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03/01/2006: "Don't Let Your Clients Let Radio Stations Write Their Radio Commercials."

I can't tell you how many clients I have who want me to write their commercials only to turn them over to a radio dj or announcer to read. What a waste of a beautiful radio commercial.

No one can mess up a great commercial faster than radio stations. What's worse, the radio station salesman will always try and get the client to let the radio station write the commercial rather than have it professionally written. They do this because the radio station has more control over the radio spot that way. The people who write radio commercials and work at radio stations are generally paid minimum wage and write a bunch of garbage that end with " .. . you'll be glad you did" and go on to the next spot.

Announcers at radio stations perform a variety of tasks on and off the air. They announce radio station program information, such as program schedules and station breaks for commercials, or public service information, and they introduce and close programs. Station announcers read prepared scripts or ad lib commentary on the air, as they present news, sports, the weather, time, and commercials. If a written script is required, they may do the research and writing. Announcers also interview guests and moderate panels or discussions. Some provide commentary for the audience during sporting events, at parades, and on other occasions. And, of course, most read commercials.

Some radio station announcers are quite good. But most local announcers leave a lot to be desired.

Radio stations make their money from the radio commercial. In other words, radio stations make money from advertising. Period. So their main goal is to sell you advertising. Or your client as the case may be if you're a copywriter or ad agency.

They don't give a damn if the spot you or your client pays for is good or not. Oh, they want you to return, of course. But in truth, they want to sell you air time.

The bottom line is, get your spot written by a professional and produced by professional voice talent. Radio is expensive. Radio copy is expensive. Do it right and it's a valuable way to advertise. Do it wrong and you quickly lose more money than you would in a weekend in Vegas. And it's a lot less fun.