hear how it shouldn't be done, listen to this recorded message on 0904 2562193. Not only does the voice sound hellishly depressing, but you're being charged £1.50 for the experience of it !

We all judge people on their appearance and radio is no exception. Remember, you're not saving money by using your voice or the voice of a staff member, you're actually spending more.

For a free voice casting service, contact Airforce here.

John Calvert

Capital FM.

2011-01-10T04:23:00.000-08:00

Global's Capital FM hits the network. Supporting the launch is a great TV ad. You can see it and find out more about the campaign by clicking here.

If you're thinking of advertising on Capital FM, Airforce can write and produce your radio commercials. We have access to some great voices and your music can be composed by our composer (and co-founder of Airforce) Roger Dexter. Roger regularly composes imaging music for BBC Radio 1 and has worked on a ton of tracks for a host of youth-oriented radio stations and production music libraries.

Contact us for details

IFA's: Win free radio commercial production !

2011-01-04T06:06:00.000-08:00

Airforce has teamed up for an exciting promotion with IFA Life. The Social Network for IFA's and Financial Planners.

If you're an Independent Financial Advisor, enter the competition to win hundreds of pounds worth of radio commercial production for free.

For details, click here.

The best and worst of 2010.

2011-01-03T08:03:00.000-08:00

One of my agency clients gave me a call last week, asking that we have a get-together.

“Where do you want us to meet ?” I asked.

“Let’s meet in Germany. Berlin to be precise”, said my client.

“Berlin ? ? Normally we meet in boring hotel receptions !”

“Nahh. I fancy Berlin. We’ll stay a couple of nights, have a few beers and see the sights. I’ll pay”.

And so he did. We met at Heathrow, checked in and then all Hell broke out. Snow came down, all flights cancelled and Heathrow wanted us out of the building immediately. So, with suitcases in hand we headed to London for 2 nights of merriment.

At about 1 o’clock in the morning in a hotel in the West End, the client and myself reflected on where radio is now and what it was like when it started. We both agreed that radio advertising is a lot more scientific – and we like that. But over the years, a few things have crept in that, in our view, don’t really help some of the advertisers.

We discussed those packages that help radio stations to sell off any left-over inventory. To many stations, this has been a vital way of earning extra revenue, but from some advertiser’s point of view, it hasn’t been of great benefit. Yes, it’s an easy sell. Yes, it makes radio affordable to more businesses and yes, it helps stations earn more dosh. But conversely, I hear too many stories of it being sold to the wrong kind of businesses. I hear stories of the campaigns not working and so putting the advertisers off radio for a long long time. I hear from radio people who say they wish their station never started selling these packages because they have discovered it sometimes has the tendency to undermine the value of radio. And I know many Sales Execs dread having to sell these packages because they don’t believe in them. Our opinion is that they do work for some small advertisers, but for a lot of other advertisers, he/I would only recommend this kind of package if it was a support to a proper, structured and planned advertising campaign - a bolt-on if you like.

Our thoughts then turned to the ‘Creative Sell’. It’s going on and there have been many spectacular results achieved. But, it could be a lot, lot better. Too many radio stations are missing out on bigger revenue streams by not embracing the Creative Sell. Airtime proposals are dull, soulless items. Creative proposals set client’s minds alight with excitement. They are sexy, influential and very hard to resist. Creative proposals give radio advertising scale and helps to put brands into a context that airtime proposals could never do. In all the years I have been working with my agency client, I have never seen him compile an airtime proposal prior to establishing the creative strategy. For any medium to long-term advertiser, this is the way it should always be.

We spoke about sponsorship. We both like it, providing it’s a support to a structured radio advertising campaign. Creatively, many radio sponsor credits are dull. Let’s take another look at how TV advertisers handle their sponsor credits. Generally, they comprise clever scenarios and off the wall idents that give both the TV station and the advertiser an attractive on-air presence. Radio tends to stick with a standard format of wizzes, bangs, whooshes and a strapline that really doesn’t do anyone any favours.

And finally, we discussed what radio advert, in our opinion should be taken off air. That was an easy one: The 'Go Outdoors' campaign. If you haven't heard the ads yet, they basically consist of a hyperactive voiceover reading a 40 second script condensed into 30 seconds. It is bad radio and in the long term, will not do the brand any favours at all. Shouting is regarded as insulting and at worst, threatening. So why do Go Outdoors do it on the radio ? Being louder than your competitors on air won't mean your offering is better or exciting than anyone else's. Shouting simply means the listener will turn the ad down to a level that's so low they won't be able to hear it, so defeating the whole objective of being on the radio in the first place. Go Outdoors spend a lot on radio, imagine how much more effective their advertising would be if they talked TO people, rather than AT them ?

Happy new year !

2010-12-09T00:17:00.000-08:00

You know what ? I am going to come out of the closet and tell everyone something that I have kept quiet about for many years.

I LOATHE ‘Strictly Come Dancing’.

There. It’s off my chest and I feel a darn sight better for revealing my dirty little secret.

It feels like the whole world loves this show. But to me, just one note of a Cha Cha Cha or a glimpse of a sequin outfit adorning someone coated with orange fake tan makes me, cringe.

‘Strictly’ is one of many TV shows that uses celebrities to entertain us. On top of that, magazines like ‘Hello !’, ‘OK’ and ‘Heat’ publish millions of words about who’s doing what, with whom and where. Celebrity and everything that surrounds it is a huge industry and the public just can’t get enough of it.

All this makes me think that perhaps some radio advertisers are missing out on a trick. There are very few ‘celebrity’ brands on the air. By this, I mean local or regional advertisers taking an offering (be it a brand or a service) and creating a campaign that turns an ordinary company into a hugely popular icon.

Think about it. A business, product or service that everyone wants to be near or to be seen in. What if radio Commercial Producers and advertisers could work together to create something that when broadcast, emanates an amazing glow. Listeners hang on to every word, they feel compelled to respond when a new product, service or offering is broadcast. And when they deal with the company, every expectation is exceeded.

There are numerous international brands that are already doing this. Apple are doing an amazing job. Jimmy Choo with their to-die-for shoes. Virgin too. And although there are some local and regional radio advertisers adoring the crowds, I think there’s a lot of room for more to jump on the bandwagon.

Crunching it down, Apple make computers. They are well-made and work well. Jimmy Choo make attractive shoes and amongst other things, Virgin put you on aeroplanes and fly you somewhere. That’s it. But what helps to give them the iconic status is the way the offering is framed. If you’ve seen the Virgin Airlines ‘Still Red Hot’ TV commercial (the one with the group of beautiful Virgin hostesses walking through a 1980’s air terminal to the music of Frankie Goes to Hollywood), you’ll see how well framing can work. I am in the genuine belief that local and regional radio advertisers could do the same thing albeit for a smaller budget.

Helping an advertiser to achieve celebrity status isn’t something that will happen overnight. But if more brands could make listeners feel they are part of something special or perhaps God-like, then everyone is onto a winner.

John Calvert. www.airforce.co.uk

So what does it all mean ?

2010-11-24T23:54:00.000-08:00

It doesn’t take you much to work out that the world of advertising is almost a parallel universe. Things appear to be the same, but there are some subtle differences. Take the chocolate manufacturer Lindor. Their current commercial opens with the line “Do you dream in chocolate ?”. At face value, the line feels OK until you actually analyse it. What the bloody hell does “Do you dream in chocolate” actually mean ? And if that isn’t odd enough, have you heard Wilkinson Sword’s “Free your skin” line ? Again on the face of it, nothing appears to be unusual. But in reality, it’s a line that doesn’t make any sense at all.

Quite often, advertising cleverly throws us into worlds that simply don’t exist. But human beings have the nasty habit of suspending their belief and accepting what they see and feel as real. What I am talking about is nothing to do with my recent article in which some advertisers try and pull the wool over our eyes. No, I am talking about the scenarios that are created to show a brand in the best possible light.

Last night I saw a TV commercial for Ferrero Rocher. It tells the story of some gods noshing on some confectionary in Heaven. One of them drops a wrapper, it falls down to earth and we mere mortals discover the special secret. Oh come on. As if gods eat Ferrero Rocher ! This ad is one of the follow ups to the ‘Ambassador’s Party’ commercial where a woman says “Mr Ambassador, you are really spoiling us” and the voiceover proclaims “Ferrero Rocher, a sign of good taste”. Again, when the penny drops you realise what crazy, unreal scenarios they both are, but in fact these commercials are actually sending out incredibly powerful messages. Although Ferrero Rocher is dirt cheap to buy, the brand is positioning itself as a treat...Something special and very rare. And we all know that if something is rare, it is highly sought after.

Here are a couple more examples: Pierce Brosnan and Omega watches. It’s a winning combination. Smart, elegant watches being worn by a handsome ‘action man’ kind of guy. But think about it a little more and you suddenly realise that good time-keeping actually has nothing to do with a bloke who acts. Martini: For many years, we encountered advertising that showed gorgeous and attractive people living the high life in exotic destinations. But again, what has your alcohol consumption got to do with attractive people ? The answer is: It has everything to do with them. Without these powerful associations, the watch is just a chunk of metal and the drink is merely flavoured water infused with alcohol.

These ‘associations’ and many others are the mainstay of advertising today. Yet when it comes to local and regional radio advertising, many advertisers are failing to play this card. There’s just too much local radio advertising around that fails to put the product or service under any kind of spotlight at all. Lack of positioning and zero aspiration will leave the listener feeling completely neutral. People buy products and services because they want them, they will not be sold on something just because it’s half price or whatever. By making that parallel universe appear real, your advertiser’s products and services will take on a whole new meaning.

John Calvert. www.airforce.co.uk

Advertise at Christmas, feel the benefit all year round.

2010-11-11T08:52:00.000-08:00

“Hi Dick, how’s business ? We’ve got the Christmas shopping season coming up. Just wondering whether you need a radio commercial to reflect this” said my email.

Dick replied: “Hi John. Sorry we are so busy the last thing we need is more business”.

I didn’t know whether to take that reply as a complement or not !

I recall in my earlier years of being in the radio advertising business, Christmas was a big thing. At this time of year, we’d dust off the Christmas library music albums and pretty much every commercial we made had a seasonal feel to them.

Nowadays, advertiser’s appetites for promoting their goods at Christmas has lessened considerably. Folks such as M&S still do their celebrity-packed campaigns, but on a local and regional level, the amount of Christmas campaigns does not appear to match what went on in the eighties and 90’s. And this is not because of the recession either. I and many other proddies have noticed that over the years, we don’t make as many Christmas radio adverts as we used to.

At a networking event, one business owner said to me. “Christmas is a dead cert. It’s not a one-off event. It happens every year, the public know what to do and they will come to my store and shop. There is no need to advertise at Christmas.”

I understand the theory of what he is saying. Christmas and everything it stands for happens by default and in many ways, people are ‘programmed’ to buy gifts for each other. But if I was his main competitor eavesdropping on that conversation, I would have been on the phone to my radio station representative to book a hearty campaign with the deliberate aim of increasing my market share.

In my view, Christmas is the perfect time to present your brand in a brilliant light. In December, pretty much everyone rides on a wave of happiness, excitement, anticipation and fun. In fact, many people find the build up to Christmas better than the actual day itself ! Sceptical business owners should realise 2 things.

1: By helping to create those waves of excitement, happiness or whatever, people will associate those feelings with your brand. Remember the epic Christmas ads from Woolworths ? When those went to air, we all knew Christmas was here. “Woolworths is Christmas” was a line they once used. (My company did the jingle for it) And at the time, it couldn’t be more true. This year, when ‘The X Factor’ came back to our screens, Facebook status updates all over the land proclaimed “Christmas is on it’s way”.

2: Even if you’re busy and can’t take on any more work, advertise anyway. If you don’t want to sell goods or services, use the season to sell your brand. Generally, most folks are in an emotionally good place at Christmas, so use the season to make friends with them.

On December 26th Christmas will be gone, but tens of thousands of businesses will still need customers to keep them going until December comes round again. By being on the radio and associating yourself with the hype, you can do no wrong.

John Calvert

2010-10-29T00:41:00.000-07:00

Currently, the media seems to love publishing news about advertising complaints. In the last few days, 3 complaints have caught my eye.

First up, Waitrose: The squeaky clean supermarket chain suffered it’s first ban over an ad talking about ‘outdoor bred’ pigs. According to Brand Republic, people complained about the TV ads, both of which featured celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal talking to farmers about livestock. Blumenthal appears outdoors with the pigs from the farm and says "In my opinion, some of the best-tasting pork comes from British pigs that have been outdoor bred, just like these porkers from Norfolk".

Complainants argued that the ads misleadingly implied that Waitrose pork came from pigs that spent the duration of their lives outdoors, whereas in reality they were reared indoors.

Waitrose countered that the ads stipulated that the pigs were "outdoor bred", arguing that it was a standard term that had become widely used and that consumers would be able to differentiate its meaning from "outdoor reared".

Then there is a Kodak ad that rival brand HP complained about. Brand Republic said the ads aimed to attract customers by promoting savings on Kodak printer ink.
The press ad proclaimed: "Switch to a Kodak all-in-one printer and you’ll save an average of £75 a year on ink."

