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CONSULTANT TIPS
Peter J. Oleshchuk
(Prairie Radio Consulting)
We’ll Be Right Back After
These Messages...”
It's a phrase we have come
to know mostly from television. Talk shows, games shows, news programs and
others all seem to point out that something different will be coming up, and the
hosts will be going away somewhere. I have always been a firm believer that you
should not draw attention to your commercial breaks or treat them as some other
entity that you have no control over. While it is good to promote that you have
more quality programming after the commercials, be creative and try to develop
new ways of promoting that fact. Turn the negative into a positive. Point out
that there is a positive reward for sticking through the commercial break. As
this article explains, make your commercial breaks as unobtrusive as possible.
For more on "drawing attention to the negative," and tips, suggestions
and different ways on how to talk into a break without pointing out that you are
taking a break, please read the following
section
of the article,
"Seven
Quick Ways To Improve Your Local Talk Shows".
While commercials and
commercial breaks are a part of survival in this business, they are seen as a
negative by a majority of radio listeners. Most air talent and programmers treat
commercial breaks as something other than part of the station's programming. I
assert that commercial breaks are a part of your programming. Think about it
from a listener's point of view. He/she sees the whole picture (hears the whole
sound). He/she doesn't differentiate between every little element on your
station. As a programmer you care about the entire sound of your station. You
make sure that your liners, sweepers, promos and jingles all fit the overall
sound of your station. You care about the transitions from songs to songs or
programming elements to songs. Thus, you also need to care how your commercials
and commercial breaks are handled.
Here are six suggestions
on how to improve those commercial breaks:
- Set up your breaks
by length of your spots. Most people sense change rather than time. When you
are in a break, most listeners won't notice the length of the individual
commercials, but will get a sense of when the commercials change from one
advertiser and message to another. This is why you should stack your
commercials by length. :60s first, then :30s, then :15s and :10s. This way
you avoid having a great deal of change at the opening of a commercial
break.
- Play your best
produced commercials first in the break. It is less abrasive for listeners
to hear a commercial featuring a gentle announcer with a nice music bed or
jingle rather than a "screaming" used car sales person yelling
"no money down!". Try to play your voice-only, unproduced
commercials late in the break as well. In other words, hide the poorly
produced commercials. Often (but not always) your best produced commercials
are the ones you receive from agencies and production companies. Typically
these are regional or national clients. I
recommend that you meet with your production personnel and devise an easy to
understand code system for your air talent. This way you can decide and
control which commercials you would prefer to have played first or last. If
you're using carts, try using different colored labels. If you are on a
digital system, just make a simple code using letters and/or numbers.
- If your station
runs barter commercials and you air them as "piggyback" spots,
place them between your :60s and :30s.
- Keep your breaks
tight. Make the commercial break seem as though it is one continuous event.
The dead air holes just help to draw attention to the commercial break.
- Avoid airing
commercials produced by the same voice talent back to back. Also avoid
playing commercials back to back from advertisers doing the same business or
selling the same product..
- If you play station
promos, make sure you either open or close your break with the promo. The
message won't get lost in the middle of a commercial break. At the same
time, your promotional message is placed closer to your station's product
(your programming - music, news or talk, etc.).
If you want to people to
listen to and keep listening, then avoid giving them an opportunity to tune
away. And remember that everything that you put on the air from music, talent,
jingles, promos and even commercials are your product. From a listener's point
of view, all these items are part of your radio station.
You and station management
should also have control over all commercials you air.
If you have any questions
or comments about this article, please e-mail me at
petero@prairieradio.com.
Peter
J. Oleshchuk
Prairie Radio Consulting
Small Market Radio Programming Specialists
7426 Perrier Drive Suite 13
Indianapolis IN 46278
317-695-2530
petero@prairieradio.com
http://www.prairieradio.com
If
you're a consultant or radio personality wanting to submit articles
to "Tips from the Pro's," contact:
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Phone: 800 -
614 - 4892
E-mail:
info@themorningskoop.com
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