How to Approve Radio Creative

You know your business. But, chances are you don’t know how to get it out there. You may think you know how to write a radio commercial. How hard could it be right? It’s just a 30 second message? The truth is it is very difficult to create an interesting  & effective ad. Don’t forget how important your advertising is. It is not a simple little 30 second message. It is a very expensive tool. It may be inexpensive to create the original message. That’s probably why most people think they can do it themselves. But, it is very expensive to buy the air time you need to play that 30 second message. The next time you think you can write your own ad, think of how much it will cost you to air it. Are you sure you know what you’re doing enough to gamble that much money on it? If not, here’s a guide on how to get your message approved. Supply good information – Your commercial will only be as good as the info you supply your writer. If your business isn’t very interesting, you need to address that before you buy advertising. You need one unique exciting item to talk about. Make sure your writer knows what that is. Also, be prepared to be surprised if the creative team thinks your business is exciting for a different reason. Good creative people are like truffle pigs when it comes to interesting advertising points. If they dig up a nugget, there’s a good chance they’re right.

Trust – Trust your truffle pig. You do not need to like your radio ads for them to work. Sometimes you just need to trust the experts and let them do their thing. Creative people have the advantage of seeing thousands of campaigns in action. Most of those campaigns will be ones that they are not proud of. These are the ones that are forced through. They usually fail, and the medium (radio) takes the blame. It’s good to remember that your writer has seen many campaigns live and die. If you give them your trust, they can help you navigate the mine field.

Too many cooks – Don’t allow too many people into the creative process. The more people get connected into the circuit, the less effective it will be. Everyone will want their voice (and ideas) heard. Brainstorming with a large group is perfectly fine. But, when it’s time to get down to brass tacks, let as few people make decisions as possible. Don’t let your message get watered down by appeasing too many different opinions.

Too many cooks – This point needs to be put in twice because there are two ways a good commercial can die on the table with too many people. The previous point is meant to discourage you from using too many people in the creative process. You also need to have less people in the approval/decision making process. When you have your new commercial campaign in front of you, do not consult your employees/family/friends/dentist/neighbours. When you ask someone their opinion, they tend to want to say something more than “yup, it’s good.” They’ll put the commercial under a microscope and try to impart you with some fragment of knowledge that will dissuade you from something somewhere. They may not like the music, or the announcer, or this word, or that effect. In general, they will want to leave you with something. The more opinions you entertain, the poorer your commercial will become. Be confident. This is your business. One person should make each decision. I’ve already stated that it’s not necessary for you to like your own commercial for it to be effective. So, it is absolutely unimportant if anyone else in your life likes it. Trust in your creative team. They do this for a living.

Keep in mind, most of this only works if you’ve supplied yourself with a good creative team. Before you make your decision, make sure you trust your writer to make decisions about your company. Ask them why they wrote your commercial the way they did. Ask them why they think it will work. If they can’t explain to you why it will be effective, you need to find a new writer. I’d love to help you out with your creative. Drop me a line if you feel a little lost.