But HP argued that the ads were misleading and questioned whether they could be substantiated.

Kodak responded by saying that its claim was based on a number of leading industry studies on home printing and small office printing – its claim was backed up by Clearcast, which vets TV ads before they are aired. But the advertising watchdog ruled in favour of HP on most counts, supporting its argument by concluding that the "1,500 pages" did not represent "a reasonable yearly print volume for most UK inkjet printer users". There were radio adverts too. They were allowed to be broadcast providing the claim was clarified more.

The Independent recently published a story about a radio ad for Ann Summers having "fairly overt sexual references in terms of sound effects". In this case, the Independent says the RACC ‘Blocked’ the ad, so I am wondering if the ad was actually made in the first case. If it was or wasn’t, Anne Summers will be no doubt be enjoying the publicity.

I am often surprised how few people it takes to get something withdrawn from transmission. The Waitrose ad would have been seen by millions of people, yet it took just four complaints to get the ad pulled. Yet this isn’t unusual. Sometimes I look at adjudications on complained-about ads and it’s not very often you see hundreds of people complaining about a single commercial.

So is it a case of do-gooders with too much time on their hands or are they right ? In my view, if something is blatantly wrong or misleading then it should not be broadcast. Having said that, the public are incredibly media savvy. In the ‘Watchdog Age’ we are living in, we have to accept some advertisers will always try and pull the wool over our eyes with puffery. That’s what advertising is and what it always be.

That’s why I’ll always prefer radio to TV. With radio, exaggerated claims are always very detectable. On TV, the real story is hidden with hard-to-see small print such as: ‘Enhanced in post production’, ‘Styled with natural extensions’, ‘141 women agree’. The list goes on.

In the past, I have complained about radio ads that I feel don’t stick to the rules. As a Commercial Producer, I consider that everyone should play on a level field and if someone is trying to get the upper hand by not sticking to the rules, their ad should be examined. But here are a couple of thoughts: The complaints procedure can sometimes take a while to reach it’s decision. That means the ad in question has the ability to run the length of it’s full campaign before being withdrawn from broadcast.

The other thing to consider is the publicity a banned ad can receive. Sometimes banning an ad will actually give it MORE exposure. So what’s the point of withdrawing it in the first place ?

With many brands wanting to get the upper hand during these tough times, they will want to stretch the rules as far as possible. I sincerely believe you don’t need underhand tactics to sell products and services. If the product or service is good in the first place, then it will sell itself.

New Showreel

2010-10-20T09:00:00.000-07:00

New Showreels online now ! Click here.

Airforce makes sure world-famous town is full of Christmas Spirit!

2010-10-01T02:40:00.000-07:00

Christmas can never come too early for some companies and Calne-based radio commercial and jingle production company, Airforce, is delighted to announce today that they are the official 2010 sponsors of the Wotton Bassett Christmas Trees.

The trees that are erected in the town each year have been hand-picked and felled by Longleat’s Head Forester, Rodney Garton from the 4,500 acres of forest on the stunning Longleat Estate. It is because of this carefully selected procedure that Wotton Bassett receive an abundance of compliments for their Christmas trees and Airforce are privileged to become the sponsor of the two main trees.

Managing Director of Airforce, John Calvert, commented: “Wootton Bassett has the respect of millions of British people and I am thrilled that Airforce has been given the opportunity to sponsor the two mighty Christmas trees that will be positioned in the centre of the town. Our business is only a short distance to Wootton Bassett and I can’t wait to see the trees helping to light up the town during the festive season.”

Sue Doyle, Chair of the Amenities Committee for Wootton Bassett Town Council, commented: “The Christmas trees in the High Street, in place from the beginning of December, are a really important feature of the festive season in Wootton Bassett. We are very pleased to have this new sponsorship of the trees to enable us to continue to decorate the High Street. It all adds to the atmosphere as we all prepare for Christmas.

www.airforce.co.uk

How much IS an idea worth ?

2010-09-19T02:11:00.000-07:00

When you're creating radio adverts, how much is a good idea actually worth ?

If you’re a Commercial Producer, chances are this has happened to you...

Mr Client is a regular advertiser on the radio. For the last year or so, he’s been on the radio with a bog-standard ad which by now really is wearing thin. The station Sales Exec quite rightly says to Mr Client that he really should start investing in more in creative in order to have a stronger brand on air.

Mr Client agrees to a briefing session. It’s highly productive. Mr Client opens up his heart and you discover some Golden Nuggets that you and the Sales Exec never knew.

The meeting ends with everyone feeling positive and incredibly optimistic.

10 days later, you present your Killer Creative Strategy to Mr Client. Mr Client is thrilled. “How Much to get this all made ?” he asks.

You tell him and then...

“£xxxx for THAT ?!” He chokes. “I mean it’s just a few words, a bit of music and a couple of voices, no way. You’ll need to seriously sharpen your pencil.”

Then there’s this scenario....

Ms Client is interested in adopting a completely brand new sound. The briefing session is highly productive and when the idea is presented a week or so later, Ms Client is delighted. You quote the price and she says it needs to be signed off by the MD. The meeting ends and you expect to hear from the client in a day or so.

It all then goes a bit quiet. You call Ms Client and she tells you she still wants to advertise on the radio, but she’s found someone who will do the creative for a lot less.

You put the phone down and the swearing begins.

As Radio Commercial Producers, we’ve all encountered enormously frustrating scenarios when clients love the idea, but don’t appreciate the investment that needs to be made to make everything sound fabulous. So what’s going wrong ?

First, we have to accept there are lots of clients who are just simply timewasters. They love the attention they are getting, but will simply not put their money where their mouths are.

Those people aside, I believe a distinction needs to be made between the value of an idea and the value of executing it. In my belief, the value of the execution will be justified in the value of the idea is clearly justified.

We all have ideas. You don’t need to be a creative person to have ideas. Right now, billions of people are having an idea. And with so many rattling around the place, it could be said they are worth zilch UNLESS the client feels there is some value in it. That means before presenting the idea to the client, there needs to some well crafted preamble. Imagine the moment when top agency man Trevor Beattie presented the fashion Chain French Connection the now notorious ‘FCUK’ idea ? None of us were there, so my assumption of what happened is speculative. But I reckon he didn’t sit there and just hand over a logo and say “Clever eh ? See what we’ve done ? Nudge nudge ?” There would have been a meticulously crafted process in order to 100% justify the concept to French Connection’s chairman Stephen Marks.
In an interview on guardian.co.uk, Beattie is reported to have said "People too often misunderstand branding. This campaign has no logo but it is still branded: branding is in the DNA of what we have done."

I completely get what he means. The whole concept isn’t just about cheekily-constructed 4 letters and that is why it is worth so much.

Who knows what effect the government cuts are going to have on the economy. But no matter how tough it gets, the public will still need to buy beds, cars, TV’s, food, services or whatever. Advertisers will therefore have to understand that in order to touch the hearts of those who do have the money to spend, they’ll have to dig deeper in their pockets. For those of us who are tasked to devise the Big Idea, by golly we’ll need to come up with the perfect justification for the investment.
As I heard one radio sales person say once: “It’s a catchy tune isn’t it ? Yours for £2000”.

Come on, you'll have to try harder than that.

John Calvert. www.airforce.co.uk

Get noticed ! Rebrand !

2010-08-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

The amount of mileage I’m doing at the moment has been pretty high. I can’t complain, mileage means someone is wanting to see me about making them some radio commercials !

On my journeys, there’s one thing I have noticed: An apparent increase in the amount of delivery lorries with the name ‘Wilkinson’ written on them. In recent times, Wilkinson has been going through a significant rebranding process. Gone are the sharp italicised fonts and in are softer more curved ‘homely-shaped’ contemporary letters. The same goes with their lorries: Huge, fun and incredibly colourful photographs now adorn the vehicles.

So is it because there are more lorries on the road or is it because the rebrand has just drawn my attention to something that has always been there ? I have to assume the latter. To be honest, Wilkinsons has never been a favoured shopping destination for me, but the new look isn’t half helping to change my perception of the brand.

This new awareness of an existing brand has co-incidentally occurred at the same time when two rebrand briefs landed on my desk. In both cases, both the clients involved are simply getting bored with their on-air image.

“We’re like wallpaper” one of the clients told me. “Sticking with the same sound for all these years initially gave us consistency, but now we’ve got a lot of catching up to do simply because we failed to evolve. People just don’t ‘see’ us anymore”.

The other client told me “We’ve lost our way. Our press looks good, our poster advertising looks good, but our radio: Ugh. We’re throwing all kinds of ideas at the wall to see what sticks. And so far, nothing is.”

When clients get bored with their image, they’ll get bored with their advertising. The less inspirational their advertising gets, the less they’ll spend on it. Which is bad news for everyone concerned. My thought is that we should do as much as we can to not let our clients get bored with what they have. This week, I’m having a catch-up meeting with a client whom I have had for about 3 years. The client hasn’t asked for it, neither is he expecting it, but I will be bringing some new ideas along to re-energise and put a new perspective to the format we are currently using. My hunch is that the idea will be a tads too brave for the client and much of the material won’t be used. But that doesn’t concern me. What it will do is start the thought process well before the sound gets too tired and the client has to invest significant sums to catch up.

Another thing I saw on my travels this week: On the M3, I spotted a car emblazoned with the sign: “Earn at least £3000 a week by working from home. The proven way to gain great wealth by running your own business”.

I would have had more faith in the sign if it wasn’t emblazoned on an X-reg Peugeot.

Complete proof that a strong advertising message will be completely ruined if the environment it is placed on is completely contradictory.

John Calvert. Airforce. www.airforce.co.uk

Trust the experts....PLEASE !

2010-08-03T05:58:00.000-07:00

Every Commercial Producer has a client that won’t listen to your recommendations.

You know who yours is: That client who thinks they know more about radio advertising than you do....

That client who thinks the audience WILL remember his 2 phone numbers....

That client who thinks the more annoying the commercial, the better results he’ll get.

That client who believes that filling an ad with wall-to-wall words makes his advertising spend go further.

Last week was a great week for Airforce. We made some great stuff and the clients were all happy. Then came the cloud on the horizon. My ‘Won’t Listen’ client rang me and asked for a last-minute ad to promote a sale. The script was duly drafted, approved and recorded.

Knowing the client likes a bit of passion in his ads, the voice cranked himself up and delivered an enthusiastic read.

10 minutes later, the client rang and said “The ad isn’t selly enough. I need the voice to really shout the offers”.

“Shout ?” I asked.

“Yeah, I want to make sure people really hear this”.

I pointed out to the client that the louder you are, the quieter you’ll be.

“I don’t get it”. Said the client.

I explained that people hate being shouted at. If an ad is perceptively louder because of raised voices or over-processing in the final mix, listeners will actually turn down the radio in order for their ears to distance themselves from the audio.

“Well...Could it be done in a way that makes it loud, but people won’t turn it
down ?” He asked.

Give me strength. Radio advertising isn’t exactly a new medium. You’d think that many advertisers would have got to grips with it’s strengths and weaknesses by now.

And let’s not forget advertisers are listeners too. Aren’t they put off by all the crap stuff ? They probably are, but they probably believe that their loud and/or irritating ads are somehow more interesting and therefore the audience will be happier to listen to them.

So how do we help these people see the light ? I’ve often thought that a few fun station promos would help. I remember many years ago, Capital found itself broadcasting a large number of client-read ads. (For those of us who are old enough, remember the Freddie Barrett Liquor Store ads ?) So they created a promo focussing on how dire advertisers could sound if they didn’t employ professional voices. It was funny to listen to if you weren’t involved in the radio business, but it also made advertisers incredibly aware of how stupid they would sound if they voiced their own ads.

We all know that in order to create a belief, all you need to do is tell someone something lots of times. Radio stations can help themselves by broadcasting fun yet informative promos that outline what makes a great radio ad. Over time, not only will they promote the benefits of radio advertising as a whole, but they could make advertisers who insist on misbehaving on air feel very silly indeed.

John Calvert. www.airforce.co.uk

How long will you decide to stay in the industry ?

2010-07-08T09:00:00.000-07:00

Firstly, many thanks to Paul Easton’s Facebook update for directing me to a small article on Media UK. It caught my eye because it was about why certain people in the radio industry choose to leave it to work in a completely different industry.

In the Commercial Production arm of radio, the exodus has been massive. Scriptwriters and producers have left in their droves to join radio stations in America, South Africa and Australia. Many have joined advertising agencies, have set up their own production companies, become voice artists or sadly decided to leave the industry altogether to become amongst other things Postmen, Landlords, TV Directors, Aeroplane Managers, Web Site Designers and even Vicars.

I had worked in Commercial Radio for about 13 years when I decided to leave to work for an independent production company. In the latter years of my time in radio, I had the feeling that I couldn’t actually go any further in Commercial Production. This was at the beginning of the period of the big station mergers. With the implementation of a new MD at my station, the attitude towards Com Prod changed. Like many stations, finance managers started wondering whether they actually needed a Commercial Production department. This was when I decided it was time to look elsewhere. Alan Bell (another highly-talented radio sales professional and creative person who left radio to set up Airforce and other companies) invited me to leave radio and work for Airforce.

A few years later, I acquired the company and luckily, monotony hasn’t loomed it’s ugly head and I still feel as excited as I was on my first day of joining Airforce.

In commercial radio however, I still hear stories from a few highly-talented individuals that they are not happy bunnies. Many join stations as Commercial Producers, but as time evolves and the stations go from owner to owner they are given tasks that have nothing to do with making great radio ads.

I am not saying we should mollycoddle Commercial Producers or indeed anyone else in the radio industry and give them the freedom to do anything they want. There has to be structure. But I wonder what radio would be like today if all those talented people who left to pursue other careers hadn’t left.

Would the girl who became a vicar be a major source of inspiration to a station’s
advertisers ?

Would the guy who became a TV Director be one of the most in-demand producers in the country ?

Would the man who became the Landlord be a great manager ?

Would the person who became the Aeroplane Manager be able to take his clients to new heights ?

Forgive me for the naff pun on the last one there. But I hope you get the point. The Commercial Production industry is losing too many great people to other professions.
I would love to talk to all those who have left and find out what it was that made them decide to leave. What was it that made them think “I want out” ?

Hunch tells me it would be one word: ‘Frustration.’ Commercial Producers are slightly different. Making radio ads isn’t enough. To keep a Commercial Producer happy, motivated and inspired it means feeding them with great briefs. And let’s face it, with the regular selling of radio advertising packages that provide clients with a bog-standard commercial as part of the deal, that is not going to encourage a Proddie to stick around for the long term.

How much should a radio advert cost ?

2010-05-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

I was having a bit of a nostalgic trip looking through some memorabilia from the days when I worked at Essex FM in the late 1980’s. I was a part of the original ‘Creative Team’, a department set up to help the station’s advertisers adopt great radio commercials for it’s advertisers. At the time Metro FM’s commercial production department was very well-known for it’s quality, award winning output and the management of Essex FM wanted The Creative Team to be just as successful.

It was an extremely exciting time. Essex FM invested in some superb studio facilities and staff and it wasn’t long until the revenues rocketed and the walls became adorned with award certificates.

My nostalgic trip included finding an old production rate card from October 1988. I thought I would share some of the charges with you.

For a basic one-voice radio commercial with or without library music: £85.00

Each extra commercial made in the same session as above: £65.00

Sound effects each: £10.00

Each additional voice: £20.00.

Naturally, voice over fees were considerably lower in those days. But strangely enough, 22 years later there are some individuals now charging less than £85 to make a radio ad. OK, the kit needed to create a radio ad has changed massively over the years, but how on earth does a business/individual survive charging these kinds of fees ? AND what kind of commercial are you going to get for this kind of money ?

In addition to these low costs, I know for a fact that some radio stations are massively subsidising their client’s commercial production costs just to get them signed up on air. On one occasion, I was in a meeting with a prospective client who told me he was paying a tads under £200 for a 2 voice commercial that was running on about 8 radio stations. If you know the minimum Equity ISDN rate for a standard sized radio station, do the maths now. On another occasion, I heard a radio station offering a client as many commercials as he wanted for less than £300.

It may feel a good incentive to dangle a carrot or two in front of a prospective client, but this kind of practice will inevitably cause problems in the future. A radio station simply cannot sustain charging these prices for ever. In the future, when the station wants to start charging ‘proper’ money for commercial production, the client, who is used to paying low costs is going to get mightily pissed off and dig his heels in.

Not only that, the whole value and quality of commercial production will go down the plug hole. The Radio Commercial is the jewel in the crown of radio advertising. It is the most vital component the whole process, yet it’s importance is being diminished for the sake of undercutting someone else. I’ve been in this business for coming up to 30 years and believe me, on so many levels, cut-price commercial production never ever works.

But undercharging is just one part of the story. In recent weeks, my company Airforce has picked up a number of briefs because the client has been presented creative that’s way too expensive.

Sure, I accept initial ‘set up’ prices like music composition will involve sending out a higher-than-normal invoice and most clients accept that. But when you go in with something that goes beyond that, the shine on the presented concept starts to fade. In a recent meeting a client said to me words to the effect of: “I loved the idea the station presented, it was terrific. But the margin on the products I sell are very low. I would have to sell hundreds of XXXXX’s to recoup the investment I had made in production and airtime. And even if radio was successful, I would never recoup my money”

I had a look at the concept that was presented and yes it was a good idea. But obviously no thought or research had been put into the market sector the client was in. My company subsequently won the production gig because I was asking for nearly half the price for a creative strategy that was more appropriate to the scale of the client’s business and objectives.

Last week, the same thing happened again. Twice. But in all cases, there was no undercutting, it was just a matter of being realistic.

I think most clients understand the value of commercial production and are willing to pay for something good. Many brands and commercial producers people have been very successful by adopting this model. But selling production for little-to-no profit, below cost price or presenting something that’s way too big ? How does that help everyone involved ? And what’s the point of doing it ?

John Calvert. www.airforce.co.uk

Keep Calm and Carry On !

2010-05-13T01:13:00.000-07:00

I was watching an item on ‘The One Show’ recently about the history of a wonderful government morale-boosting poster that simply says ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’. Apparently the poster was going to be put in the public domain if Germany invaded England. But because that never happened, every poster was destroyed at the end of the war.

Fast forward many years, a book seller finds the poster in a dusty old pile and is now making a pile by merchandising it !

I adore the clarity of the line. It is simple yet powerful. It is fluid, has no lumpiness and neither can it be mis-enterpreted. In a strange way, the line is vague. But it is it’s vagueness that makes the line feel relevant to everyone who encounters it.

Perhaps that’s why today in our unstable world, people can connect with the ‘Keep Calm & Carry On’ line. It is, in effect a perfect strap line. It also reminds us that simplicity is the best way to drive a message home. My last article praised the current John Lewis campaign, but to be honest I have never got my brain round the ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ line. I’m not the only one either. In a completely unscientific survey, I asked a few mates what they felt it meant. Everyone either struggled with explaining it or had to think for a while before saying what they felt it meant. Is it me, but wouldn’t the line be better if it said ‘Never Knowingly Oversold’ ?

A great strap line should not only embody what the brand is all about or means, it shouldn’t require any degree of thinking. Mars ‘Work Rest Play’, Motel 6’s ‘We’ll Leave the Light On’, Martini’s ‘Any Time Any Place Anywhere’, BMW’s ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’. These lines (and many others) are easily comprehended, tight and position the brand beautifully. So why do so many local radio advertisers prefer to adopt some old bollocks that talks about friendly service, free advice and low
prices ? Ah well...

I couldn’t make Vox 2010. But from the pictures and status updates posted on Facebook, it was a good one. Vox has made me think about how Commercial Producers actually communicate with each other. Of course there are a few websites and/or forums for proddies to exchange views, but I am wondering if there is any mileage in creating some kind of national association ? When my company Airforce made TV commercials, we were members of an organisation called ‘PACT’ – the Producer’s Alliance for Cinema & Television’. Our membership was incredibly useful and at times, inspirational . So I am wondering if some sort of association for Radio Commercial Producers would be of any use ?

The commercial production industry appears to keep itself to itself, but it still needs to look after itself to ensure it has a healthy future. By joining together, sharing views, creating goals, minimum standards and above all: looking after each other in my view would do nothing but good for our industry.
Who’s up for looking into this with me ?

John Calvert. Airforce. For Radio Commercial & Radio Advert production, visit www.airforce.co.uk

Framing Your Message

2010-04-30T00:12:00.000-07:00

Some of my Facebook Friends are somewhat cock-a-hoop about the current John Lewis TV commercial. One of them said he actually cried after watching it. Wow !

Set to the Billy Joel song ‘She’s Always a Woman to Me’, the ad is basically the story of a young girl growing up to adulthood and going through to her old age. The core message is about the brand’s ‘life-long commitment to you’ with it’s ‘Never Knowingly Undersold’ policy.

It is all good stuff. One of those ads that you’d wish you’d written yourself.

If you break John Lewis down, it’s basically a shop that sells lots of nice things with staff that know a lot about those nice things ! Yet it’s the framing of the offering that makes the brand an absolute delight.

‘Framing’ was something that was drawn to my attention many years ago whilst on an NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming) course. In other words, by putting something in an appropriate context; a new and very powerful meaning can be created. In radio advertising, there simply aren’t enough advertisers who put their offering into the right context. I think I can speak for many Commercial Producers when I say that from time to time you come across a new advertiser who has an offering that is simply mind-blowing. The problem is that the owner of that business doesn’t realise it and therefore the company doesn’t do as well as it should.

Creating the right frame for a brand and/or proposition isn’t necessarily all about the dialogue in a radio commercial. Over the years, I have been on many judging panels for radio advertising awards ceremonies and I often find many of the losing commercials have failed to frame the proposition properly. The easiest way to look at it is how a comedian makes a joke funny. A joke will only be funny if the punch line is set up correctly. Take this gag from veteran comic Ken Dodd:

“What a wonderful day...What a wonderful day for sticking a cucumber through your next door neighbour’s letter box and shouting “The Martians have landed !”.

The punch line would never have worked if it hadn’t been put into context. The same goes with radio advertising. If you don’t ‘set up’ the key proposition, the whole ad is meaningless. Many advertisers forget this. They think a 30 second commercial should be filled with 30 seconds worth of information. Wrong. In my view the ‘information’ should only account for a small percentage of the commercial. When you next see the full-length version of the 90 second long John Lewis TV ad, the core message appears 7 seconds before the end of the ad. The remaining 83 seconds have been skilfully used to set us up for the 5 word killer endline. And when it comes: POW ! The message is indelibly marked in our memories.

Here’s another example: None of us have escaped the news of the Icelandic Volcano causing havoc to British travellers. I was particularly taken by the news stories of the luxury liner ‘Celebrity Eclipse’ ferrying home two thousand stranded holiday makers from Bilbao. The rescue must have cost Celebrity Cruises an absolute mint.But by golly, the positive publicity the company is getting from it is absolutely priceless. In all media we saw, read and heard interviews with passengers ‘wowing’ the amazing experience they had.

Things like this should teach all brand owners there is more, much more to telling the listener that they can buy ‘X’ for less. Celebrity Cruises have proved this by putting their brand in context with an unprecedented event . By doing this, they have ended up with something that is actually more powerful than the volcano itself.

And I am pretty sure that as a result of their actions, their tills will be ringing loud and proud in the months to come.

John Calvert. www.airforce.co.uk

Are your radio adverts sending out the right image ?

2010-04-15T07:47:00.000-07:00

I love General Elections. It’s a one-month advertising campaign where beliefs and visions are marketed as brands. Claims, counter-claims, criticisms, slagging-offs, endorsements: it’s all there and the poor electorate has to make sense of it all.

Sorry, going slightly off track now: Why is it the political parties never seem to fall foul of advertising rules ? Some of the claims you encounter in political advertising often has little-to-no foundation. Yet they apparently seem to get away with it. In some cases, libellous comments are made, yet we never hear about any action being taken by the ASA. I have no idea why. If you have the answer, I would love to know.

Election time is when parties and their candidates spend an absolute fortune presenting themselves in the best possible light. And it reminds me that regardless of whether there’s an election or not, many radio advertisers should be getting their houses in order.

Following on from my last article about the power of the brand, image is absolutely everything. Regardless of whether we own a business or not, this belief is instilled in all of us. Yet on the radio, we still encounter radio adverts for businesses that say all the wrong things...

We’re noisy.
We’re patronising.
We’re arrogant.
We’re unprofessional.
We’re insignificant.
We’re thick.
We’re childish.
We’re rude.
We’re lairs.
We’re unhelpful.
We’re smarmy.
We’re slimy.
We’re confusing.
We’re idiots.
We’re not good for you.

How many radio commercials have you heard this week that creates the feeling they are one or more of the above ?

We all know radio ads have the power to say a lot more than what the voiceover is actually saying. Yet despite some great heroic attempts from Commercial Producers, some advertisers still think they know better.
In most cases, we can just advise. And providing it’s not to the detriment of the radio station’s quality of output, there’s very little we can actually do other than cringe every time the ad is broadcast.

I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older and my tolerance levels are getting weaker, but when it comes to image of radio advertisers I am noticing I am speaking my mind a lot more nowadays. In a conversation with a client the other day, I found myself saying “Fine, if you want to throw all what’s good about you down the toilet, so be it”. The client took the point and thankfully I still have the account !

Regardless of what we think of elections and the like, I think the current political campaigning and advertising is a great opportunity for us to observe how much effect image has on the masses. It’s not what you say, it’s how you say it. And in radio advertising, there’s never been more true line.

Want your radio commercials to sound great. Visit our website here.

John Calvert

If you advertise on the radio, invest in your brand.

2010-04-01T08:41:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I took the missus and our 4 year old son Dan to the beautiful city of Bath. The day co-incided with a match at the rugby ground. Where ever we looked: In cafe’s, bars and shops there was a sea of blue and black shirts. Though the atmosphere was a lot more civilised than a football match day. This is Bath after all.

Whilst walking round the new shopping centre, Southgate, we heard a cacophony of cheering and applause. Thinking it was some exuberant rugby fans, we went round the corner to discover something completely different.

Apple had opened a brand new store and our arrival was at the exact time when the doors of the store opened. The cheers, whoops and claps weren’t coming from the queue of customers walking into the store. It was coming from a huge line of Applestore staff all dressed in their blue tops. As the public filed in, each person was welcomed with a free T.shirt and brisk high-fives. It was tremendous fun. My missus turned to me with a huge beaming face and said “Isn’t Apple a great brand ?”

She’s right. Apple oozes cleverness, style and a real feeling that you want to be part of it. The stores aren’t stuffy and the staff, although incredibly well-trained are still incredibly approachable.

At the same time Apple was wowing the folks of Bath, British Airways cabin crews were on the picket lines. “Willie Walsh is pants” was written on a string of underwear, the bigwigs in Unite were telling the media how unreasonable BA is being and BA customers were promising not to use the airline ever again.

What a contrast.

And what a reminder that brand is everything.

The biggest thrill I get in radio commercial production is to help regional and local businesses make a real name for themselves in their respective market. The trouble is, not enough local and regional business care about ‘their brand’. They think subjecting the listener with what is effectively and audio version of a leaflet is the way to win the hearts of the public. How wrong they are.

If you’re a local company, the public aren’t forgiving about your image. By default, they will always compare how you present yourself with everyone else and in a matter of milliseconds accept you or reject you.

Right now, the public will be doing the same with B.A. As the industrial dispute continues, British Airways will do it’s upmost to protect it’s brand. It made me think: If BA hadn’t invested squillions in promoting their core brand values, just imagine what a sorry state they would be in now.

Like BA, Toyota is having a rough time. But because they too have done the groundwork and been incredibly pro-active in being seen to sort things out; their ‘Today Tomorrow Toyota’ positioning is, my opinion relevant and effective.

As the economy is beginning to see light at the end of the tunnel, now is the time for local and regional advertisers to set the scene for the good times by dumping a model that relies on advertising just special offers. Lets instead encourage more radio advertisers to adopt a model that shows the public just how bloody amazing they really are. So when the good times (and indeed the bad times) come back, they are standing on a solid foundation that’s able to handle anything that comes their way.

Oh, and as a completely separate issue and going off on a complete tangent, who else thinks the Halifax ‘radio station’ ads are verging on being utterly cringeworthy ?

John Calvert.
www.airforce.co.uk

Keep your radio advertising consistent !

2010-03-20T02:57:00.000-07:00

We do the radio adverts for this campaign.

John Calvert

Radio Adverts that will do you wrong.

2010-03-18T09:04:00.000-07:00

It feels like the last two weeks has taken me squillions of miles around the country. And whilst driving from one destination to another, it gave me the chance to listen to a number of commercial radio stations along the way. In particular, their radio commercials !

There is no doubt that radio adverts are beginning to sound interesting again. Throughout last year, there was a definite leaning towards simple-sounding commercials. But now it’s good to hear some more interesting stuff returning to the airwaves.

Having said that, I am still hearing things that really don’t help the advertiser’s cause. One thing in particular: Asking questions in radio ads has loomed it’s ugly head again – big time.

“What’s stopping you from coming to our sale ?”

“Why not treat yourself ?”

“Thinking of buying XXXXXXX ?”

I know I’ve covered this area a number of times, but the sheer amount of ads I have heard over the last couple of weeks has prompted me - once again to bring this subject up again.

The reality is, phrases like "Why go anywhere else ?" and "What's stopping you ?" etc, simply bring to mind all the things that remind folks why they shouldn't be buying a particular product or service. The result ? Businesses spending a ton of money inadvertently inviting listeners to think of a reason for why they shouldn't buy their products or services.

Of course, it’s sometimes difficult to avoid asking questions in radio ads, but it’s worth pointing out to advertisers that questions should be put in commercials only if
the answer the audience gives is the right answer.

The other area that pricked my ears up were sponsorship messages. In many many cases, they sounded incredibly drab and predictable. I am sure it’s not the case everywhere, but I believe many sponsor credits are not doing the paying client many favours. I have said it before, TV really leads the way on sponsor credits. They look good, they have an idea behind them, they keep in line with the TV station’s branding, they are sympathetic to the sponsor’s branding and most of all; appear to have a justifiable presence.

I am aware of what you can or can’t do on radio sponsorship credits, but I really do think it’s time they went beyond the rather predictable “Brought to you in association with Xxxxx. Great service, whatever the weather” kind of credit.

Worse still, some of the sponsor credits I heard actually gave no clue to what the sponsor’s line of business was ! I know this isn’t the norm, but come on, everyone has a duty to ensure that advertisers get something in return for their investment.

Finally, in a conversation with an agency chum I met up with on my travels, I was asked the question: “Whatever happened to the Sonic Logo ?” Interesting point ! A few years ago, a number of radio experts predicted that short sharp pieces of music and/or sounds would be the way forward for radio advertisers to brand themselves on air and so create recognisability. Of course there are a few radio advertisers who do use Sonic Logos well, but in the great scale of things (and taking out of the equation those hoppity-skip kind of jingles you hear) there aren’t as many around as everyone thought there would be. Perhaps in the real world, it shows us there is still a big gap between a Commercial Producer’s and advertiser’s expectations of what good radio advertising should be.

John Calvert. www.airforce.co.uk

Everything has it's value...

2010-03-09T09:34:00.000-08:00

Mr K is a delightful man. As the owner of a very successful Indian restaurant, he has been a client of my production company Airforce for over 17 years. Yesterday, in one of our get-togethers, we had a catch up. I learned that considering all that is going on in the economy, Mr K and his restaurant are doing fine.

Over a superb meal, we discussed (amongst other things) the new scripts I presented him, the explosion in Social Networking and the price of his food. He explained that 2 new Indian restaurants had opened up in his area, but despite this business was still good. He took me through one of the new restaurant’s menu.

He was surprised at how low the cost of certain dishes were and went on to explain that his business would never go into a price war in order to get business. I agreed with him. In a lot of cases, reducing your prices just because someone else has is putting yourself on a very slippery slope to doom.

“Everything has a value”, Mr K said. “If it is good, people will pay the proper price”.

Rewind 3 days to a presentation about the Creative Sell to a station sales team not a million miles away from Airforce HQ. My brief was to give the sales team a short, sharp overview on all things relating to commercial production. One person had a worry that some of his advertisers would not buy more expensive ideas because they were used to paying entry level-priced commercial production. I explained that I should be the one should be worried ! The advertiser is signed to the station. It’s just a matter of who is going to make the commercial ! Therefore I have to work harder to get the production gig. And I have no problem in doing that.

Rewind another 5 days. I am having lunch with a highly talented radio sales exec. (I love my job. Free lunches, stimulating conversation and some business too !) We were reflecting on how much the way radio has been sold has changed over the years. We touched on the current phenomena: Clients being able to share in unsold inventory. To many stations, this approach has become a vital part in keeping the coffers well-stocked.

But in my lunch, the sales exec was wondering if it had all been good. I made the point that across the UK, there were probably a whole load of advertisers who should not have been sold these packages and because of it, some stations may be losing out on a larger pot of gold. The exec agreed and went on to consider how difficult it was going to be to switch some of these advertisers to more planned and structured campaigns which costed more.

Today as I write this article, Mr K’s words are still rattling around my head. “Everything has a value...If it is good, people will pay the proper price”.

If a product or service is better than everyone else’s, many people will still be happy to pay more for it. If an idea for a radio advertising concept is good, people will pay more. If an advertiser sees the benefits behind why a proper structured advertising campaign is better than a ‘one size fits all’ package, he will understand why he has to pay more.

Don’t get me wrong, I know it’s still bloody tough out there and it’s very tempting to take any money that’s on offer. But when the good times come back, it’s vital that our clients are conditioned to understand the true value of what they are buying. If we don’t start changing some people now, the products we are selling will never give us a proper return.

John Calvert
www.airforce.co.uk

Government advertising

2010-02-18T09:09:00.000-08:00

I can’t believe the amount of government advertising that’s going on at the moment. I’m not just referring to radio, but the whole media in general. It’s ruddy everywhere !

If you are to believe the newspapers, the spend on government advertising has increased from over £253 million to over half a billion pounds ! If you’re in media such as a radio station Head of Sales, you’ll be loving it.

...But how much is the public actually loving it ?

Two thoughts:

1: With so much advertising about health, safety and the like; does the public appreciate being constantly told what to do ? Without my Commercial Producer’s hat on, I personally don’t. A few weeks ago, a series of radio commercials told me that I had to be polite to road workers. But did I really have to be reminded of that ?

Don’t get me wrong, no one wants anyone to be verbally or physically abused in the workplace, but is the problem so enormous that it warrants an awareness campaign on the radio ?

I believe that with the huge presence of public service advertising around at the moment, the public will actually get irritated with it all and so switch off their eyes ears to it, so not making it particularly effective.

2: In a conversation with a radio station Sales Exec during the week, I asked him how much government advertising was on his station. “Quite a lot”, he said.

“That must be good for the coffers then ?” I said.

“Not really”, he went on. “Quite often, we get bugger-all money for these campaigns. Compared to what the local advertisers pay, we’re practically giving the airtime away to many of the national advertisers. We’d rather not have much of this stuff on air, because in many cases, it’s not worth it”

COI is one of, if not the biggest spenders on radio and I completely accept that with so much money being allocated to the medium, they will quite rightly insist they get excellent value for money. But bearing in mind Point One as well, do high doses of public service advertising actually help to get the message across for all the government departments at the same time ? Currently on radio and TV, there is SO much government advertising that it is not unusual to see or hear commercial breaks that feature at least two public service commercials. That’s just as annoying and uneffective as hearing two double glazing companies in the same break !

But there is a side to all this I can’t help admire: The creative execution. One thing we cannot criticise the COI for is giving us dull advertisements. If there’s one constant positive side to all this, it’s that the majority of the messages are very well crafted. Perhaps it’s the saving grace of this whole affair. There may be shed-loads of it on air at the moment, but it all sounds pretty good.

John Calvert
Airforce

Is getting a radio advert banned good for your business ?

2010-02-04T00:30:00.000-08:00

Like many people, I am a subscriber to Google Alerts.

One of my keywords is ‘Radio Adverts’. A few days ago, an email came through giving me details about new posts on the web featuring the phrase. I was amazed to see a huge amount had been written about the banned Reed Online radio commercial.

In a nutshell, the commercial has been withdrawn from broadcast because it features a manic German-speaking man who is described as a ‘Tyrant’. According to guardian.co.uk, ‘the Advertising Standards Authority received 13 complaints that the ad was offensive to Germans because it used an outdated stereotype and implied that all Germans were tyrants.’

The Radio Advertising Clearance Centre, who cleared the ad believed ‘most listeners would regard the scenario as humorous and inoffensive.’

So the usual questions are raised again. How can a small selection of people be an accurate measure of the tastes of hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of
listeners ? And is withdrawing the commercial from transmission actually giving the ‘offensive’ ad more exposure to the very audience that the ASA is trying to protect it from ? I heard the ad for the first time on the Guardian website; a location where radio ads aren’t usually placed. Friends and colleagues then told me the story was on websites all over the globe. So now, more people are hearing it than ever before, which does question the whole validity of pulling certain radio ads in the first place.

Admittedly, this whole affair must be a priceless, albeit unexpected international PR boost for Reed. With so much about this ad in the news, how ironic Reed’s agency is called ‘Contageous’.

Changing the subject, there seems to be big difference of opinion about whether over-catchy jingles are good for advertisers in the long term. I am referring to ‘We Buy Any Car.com’ track and the ‘Go Compare’ jingle. I have to admit (and I feel a little dirty when saying this) there’s something horribly appealing about both tracks, but I can’t help thinking that these kinds of ads can’t benefit a brand for the long term. Sure, they are hugely powerful mnemonics, but should we be irritating people into buying products ?

For many years, Cillit Bang’s Barry Scott’s over-enthusiasm used to push the range of cleaning products, but the story goes that after some research, the manufacturers decided that Barry’s big voice was simply pissing people off. Today, Bazza still appears in the ads, but he now talks TO us and not AT us.

By all means brand owners use attractive tunes and interesting characters in your radio adverts to get folks to remember things. But please treat audiences in a way that you would like to be treated. Thank you !

John Calvert
www.airforce.co.uk

Should this radio advert for Reed Online be banned ?

2010-01-21T05:21:00.000-08:00

The media is rammed with articles about a radio advert for Reed Online. It features a boss speaking German and being branded a 'Tyrant'.

Just a bit of harmless fun or offensive ? Judge for yourself and listen here.

Want radio commercials that hit the news ? Click here.

John Calvert

Are your Radio Adverts 'of the moment' ?

2010-01-21T00:31:00.000-08:00

I can’t believe how over the top the media coverage has been with the snow. The way the subject has been treated, it gives the impression that snow is a new phenomenon to the human race and that none of us know how to handle it. I have a number of international clients and they tell me that they are finding the whole British/Snow thing very amusing. “Get over it !” one client in the Netherlands told me. I agree with her.

So, with snow being the talk of the UK, have we encouraged our advertisers to use it to their advantage ? We are all aware that retail sales have slipped because of the weather, so can we use it to create radio advertising that encourages people to believe that venturing out in the white stuff is good for them ?

I recall hearing an age-old radio advert produced by Chris Lytle for an electrical shop. The store had been flooded and the ad went on to explain that if you didn’t mind visiting an electrical shop with no electricity, the customer would be rewarded with incredible reductions. Apparently the response was phenomenal.

The British love topicality. The TV show ‘Have I Got News For You’, ‘Question Time’, ‘Harry Hill’s TV Burp’ and many others prove that people, places and events ‘of the moment’ go down very well.

Radio is blessed with the fact that the production process is relatively straight forward. So it makes sense to exploit these qualities and produce radio commercials that really do reflect the here and now. All we need are advertisers who are prepared to go with the flow and put 100% faith into the fact that world events have the potential to shift big amounts of stock.

They the unexpected also happens, so be prepared for it. I recall working on a campaign in which every commercial was produced incredibly close to the broadcast time. But just in case an event happened that significantly changed the mood of the TSA , we had a contingency commercial ready to use: An ad that felt of-the-moment but wasn’t particularly specific. I was glad we had one. Two thirds of the way through the campaign, the Princess of Wales left our mortal coil, plunging pretty much the entire nation into an abyss of sorrow.

Of course, we could be even more up to date by broadcasting live radio ads ! The idea of creating a message based upon events that happened less than an hour ago to me seems incredibly appealing. Live ads were the norm for many many years on American radio. I wrote a handful of live ads in the 80’s too, so it’s sad to think that the way radio works today (transmitter splitting, national local and regional playouts etc) actually makes the implementation of live ads pretty much an impossibility. (Or is it just because the radio stations think the whole idea is just too scary ?) A shame, because the public loves a live event ! Years ago, all soap operas were broadcast live by default. But in recent times, the trend has been returning. Coronation Street and The Bill have done live shows. In February, East Enders will be joining the throng by doing a show in which Archie’s murderer will be revealed – live. If a hugely complex TV show can be broadcast live, surely a 30 second radio ad would be an absolute doddle to pull off ?

Best of all, make the public know it’s live. Create a buzz round it though the PR machine and let them understand something could go wrong.
Just like we wonder whether a magician will escape from a air-tight box before it explodes or whether Barbara Windsor will remember all her lines, the public will stop doing what they are doing to see the event through.

...And for advertisers, that’s priceless !

Want to create a 'Radio Event' with your radio adverts ? Visit the Airforce website here.

John Calvert

The Teenage Dream !

2010-01-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

Last year a world record attempt began at Tanbridge House School in Horsham, West Sussex to produce a radio advertisement featuring the most number of individual voices ever to be recorded. Now after the long process of brainstorms, workshops, script writing and editing, the advert is ready!

Setting a world record, the advert features 138 different voices from the students in years eight and nine at Tanbridge and is all thanks to John Calvert, the Managing Director of radio commercial production company Airforce who had always dreamed of creating a world record for the radio industry.

John commented: “I am delighted that the advertisement is now complete and I believe we have created a world record. Teaming up with Tanbridge House School was wonderful and their students were a delight to work with. I not only wanted to show them a brief glimpse into the technical side of the media industry but also prove to them that by always using your imagination and creative skills you can achieve your dreams.”

The script for the advert was written by 13 year old Tanbridge student Tristan Smith who wanted to send a message to the adult generation. Based around the dreams of young people it explains how today’s society can occasionally stereotype teenagers when all they want is support.

Not satisfied with just setting a world record the students at Tanbridge School have now decided to help other young people buy selling their radio advertisement for a mere £1.50. Their goal is to raise vital funds for the Teenage Cancer Trust charity who ensure that young cancer patients get the best possible care in hospital. They build specially designed wards for teenagers where they can be treated and recover with like minded young patients rather than being put in a children’s or adults ward.

To hear the ad, click here.

John Calvert

A good year for radio adverts ?

2009-12-20T02:06:00.000-08:00

Well let’s face it, it’s been a bit of a surreal year.

The radio commercial production industry has had some big highs and it’s fair share of lows.

On the high side, it was great to see (what appears to be) more radio station Commercial Production departments getting the recognition they deserve. I was particularly pleased to see Global Creative up there with the mighty agencies in this year’s Aerial Awards. Generally, Aerial prize winners come from the agency sector, so it was terrific to see a representation from the commercial radio industry.

For me, the news that the Sony Awards is finally recognising the craft of the Commercial Producer was one of my yearly highlights. I really hope station commercial producers embrace the chance to win a Sony. Not only would it prove you’re an excellent Commercial Producer, but also you know your stuff about radio too !

For proddies, ‘Vox’ was an excellent get together. Not only was it great to catch up with old colleagues, but it was interesting to find out how people were doing. Numerous voice artists told me that in 2009, their earnings from radio commercials had plummeted. That was in the spring. Let’s hope things are now showing some improvement.

Another new thing to hit the web this year was Global’s radiorunner.co.uk. In effect, it’s DIY radio. Book the airtime online, choose a commercial online. I have mixed feelings about the concept. Yes, it’s convenient. But 26 years of experience has taught me that every campaign has it’s own nuances. A generalistic approach to buying radio will not be the ideal solution for every customer.

How has the year been for me ? With a recession, I didn’t expect things to be normal. The early to middle part of the year has been odd. Some great months and months that left me scratching my head wondering ‘what the hell happened there ?’ A lot of clients have opted for ‘safer’ commercials. IE, ads that simply tell it as it is, rather than longer more ‘creative’ campaigns. However, since around September, regular clients began asking for Airforce to develop new exciting ideas. As for new business enquiries: Without doubt, they have been higher than they have been for a long long time.

2010 won’t be the year everyone gets out of the recession, yet there definitely is an excellent feeling of optimism. The work is out there, but all of us have to work a little harder to get it. I’m up for it.

To all readers, thanks for sticking with my rants and opinions. You may not agree with everything, but at least it gives everyone the chance to debate the issues.

Happy Christmas !
Visit the Airforce website here.

John Calvert

Who's the voice of choice ?

2009-11-29T02:45:00.000-08:00

Client-read radio commercials are like buses. You don’t have them for what feels like an age and then suddenly you get two through at the same time !

I get worried when a client wishes to ‘participate’ in the making of his or her own radio advert. Radio Commercial Production is one of those areas where some clients believe they are somehow better qualified to voice a radio ad than a professional voice. After producing thousands of radio ads over a 26 year period, I have only found that belief to be true on only one occasion.

Last week I had two clients who insisted they made an appearance in their radio ads. And have you noticed it’s always the clients who have a voice that is dull or (forgive the slight political incorrectness here) has a voice that has some kind of irritating trait to it ?

But how to persuade an advertiser not to have his or her voice in their radio ad ? If you work for a radio station and you have a client who’s making the suggestion, it’s quite simple: Have a ‘no client voices their own advertisement’ policy.

Oh, and have a policy ready for when the client says he or she knows someone famous to voice their commercials. I recall two events when I was a station Commercial Producer. The first awkward moment was when the client was best mates with a very famous British comedian. Trouble was, unbeknown to the client, the comedian was dyslexic. We ended up re-recording everything with a professional voice.

The other occasion was when the client knew a (then) very well-known sports commentator. The client got this commentator for free on the understanding the commentator could plug his own insurance company at the end of the ad. “And by the way, if you’re looking for good car insurance, call Xxxxxxx Xxxxxxx Insurance on....” went the ad. It was all very cringe-worthy stuff.

Pick your famous voices carefully as well. Just because a voice is a well known actor/actress or TV presenter, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are good at voiceovers. I was once asked to direct a very famous British actress. Although the timbre of her voice was amazing, I quickly discovered she couldn’t read scripts for toffee. I recall we did about 50 edits in a 20 second commercial to make the end- result sound reasonably decent.

In order to avoid incidences like that again, I often listen to ‘personalities’ voice demos very carefully, particularly when I hear them read commercials. A good clue to knowing if they are ‘proper’ voiceovers is to time the commercials they are reading on their showreel. If you hear a full-length commercial that lasts 26 seconds/14 seconds/35 seconds, it means it’s likely their ‘read’ isn’t a genuine commercial. Also note the brand they are reading about. Does the tone, music etc match all the other commercials you have encountered for that brand ?

I am noting many personalities are now jumping on the voiceover bandwagon. The majority of them are going to give you a great read. But because it’s not uncommon for many to charge a ‘minimum’ of say, £3000 for their services, make sure that investment will genuinely bring something great to the commercial.

JOHN CALVERT

www.airforce.co.uk

How Cliche is your Christmas Radio Advertising ?

2009-11-11T02:35:00.000-08:00

Regular readers to the Ad Vantage column in the Radio Magazine will know that for what feels like an age, I have been banging on about the lack of recognition for Commercial Producers in the Sony Awards.

But if you don’t know already, the organisers of the 2010 awards have announced 4 new categories; 3 of which allow Commercial Producers to flex their creative muscles. The new categories are: ‘Best Use of Branded Content’, ‘Best Single Promo/Commercial’ and ‘Best Promotional/Advertising Campaign’.

I don’t know what finally persuaded the organisers to add these categories, but this is truly excellent news and I really hope that radio stations everywhere will submit loads of their best work. You can get details at radioawards.org.

In the last 2 weeks, I’ve noticed an upsurge in demand for Christmas radio ads. Good news for producers and radio stations alike ! When I worked in station commercial production departments many years ago, the demand for Christmas commercials was massive. So much so, it wasn’t unusual to actually run out of Christmas library music !

Things have evolved over the years. Over the last couple of years, the feeling I got from many advertisers is that “listeners know Christmas is coming. They’ll come without being invited”. This year, things feel different. It’s not desperation either. It’s the feeling that advertisers are A) feeling a little more confident about things and B) Know they can only get out of the slump by getting off their arses and start advertising !

Christmas radio advertising though is often predictable. There’s nothing wrong with having Santa in your ad, but the dialogue usally resembles an audio version of a till receipt rather than something that’s actually Christmassy. As I indicated in my last Ad Vantage article, there’s more to a brand than it’s price. This Christmas, I think commercials should be doing a couple of things:

1: Perhaps we should gently draw listeners attention to Christmases past. Not necessarily idyllic Christmas card-like snowy scenes such as Victorian children skating on glittering frozen ponds and all that sickly stuff. What I mean is Christmases past when we were younger and had less responsibility and commitments. Many psychologists suggest that in ‘difficult times’ we get comfort in remembering the days when life was easier. For brands and businesses with a heritage, this kind of stuff is gold.

2: Let’s make Christmas cool ! Over the years, numerous bands have released songs that don’t actually sound Christmassy, yet they encapsulate the cultural tone of the year the song was released in. Christmas music in radio ads usually feature musical church bells, sleighbells and choirboy samples. Hardly ‘today’.
How about some electric guitars ? Ambient pads, sound-scapes or some really cool drum loops ? By doing this kind of stuff, advertisers are presenting a new and original offering for Christmas. Far more inspiring than the cliché Yamaha DX7 approach.

Oh, and when Christmas Day is over, pull the Christmas ads. Many advertisers continue with the same ads after Christmas Day. But from December 26th, the sparkle of Christmas fades really fast. By all means keep on advertising, but instead focus on the next big thing.

For radio adverts that are far from everyday, click here.

Hurrahh ! The Sony Radio Academy Awards announce a category for Radio Commercials !

2009-11-08T02:40:00.000-08:00

For as long as I can remember, I have been incredibly puzzled about why the Sony Awards have never recognised radio adverts.

I have written numerous articles in the Radio Magazine about this anomaly, but now things have finally been rectified. Click here for details.

If your station makes radio ads, go for it !

John Calvert
Airforce

Don't cut your prices. Increase them !

2009-10-29T09:18:00.000-07:00

Seen the new ads for Marks & Spencer ? They say “quality worth every penny”.

Hooray ! At last, an advertiser selling products for their true worth !

To be honest, I’m getting really fed up with advertising that repeatedly tells listeners they can save money. In the Anne Robinson Watchdog age, even ordinary members of the public can work out brand owners cannot genuinely slash their prices all of the time. The public are also aware of how expensive advertising can be. Many will be saying: “Why do advertisers spend millions of pounds telling me they have cut their prices ? It doesn’t make sense !”

Advertising price cuts during a recession is obviously tempting. But as I have said many times before, people will only buy a product or service if they have a genuine need or want for it. Sure, price cuts can speed up the process, but they are not 100% responsible for creating that feeling of want and need.

I have just come back from a meeting with an old client of mine. Like many other companies, life has been tough over the last year or so. But he said to me today that at last, business was nicely picking up and that his company would definitely be stronger as a result of advertising heavily during the recession. Furthermore, throughout the slump, my client never promoted a single price cut. In fact, he didn’t cut his prices ! Words like ‘value’ made an appearance on the odd occasion, but ‘special offers’ were an absolute no-no.

The new M&S strategy, “quality worth every penny” shows that good things are still worth paying more for. In times when treating yourself is good for the soul, people will always spend a little more for a comfort fix. Perhaps that’s why sales of make up have actually increased during the recession ? (Incidentally, I love M&S including the word ‘penny’ in their new line. The perception is that their products only cost a few pennies more, rather than many pounds more !)

So how many radio adverts actually exploit the value of a product or service, rather than the price ? How often do advertisers focus on the huge emotional dividends the product or service will bring, rather than how much it actually costs to buy ?

A quick plug here: Go get yourself the book ‘Buy-Ology, How Everything We Believe About Why We Buy is Wrong’ by Martin Lindstrom. It covers the science of Neuro Marketing and how brands are discovering it’s not conscious logic that effects how and what we buy. It’s something a lot deeper. To find out what, read the book. It’s fascinating stuff and has confirmed to me that ‘price’ only has a small part to play in our purchasing decision process.

I really really hope that many radio advertisers start to wake up to the fact that there’s more to their brand than just price. A brand can be made priceless providing effort is invested in creating the perception that’s it’s worth...Every single penny.

John Calvert.

For radio commercials that really are the business, contact Airforce here.

Recover from the Recesssion faster: Advertise !

2009-10-20T01:30:00.000-07:00

Every business should advertise. I am often perplexed when company owners say "we don't need to advertise".

Really ? Well Mr Businessman if that's the case, you know something that other businesses would pay you shedloads of money for. Trouble is, because you don't believe in advertising, no-one will ever find out about it. Ah well.

Because I am constantly telling businesses to spend their hard-earnt cash on advertising, it only feels right Airforce should do the same too !

2009 has seen us spend more money on marketing and publicity than ever before. The next phase is a regular appearance in the Radio Magazine. In addition at Christmas time, a publicity campaign that started in the spring comes to a climax. At a time where 'feel good' stories get more prominence, our PR company will be making sure that Airforce gets a share of the column inches, airtime and web space allocated to these kind of stories.

Spending money during a recession is scary. But it's been proven that maintaining a public presence during a down-turn helps to keep the wolves away from the door. The fact is, just because there's a recession on, it doesn't mean the whole world has stopped spending. Consumers are still spending on stuff they want and need. Radio advertising has that wonderful ability to sell an idea to a highly-influential public. And as we all know, once that seed has taken root, the mind will work overtime to find a way of buying it.

Want to recover from the recession faster ? Talk to Airforce about making radio commercials, radio adverts and jingles that get your tills ringing. Visit our website here.

Radio Adverts: Create that new habit !

2009-10-12T23:51:00.000-07:00

This is a typical Wednesday in the Calvert household:

I get up at 7am. I go downstairs to feed our cat Archie with a special food to stop him getting even fatter. In the office by about 7.20. I download all emails on my HP PC and print off the scripts on my Epson printer for an ISDN voiceover session I regularly do every Wednesday with the BBC. I could get up later, but if I do, I think I sound slurred. About 45 minutes is enough to fully wake up and catch up with things that need my attention.

After the session, the wife is usually awake. Dan, my 3 year old son will be tucking into Coco Pops and a drink of Tomato Juice. (It’s the only thing he’ll drink other than water.)

After tidying up the kitchen, it’s back to work. My wife drops Dan to Pre-School and returns to work on the accounts for our two companies.

I work solidly without any break to about 2pm. It could be anything from scriptwriting to recording voices via my Audio TX and mixing commercials on Pro Tools. From there, I gather some documents and jump into the BMW and head to a meeting. I always stop at the Esso station in Wootton Basset to buy a pasty and a can of ‘V’ energy drink.

At the meeting, I present the document and play audio from my Bose Acoustic Music System. In my opinion, nothing sounds better.

After the meeting, I check emails on my Iphone. On longer trips, I bring a small hard drive of all the radio commercials and music Airforce has ever recorded in the last 3 years. Then it’s off home. In Lyneham, I will usually stop at Tesco to buy wine for me and the missus. I drink white, Mrs C drinks red. She used to drink Rose, but now after drinking just one glass of Rose, she’ll get a migraine the next day.

It’s back into the office until about 6pm. Then it’s family time. Having said that, I keep the phone on because I know a few clients may call after 6. Dan will have had his tea, (he loves pasta) and will watch Waybuloo on C Beebies. Me and the wife will be discussing some business (She co-owns Airforce) while we crack open the wine.

Later, I will bath Dan. He likes Matey bubble bath, but we wash his hair with Johnson’s Baby Shampoo. Dan will then rest on the sofa with some milk and usually drop off. At 7.30ish, I will cook dinner and then watch TV on our Samsung TV. Later, I check emails on more time, then it’s off to bed.

So what’s the point behind me telling you my daily routine ?

We all have one. Every day, we go through the same routines, rituals and habits. You may not be aware of it, but you’ll have superstitions as well. You’ll do things in a certain way because you’ll believe your day will be a better as a result doing things ‘your’ way. You may avoid walking on cracks in the pavement. You may never walk under a ladder. You won’t buy a pastry from the bakery on the street corner because you heard someone got food poisoning there. You may think that if you buy a Lottery ticket with a specific set of numbers, you stand a better chance of winning. You will stick religiously to certain personal hygiene products because you believe they are more effective than others. You will always park in the same area every time you visit your local supermarket. You may think Christmas isn’t Christmas without a tree and a Turkey. The list goes on and on.

Our days are dominated with routines, rituals, habits, beliefs and superstitions. Some will be very subtle, whereas others you will be completely aware of and apologise to others for them. We carry them out to make us feel comfortable and in control. Many national advertisers know this, so they create products that help to maintain and enhance that feeling of well-being. Think about it. For hundreds of years, the human race survived perfectly without mobile phones. Today, if we leave our mobiles at home or the battery runs out, we feel vulnerable. The mobile companies have us where they want us.

As for local advertisers, I think they are missing out on a trick. They too should be encouraging listeners to create new habits and rituals with their product bang-slap in the middle of everything. So today, as you sip your daily Starbucks Frappuccino (because you believe it’s the only way to wake you up), think about making your advertisers products and services a way of life, a comfort zone, a ritual or dare I say...

...A pleasant and welcome addiction.

Fof help on making your radio commercials tap into the minds of your audience, visit www.airforce.co.uk

And the winners are...

2009-10-02T11:06:00.000-07:00

There’s a great ad kicking around at the moment. Having a dig at John Lewis, it reads: “Step into middle England’s best loved department store, stroll through haberdashery to the audio visual department where an awfully well bought up young man will bend over backwards to find the right TV for you.

...Then go to Dixons.co.uk and buy it”

It made me chuckle and instantly gave me one of those “I wish I had written that” moments.

The above is a press ad. Yet thinking about it, I can’t understand why there isn’t more comparative advertising on the radio. Many business love to hark about how good their prices and service are. But if we are new to a brand, it is hard to gauge just how good the prices and service is. Comparisons are a great way of doing it and providing you’re 100% accurate on the facts, you should go for it.

Nowadays, we are seeing major supermarkets comparing each other’s prices. These companies yield great power and in many respects this gives smaller businesses a licence to play the game too. However, many local advertisers feel reluctant to go up against their national rivals, but I think providing no one exaggerates the truth or berates the competition, the audience will love the banter. Experience has also told me that many national companies won’t change their pricing and marketing strategy just because one independent local business is saying they are better. There will be exceptions of course, but generally local businesses will always have the upper hand.

Changing the subject, you may have noticed the results of the Radio Advertising Awards. I was thrilled to see that the event wasn’t 100% dominated by ad agencies. The category ‘Best Use of Radio to Drive Awareness’ was won by Global Ideas Birmingham for ‘Death Calling’. Congratulations to all involved.

The Grand Prix winner was for ‘Search’ by the Department of Transport. A great commercial with a very simple message. Well worth a listen at the RAB website.

My favourite was for ZSL London Zoo. Winning the ‘Best Sound Design’ catagory, there isn’t a wasted moment in this commercial. A Clear, fun, clever and compelling message. Great stuff.

The Radio Advertising Awards prove that there is still some great work out there. Though I know many Commercial Producers working on more ‘local’ campaigns will feel frustrated that many of their good radio scripts have been let down by their client’s insistence to include phone numbers and other meaningless twaddle. Hence there is a reluctance to enter the work. On the odd occasion, I have heard of producers creating two versions of the commercial. One a ‘client-friendly’ version complete with the twaddle and another which is the ad as it should be: A finely-crafted piece of radio advertising. If radio stations could persuade more of their clients to run the latter for a short while, then I reckon we would see more radio stations winning in the Radio Advertising Awards.

My only niggle about the Radio Advertising Awards ? On the impressive list of judges, there wasn’t anyone who works full-time in a commercial radio station or radio group. The inclusion of such a person would add another interesting perspective on the proceedings.

Regular readers to the Ad Vantage column will know my other awards niggle is the organisers of the Sony Awards not including a Station-Produced Radio Commercial category in their awards list. The UK broadcasts millions of hours worth of radio ads (more than promos AND there’s a category for them !), yet radio adverts have been completely ignored.

2010 Sony Awards perhaps ?

www.airforce.co.uk

This is not great.

2009-09-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

Cringeworthy and completely un-realistic. Surely there must have been a better way to do this ?

Give your Radio Advert an idea !

2009-09-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

Let’s face it, a fair chunk of the local commercials broadcast on radio consist of 30 seconds worth of prices and special offers. Above that, there are radio commercials with some kind of ‘idea’ or thought that the advertiser is wanting to tell you. And above that, there are a small handful of commercials that when you hear them, you really want to buy that product.

Yesterday I encountered a commercial for a particular brand of coffee. At the end of it, I had no idea what I was supposed to feel or indeed do. It was a TV commercial, so we have to assume the campaign was an expensive one. So what a waste ! If a commercial simply shows the product and really doesn’t tell you why it’s good for you, how is anyone expected to know what to do or feel after the commercial has ended ?

Advertisements for products like coffee, make up, cars etc have to reach out and touch you. The brand has to show it can make a great contribution to your life and somehow, things will only be second-best if you choose not to buy it.

To be honest, I find few radio commercials to be aspirational. In the last couple of weeks, I’ve head radio ads for skip hire companies telling me I can hire a bloody great skip for only £50. Fantastic if I need a skip, but if I am not told why they are good for me, I am going to ignore the commercial completely. I have heard radio ads for half-price sofas. But I will be only interested if I am in the market for buying a sofa. I have heard commercials for cheap diamond engagement rings. But if I had a girlfriend and was not sold the idea of popping the question, the chances of me buying the special-offer ring won’t increase. In all 3 cases, the advertisers could have sold us ‘the idea’ of their products and services. Just like a ‘serving suggestion’ illustration on a packet of food, radio adverts would attract a larger amount of interest if the commercial had some sort of ‘lifestyle suggestion’ or better still, clearly show the positive outcome buying the product/service would bring.

Too many advertisers believe that ‘just telling’ will somehow turn on a metaphoric tap allowing a torrent of new business to come their way. In reality, it’s more likely to be a trickle. No one will buy anything unless they want or need it. The ‘special offer’ should really be treated as the final incentive to buy.

This week, I am off to take a brief from a brand new client. He’s dabbled with radio in the past, but never done anything (in his words) ‘serious’. His business is in a very crowded sector, but in our initial conversation on the phone the client said “People don’t buy our products on just price alone. There’s a lot more to it than that. People buy our products because the lifestyle it gives them is absolutely second to none.”

Fantastic. By cutting out all the price-related crap, there’ll be ample room to get listeners salivating with desire. Sure price, is important. But all of us know that when we see something that really ticks all the boxes, the mind has an uncanny knack of finding a way to make us buy it, regardless of what the price may be.

For a free consolutation, visit www.airforce.co.uk

Put some 'Joy' in your radio advertising !

2009-08-30T09:47:00.000-07:00

For as long as I can remember BMW, the makers of ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’ have presented us with superbly art-directed images of the cars. Every past TV commercial showed us a beautifully lit car. The announcer’s words were short, sharp and compelling. It’s was all highly-aspirational stuff and has obviously sold shed-loads of cars.

But have you seen the new ad for BMW ? We’re outdoors ! The commercials feature people ! They are happy folk smiling and laughing ! The music sounds like ‘Sense’ by the Lightning Seeds ! And the wall-to wall copy from the announcer (Patrick Stewart) says “At BMW, we don’t just make cars...We make joy !”. See the ad here.

This is a big creative turnaround by BMW. For the first time in ages, they’ve put emotion into their marketing. It could be argued that the slick moody ads of the past were ‘emotive’, but the new approach is a darn-site more blatant.

It is said that only 5% of all purchases are only made on logic. The remaining 95% is made on emotion. Be it clothes or anything else, thoughts such as “I’ll look good wearing this”... “It’s my colour”... “I look the part”... “It’ll make me happy”... “It’s a treat”... all make major contributions in the buying process.

So although there are lots of radio ads out there that make us laugh or make us think (IE Road safety), how many are there that actually tap into our minds and take advantage of our emotional vulnerability ?

We need to start thinking more about the stuff that makes people tick. In BMW’s case, associating ‘Joy’ with their cars is in my opinion, a great move. Compare ‘We don’t just make cars...We make joy ’ with Toyota’s ‘Today Tomorrow Toyota’ and you begin to realise that BMW is now miles ahead on the emotive stakes.

I think many local advertisers think certain aspects of advertising are out of bounds for them simply because they ARE local. The reality is, clever emotive advertising isn’t just for the big brands everyone can have a piece of the action. My next task after writing this article is to take a brief from an advertiser who sells cookers. Each one costs in the region of £32,000! I am astounded at the cost, but in an initial conversation with the client, he tells me you just have to look at one of his cookers and you’ll A) Fall in love with it and then B) Want to buy one. “The mind always find a way to buy what it wants” the client added. The job of the radio advertising will be to start that process and effect an introduction between the cooker and the listener.

I am really looking forward to working on this project. And today, I hope radio sales people will not only encourage their advertisers to play the emotion card in their radio adverts; but also use emotion to sell more radio airtime !

Put some joy in your radio advertising. Get in touch with Airforce now ! www.airforce.co.uk

Who's best to produce your Radio Adverts ?

2009-08-23T02:33:00.000-07:00

I spent a day with the sales team at a radio station this week. It’s something I have done for a number of stations who don’t have their own in-house radio commercial production department. Basically, I am theirs for a whole day either taking briefs, presenting concepts, advising advertisers on how they can improve their creative or imparting thoughts and guidance to members of the sales team.

Throughout one such meeting, the Sales Team told me they ‘are obliged to use selected production companies for their commercial production needs’.

Do I have a problem with that ? No actually. Providing each specially selected company has something different to offer. However, from the feedback I am getting is that the companies some stations contract their com prod to have pretty much the same offering. The only perceptible difference is the sound of their showreels !

There has always been a debate on whether radio stations who don’t have in-house commercial production should only work with one production company or a number of them.

But I’ve never been a supporter of radio stations having just one contract Commercial Production and Music provider. “You would say that wouldn’t you ?” You may say. “You’re the owner of a production company and you want some of the work !” Too right I do, but from the radio station’s and advertiser’s point of view, production companies are going to work a little bit harder when they know a gig could go to somebody else. In addition, if an advertiser knows he has lots of people working for him, then he’s likely to put more faith in the station who is recommending all these companies.

The reality is, many stations have a roster of production companies working for them. There is no doubt that having a choice of providers helps a radio station have an interesting spectrum of commercial output. This is one of the reasons why I like radio advertising so much. You never hear of a local newspaper putting one of their client’s creative out to tender. “The person who comes up with the best visual gets the gig.” In radio, pitching is alive and well and my opinion should happen (with firm rules set down) more often. Stations and advertisers get better work and it keeps Production Companies on their toes.

But how far should creative pitches go ? Demo’s have always been a bit of a grey area. In my view, no client should demand a recorded demo unless they are prepared to pay a fee set by the production company for it. The reality is that providing you explain the script and the concept clearly to a client, you generally don’t need to record a demo. If the idea is good, it will leap off the paper with little to no effort at all.

Not only that, too many good creative ideas have stopped at the first hurdle because someone has written at the bottom of the brief: “All commercials must be 30 seconds in length”. I touched on this in a recent article.

But there’s a proviso to being a roster commercial production to a radio station. If radio stations ask you to pitch on price, then you have to question in who’s best interests is ‘the best price wins’ pitch is for. So many good ideas have been ruined or never got off the ground because someone ‘wants a deal’. Perhaps if people focussed on ‘wanting radio advertising that works’, I think everyone would reap the benefits a lot more. I know of companies who make radio ads for stations for £75 each, £50 each even £40 each ! How anyone can produce a half-decent radio ad AND pay for good writing talent, voiceovers, recording kit, running costs etc for £40 really is beyond me. A station exec told me yesterday “It’s all about bulk, if they have lots of jobs then they can make it work. ” That’s fine until the station or group decides for whatever reason to not renew the contract. This kind of thing happens and it makes me think: How many companies that rely hugely on Contract Commercial Production actually have a Plan B ?

Myself and many other proddies have been in the business long enough to see that the debate on contracting out versus in-house commercial production raises it’s head every so many years. Commercial Radio is currently going through ‘one of those phases’ where things are once again being shaken up. One station exec recently told me that management are now encouraging their sales team to get radio ads written and made by the station’s Promo Producer. I have also heard stories of stations asking Jocks to make commercials when they are not on air. I also know of station MD’s making radio ads !

The above examples are by no means widespread, but never the less, still worrying. The fact is, a radio advert can make or break an advertiser’s commitment to a radio station. As one of my agency clients always says to his clients: “If you’re going to advertise on the radio...Try to advertise brilliantly !” He’s absolutely right. So if your station has in-house or contract Commercial Producers, give them the right environment to make as many of their commercials absolute crackers. Above and beyond everything else: If the advertising sounds good and works, a station will flourish.

Want your radio adverts to sound good ? Visit our website at www.airforce.co.uk

This 'Airforce' makes radio commercials !

2009-08-13T00:44:00.000-07:00

With a company name like 'Airforce', you can't blame folks to think that we're something to do with the military. We're definitely not, but if you're here thinking we are, best click here.

Over the years, we've had shedloads of emails, letters and phone calls from people asking us how they can become a fighter pilot. In addition, we're often asked for recordings of military music. Recently a lady emailed us and asked if we could forward her some military tunes so they could be played at her late husband's funeral. We sent a nice email back saying that we couldn't personally help and included a link to a brilliant web site that would be able to help her.

3 years ago, Airforce HQ re-located to Wiltshire. We are a few minutes drive away from RAF Lyneham and the town of Wootton Bassett. You will have heard these names on the news. When a British solidier is killed in Afganistan, they are flown into RAF Lyneham. From there, they are taken through the small town of Wootton Bassett where literally the whole town stops to pay it's respects.

On returning from client meetings, I have passed through Wootton Bassett just before or after a repatriation ceremony. On one occasion, I witnessed about 8 hearses coming out of the town. It was hugely moving.

Although we just make radio adverts and have nothing to do with the military, it doesn't mean we're not interested in the military. In the last 7 days, I have been a guest of The Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force.

An officer of HMS St Albans invited me, a colleague and some friends to spend a day on board a proper war ship. We went to Portsmouth, boarded HMS St Albans and went out to sea. We pretty much had complete freedom of the ship. We went to the bridge, met the captain, saw an amazing helicopter flypast and even went into the Ops Room. (Where they launch the missiles !)

Few folks get to see and experience what we did and on so many levels, it was a huge eye opener. See the pics below. They show Yours Truly with mates, colleagues & our host, the Missile Silo and life on the Bridge.

From there, we went to Lyneham as guests of the RAF. The Red Arrows made an appearance and we toured huge Hercules planes and helicopters. Again, a real eye opener.

My thanks to Duncan and Gaz for giving us 2 amazing days. Much respect to you and everyone who defends our country and our freedom.

John Calvert

PS: If you're here to find out how to get great radio adverts made, visit www.airforce.co.uk

Don't think all radio adverts should just be 30 seconds...

2009-08-07T00:46:00.000-07:00

This week, my company was involved in a client pitch.

The presentation of radio commercials went well and after taking the potential new client through the document, I asked if there was anything that needed clarifying.

“The ads are longer than 30 seconds”, the client observed. I explained that the brief didn’t specify any preference for any specific length.

“We ONLY have 30 second ads” the client replied.

In my years of making radio adverts, I have always been concerned by this obsession with radio ads having to be 30 seconds ! It is a dreadful duration, namely because the length allows little-to-no time to set a good scene for the brand/product/service, promote the benefit and then close off with the call to action.

I know I am not the only Commercial Producer who has problems with this. In my capacity as a Voice Over, I am often sent 30 second scripts that struggle to be engaging in any way. There is an idea in there, but often it is undercooked because of the limitations of the duration.

I often wonder what life would be like if the ‘standard’ length of a radio advert was established as a 40 seconder ? Of course, there would be advertisers who would exploit this and broadcast ads that were packed to the rafters with easy-to-forget twaddle; but hunch tells me that many script writers would breathe a sigh of relief and create ads that would be far more engaging and so, more effective.

I know some stations are struggling with selling 100% of their airtime inventory, so I am wondering if they have nothing to lose by offering new and existing clients 40” commercials at the 30” rate on the understanding that their creative is given a thorough overhaul ?

Changing the subject a little, I am keen to hear what everyone thinks of Global Radio’s new initiative called ‘Radio Runner’. Recently publicised on the Radio Today website, Radio Runner is an application that allows advertisers to buy and create their radio advertising online. Currently, it’s only available in East Anglia but the objective is likely to be rolled out across the UK.

At the time of writing this article, my PC was unable to connect to radiorunner.co.uk. But in an earlier visit I discovered that ‘buy and create’ are the two main buzzwords. You log in to a website, choose the station(s) you want to advertise on, select the advertising package and then pick from a selection of pre-written radio scripts the ad that most appeals or is most relevant to you. From there, you then fill in the gaps with your company name etc.

This initiative from Global is in more ways than one a real-eye opener and I would really love to know if whether you are for or against this kind of approach.

No doubt we’ll be returning to the subject of Radio Runner in the weeks and months to come.

John Calvert
Visit the Airforce website here.

Did you see Top Gear ?

2009-08-03T06:01:00.000-07:00

Last night Top gear excelled itself.

Clarkson & May were set a task to make a Volkswagen ad. Of course there was a lot of jolliness along the way, but if you like creating radio or TV ads, VW's agency (DDB) dispensed some great pearls of wisdom. The main one being "At the heart of all good Volkswagen advertising, there is always a product truth."

Hear hear.

"Truth" isn't what you believe. Because what you believe isn't necessarily truth. It's just what you believe ! So the 'truth' you promote has to be an undeniable fact and nothing less.

It's something I completely support and if you'd like your radio ads to contain truths that the audience will embrace with open arms, contact us.

In the meantime, here is what I believe to be one of the best VW ads ever made. It's years old, but I adore it's simplicity and compelling proposition. See it here.

We couldn't agree with this more...

2009-07-24T04:53:00.000-07:00

Watch this.

Want your radio to have just as much recall ? Lets talk now. http://www.airforce.co.uk/contact.php

John Calvert

Advertising Radio Advertising on the radio: Is your station doing it right ?

2009-07-24T00:56:00.000-07:00

It was many moons ago when I wrote an Ad Vantage article about many radio stations needing to adopt a more strategic approach to promoting their medium as a great place to advertise.

The world is a different place now. At the time of publication, the recession and Credit Crunch was not even a tiny dot on the horizon. Everything was fine.

Today, the media (rightly or wrongly) is telling us that life is tough and all of us have to fight for every last penny. Revenues from advertising in all media have suffered big downturns, so more than ever before radio has to fight back....NOW !

Forgive me if I am covering old ground here, but I really do think some local commercial stations need to up the ante when it comes to promoting themselves as an advertising medium. Sure, they go some way to promoting their wares by means of Advertiser Testimonials, but there’s a lot more that could be done.

I have always been in the opinion that local commercial stations could increase their own customer base by establishing a more structured approach to the way they promote their medium.

When a radio station books a long term advertiser, they generally ask their Commercial Producer or contract provider of production to come up with an idea that has legs. In other words, a framework that can be built on as the weeks and months of the campaign unfold. Yet when a radio station promotes itself on the radio as a good advertising medium, all that thinking goer out of the window. Locally-based campaigns promoting radio advertising are often sporadic, fragmented, predictable and not hugely inspiring. I’m not blaming the Commercial Producers for this either. From what I hear, some Proddies aren’t even given the opportunity to create a campaign. The messages are often produced by the same people who make the station promos.

Advertising is everything to a commercial radio station, so it seems only right that a station should invest significant resources in promoting itself as an advertising medium. Consideration should be given to allocating a percentage of airtime to promoting radio advertising. Not only that, a proper campaign structure should be established – just like stations do with paying advertisers. In addition, the Commercial Producers/Production providers should be given proper money to devise and create a comprehensive series of spell-binding radio commercials.

Radio advertising on XXXXFM should be turned into a brand. A ‘brand’ is defined as many things. Some have said it is "a name, sign or symbol used to identify items or services of the seller(s) and to differentiate them from goods of competitors.".
Others define a brand as "a set of assets linked to a brand's name and symbol that adds to the value provided by a product or service..." I could go on and on.
But we all know brands have a huge influence on us. So let’s use these values and make it relevant to radio advertising.

Radio stations already know that if their clients adopt consistent, engaging radio advertising, the clients will be successful advertisers. So if a radio station does the same thing by regularly promoting itself as great advertising medium with an engaging and consistent campaign, it is inevitable that they too will enjoy great success.

Using the above approach with a message that’s relevant to your TSA will only do good for your station. As far as I see it, you have absolutely nothing to lose. So do it !

Let Airforce create a plan for you. Get in touch now. Contact details are at www.airforce.co.uk

John Calvert

Are your radio commercials getting a fair play ?

2009-07-19T04:35:00.000-07:00

Many thanks for the great interest in my short guide ‘The 11 Most Common Mistakes Made in Radio Adverts’. As recently posted in the Airforce blog

The fact is that just because there’s a recession on, it doesn’t mean the core principals of radio advertising should be ignored. In fact, more than ever, radio advertising campaigns should be planned with meticulous detail. Even down to the scheduling.

Scheduling. Now there’s something that I haven’t spoken about for a while. In this context, I am not referring to day-parts and the like. I am referring to the tone and texture of a commercial break. I have always had the feeling that many ad breaks inadvertently let a station and it’s advertisers down.

A Programme Controller will be very much aware of how much better a station sounds when songs are scheduled in a certain way. For example, in ‘normal’ programming it may not be a good idea to put a number of dance songs together. For other stations, that’s a great idea. But whatever the format, a PC will always ensure that the sequence of songs flows smoothly and logically.

I am wondering how much attention is made to the actual commercial breaks themselves ? On regular occasions, I hear radio advert breaks that can be simply described as ‘lumpy’. A bit like driving a car with an iffy gear box: Irregular momentum and no smooth transition from one gear to another.

In addition I often hear ad breaks that just feature solo-speaking voices. Because many stations broadcast commercials so tightly together, it’s sometimes hard to distinguish when one solo-speaking ad has finished and when the next one has started. The final effect therefore is one long confusing message that the human brain just can’t cope with.

Then there are product, offer and brand clashes. Breaks that feature more than one furniture store or home improvement company. Breaks that feature more than one 0% interest free credit offer. Breaks that feature more than one public service message. The list goes on. Of course there are times when clashes are unavoidable, but at all times, attention should be given to exclusivity. Exclusivity in a break instantly gives the advertiser a brighter light to stand under, so giving them a better chance to lead the listener’s mind in the direction we want it to go. 2 similar products, services, propositions or brands in a break simply dilutes the impact of all the ads and confuses the listener.

Yonks ago, I worked with a brilliant Traffic Manager called Brian Lee. Although his scheduling system was completely computerised, he still took the time to ‘listen’ to ed breaks just to check the commercials sounded good together. If there was too much or too little contrast, Brian would shift things around. In certain commercial breaks before the top-of-the-hour news ident, Brian would end the break with an ad that wouldn’t have any topicality clash with the news or ensure that no ad would undermine the importance of the news. At times when a break featured a mix of good and bad ads, Brian would schedule them in a way that didn’t undermine the prestige of radio advertising. The list went on.

No matter how sophisticated commercial break scheduling software can be, nothing, but nothing beats a Human Being lending an ear to the break before it is transmitted. Successful radio advertising isn’t just about how good the ad is and where it is scheduled it’s also about how it’s broadcast.

John Calvert is Managing Director of Airforce. One of the UK's most prominent creators of radio commercials and radio adverts. For free stuff, visit the website at www.airforce.co.uk

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We're doing it for the kids...

2009-07-17T00:09:00.000-07:00

Airforce has been hitting the news quite a bit. And in both cases, it's because we've hooked up with schools to get involved in some worthy projects.

First up: Ian Axton, owner of the radio station Andover Sound asked us to get involved with an initiative called 'Andover Vision'.

School pupils were asked to come up with a multi-media advertising campaign to encourage folks to not litter the streets. A cinema ad, press ad, bus back and radio commercial were all to produced by local schools under the supervision of mentors.

Airforce was asked to mentor the radio advert production.

After a talk to the pupils, they came back with a demo ad. Considering they had never done anything like this before, the demo was pretty good !

From there, we set out to record the ad . Everything was written, voiced and recorded by the pupils at Harrow Way Community School. My job was to 'tidy up' things in the recording and post production and turn it into a nice neat package.

Here's an article from the local paper...

Another project we're working on is something extremely exciting. Airforce is currently in the process of creating a radio commercial that contains more individual speaking voices than any other radio ad on the planet !

Currently, there is no set record. But our aim is to set the benchmark for others to follow.

We're working with Tanbridge House School in Horsham. The finished radio commercial will be for the school itself, with the all the voices provided by the pupils. The epic 90 second script has been co-written by pupil Tristan Smith aged 13 and 2 Airforce writers.

We are currently in the process of recording the pupils at the school. So far, we've recorded about 100 different pupils individually reading the script. Once I think we've got enough, we'll be editing all the reads to create a rado ad that features dozens and dozens and dozens of INDIVIDUAL speaking voices.

To get as many voices in the ad as possible, some words will be split into individual syllables; Therefore allowing more voices to appear. I am dreading the day when I will have to fire up Pro Tools and start this long, laborious editing process !!

When the ad is complete (probably late summer), the paid-for ad will be broadcast on Mercury FM in Crawley.

The attempt has generated loads of publicity for the school (and for Airforce !). Countless newspaper articles, web presence, even a radio interview so far. And this is BEFORE the ad has been made !

Here's a clipping from one of the many articles published...

John Calvert
July 17, 2009
Find our website at www.airforce.co.uk

Your radio commercials may be wasting thousands of pounds of your money ! Revealed: 11 of the most common mistakes made in Radio Adverts.

2009-07-15T04:35:00.000-07:00

John Calvert is Managing Director of Airforce: One of the UK's most prominent names in Radio Commercial Production. Here he reveals how your business may inadvertently be throwing thousands of pounds down the drain by adopting poorly-constructed Radio Adverts.

With revenues approaching the £600 million mark, Radio Advertising is proving to be an extremely popular advertising medium. However, not all the businesses who advertise on the radio will enjoy success with the medium. This could be down to a number of reasons, however a key point in the failure of a radio advertising campaign may well be down to the commercial itself.

Businesses often pay handsomely to broadcast their radio commercials. However, many commercials are inadvertently sending out the wrong messages. The result ? Confused and irritated listeners. For the advertisers: Vast amounts of money wasted.

In times when local and regional radio advertisers need to make every second (and penny) count in their radio advertising, it is vital we get back to basics and indentify the small things that could cause radio advertisers big problems.

Communication is all about creating the right response in the mind of the radio listener, so here are a few of the things that can make a radio advertising campaign fail.

BE CAREFUL ABOUT THE THINGS YOU SAY

We've all heard lines like: "Thinking about buying double glazing ?" Or "Will you be coming to the big car sale this weekend ?" Or "Need new carpets ?".

If your listener answers "Yes", you stand a chance of converting them. If your listener answers "No", it's unlikely the remainder of your commercial will be not be listened to. And because it's likely more people will subconsciously answer "No" than "Yes", the money you spent getting the commercial produced and broadcast will be wasted.

Another commonly-used statement in advertising is the phrase "Why not...?"
"Why not come to the furniture sale..?", "Why not treat yourself". The line may appear to be suggestive and helpful, but actually on closer examination these sentences are leading the mind in the wrong direction.

Question "Why not come to the furniture sale ?"
Answer: "Because I'm busy". Or "I don't need any more furniture"

Question: "Why not treat yourself ?"
Answer: "I can't afford it".

Phrases like "Why Not", "Why go anywhere else ?" and "What's stopping you ?" simply bring to mind all the things that remind folks why they shouldn't be buying a particular product or service. The result ? Businesses spending a ton of money inadvertently inviting listeners to think of a reason for why they shouldn't buy their products or services.

Oh, and what about this cracker of a line: "You'd be mad to miss these special offers". The 'You'd be mad....' phrase is such a commonly-used line in advertising. Yet telling your audience they are one wave short of a shipwreck is not a good way of winning their hearts.

THE CREDIT CRUNCH

I am noticing a trend where many advertisers want to talk about 'recession-busting offers and deals' in their commercials. Again, care should be taken here. Reminding your audience about recessions and the like only re-enforces their belief that perhaps they should not be spending their money. If listeners are reminded of that fact, they'll be more reluctant to spend their money with you and you've wasted a few more thousand pounds.

By all means be topical, but convey the current economic climate in a softer way.

YOU ARE NOT THE VOICE OF CHOICE

Some business-owners love to voice their own radio commercial. Just because you own the company does not mean your voice should be the ambassador for it. Some of the most embarrassing radio commercials ever recorded are the ones that are voiced by the company's owners. The result will be a production that conveys a company as highly amateurish and on some occasions: An absolute joke. We all judge people on their appearance and radio is no exception. Remember, you're not saving money by using your own voice, you're actually spending more.

NEVER SAY YOU ARE THE BEST

Saying you offer the best service, products, quality etc is incredibly arrogant and presumptive. At the end of the day, the only people who can say you are the best are your customers. What listeners want are benefits, not boasts. Tell your listeners what they want to hear. Don't waste money on broadcasting an ego trip.

NEVER IRRITATE THE LISTENERS

Thousands of local radio advertisers admit their commercials and jingles are irritating, yet they remain happy to continue broadcasting their ads. If you know your commercial gets on people's nerves pull it off air, NOW ! For all the people who somehow manage to tolerate your sound believe me, there'll be thousands more who won't give you business because they simply can't stand you. Good quality jingles cost more, but you'll get a significantly higher return on your investment.

TOO MUCH INFORMATION !

In this day and age, it's tempting to ensure the listener knows as much as possible about your offering. If you're doing this, much of your money is going down the toilet. If you're paying to broadcast ads rammed full of facts, figures and information, give the money to charity instead. It'll be better spent that way. The human brain can only take in limited amounts of information in one go, so stick to the 'one commercial - one thought' policy. A single, clear message will work much much better.

PHONE NUMBERS/WEB ADDRESSES

It is highly common-place to put phone numbers in radio ads. But hang on, how many do we actually remember ? Try this. Write down the phone numbers that were broadcast in the last three radio ads you heard.

Can't remember them ? So what's the difference with your phone number ? You may know it off the back of your hand, but it's unlikely anyone else will. Don't waste valuable airtime promoting something most folks won't remember.

There are very few radio-friendly phone numbers. So don't waste money promoting them. Instead, promote an easier to remember point of contact, like a web address.

But hang on, even web addresses can cause problems !

Web addresses such as 'jones4cars.com' are a no-no in radio ads. On air, it sounds like 'jonesFORcars'. And if you don't have the 'jonesforcars' domain name, you're wasting your airtime because fewer people will get through to your site.

In addition, avoid domains that have hyphens in them like 'jones-cars.com'. To make sense of it on air, the voice will have to say 'jones hypen cars' or 'jones dash cars'. There's more for the listener to remember and some people will (amazingly) type the word 'hyphen' or 'dash' when searching for you on the web.

In addition, examine your business name carefully. If it is in anyway odd or could be spelt in a number of ways, register as many domain names with these differences and direct them all to your main website. If your company name is really hard to spell, use a domain name that is relevant to your business like 'usedcarexpert.com' or something similar.

DON'T SHOUT IN YOUR COMMERCIALS !

As a business owner, you wouldn't dream of shouting at any of your customers on your business premises. It is regarded as insulting and at worst, threatening. So there is no excuse to do it on the radio. Shouting more than your competitors on air won't mean your offering is anymore better or exciting than anyone else's. To the listener it simply means you're an irritant and therefore they will turn your ad down to a level so low they won't be able to hear it. Well done, you've just thrown away another few thousand pounds.

DON'T GIVE DIRECTIONS !

How many times have you heard radio ads that give directions to the business ? IE: "We're on the second turning after the railway bridge, west of Hardwick Street". Giving directions not only wastes airtime, but by giving directions you're suggesting that your business is hard to find.

SPECIAL OFFERS AREN'T THE BE ALL AND END-ALL

I've never understood why radio advertisers constantly spend millions of pounds telling listeners they have cut their prices. If a business does nothing but tell people their prices have been reduced by 50% or more, the audience will eventually begin to not believe you. Yes, price is important. But so is your brand and all the wonderful things that people love you for. People will only buy if they A) Like and trust you and B) Have a desire for your product or service. If you're promoting just prices, you're wasting money on just preaching to the converted. To get more business, broadcast commercials that attract new believers.

DON'T BE OVER-CREATIVE

Yes, having a commercial that's engaging is vital. But when 'Creativity' clouds the main message, you're wasting a pile of cash.

Ever listened to a funny radio ad and then say to someone "Have you heard that advert for...Whatsisname?" Being creative is good, but the point of you paying lots of money for a radio advertising campaign is for you to do more business and get richer. Things like humour, clever writing, scenarios and the like are welcome, but they should not be more important than your core message. Get it the other way round and you're paying to make people to laugh and not remember you.

For a free, no-obligation consultation about your radio commercials, call John Calvert at Airforce on 01249 821679 or visit www.airforce.co.uk

Welcome to the Airforce Blog

2009-07-15T04:07:00.000-07:00

July 2009.

Hi, and welcome to the brand new Airforce blog. The aim of this section is for you to catch up on the latest news from Airforce along with opinions, the odd rant and some past Radio Magazine articles.

Keep coming back. More and more stuff will appear as the weeks and months go on.

Enjoy.

John Calvert
www.airforce.co.uk