Let’s pretend your client’s Radio campaign is a car. 

Reach? That’s the tires. Strategy? That’s your GPS. Budget / Repetition? Absolutely, that’s the gas tank (enough “fuel” is very important). But the creative? That’s the engine that actually moves the thing forward. 

And according to a massive study by Nielsen and NCSolutions – we’re talking 450 campaigns across all kinds of media – guess what accounted for 49% of the sales lift? 

Bingo. The creative. 

Meanwhile, targeting (the thing most advertisers obsess over) was responsible for just 11%. Eleven! We’ll call that the cupholder. 

The crazy part – most marketers feel that only around 21% of ad effectiveness comes from the creative – when 49% does! And that 25% of ad effectiveness comes from targeting – when only 11% does! See video link from Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group at the end of this article that illustrates this wide gap between perception and reality.  

Great creative is the part that makes people care. It’s the spark. The story. The laugh at a red light. It’s what earns trust, grabs attention, and gets remembered. 

Wouldn’t you like to separate yourself from all the other advertising salespeople out there who are touting all the same old crap – like reach, station rankings, demographics, impressions, etc.???!!! 

If your clients would ever question why you spend time crafting, refining, and rewriting radio scripts – tell them this: “Creative drives ROI.” Period. Not in the fluffy, artsy way. In the measurable, customers-in-the-door, dollars-in-the-till kind of way. 

Every time you present a campaign, you’re handing your client either a rusty old beater or a sleek, emotional powerhouse. They both might get airtime, but only one’s going to get results. 

Want to sell more effectively, renew easier, and cause your clients to love you more? 

Make better ads. 

Here’s a link to an 11-minute video from the “Cumulus Media Westwood One Audio Active Group” YouTube channel that summarizes the studies mentioned above very nicely. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p-wZxQaROuI 

Note: At about the 4:30 mark, it says, “Creative is a key driver of advertising performance… second only to investment levels”. Meaning, don’t skimp on the number of ads you schedule. Repetition is very key. Targeting, not so much. 

When writing radio ads, the details are everything. The difference between an ad that fades into the background and one that sticks in a listener’s memory often comes down to one thing – specifics. 

Vague statements like “we care about our customers” or “we have great prices” are forgettable. They’re wallpaper. They’re limp and useless. But say, “We answer the phone in three rings, even on Sundays,” and suddenly the listener sees it, believes it, and remembers it. Specifics build credibility. They paint a picture. They give the brain something to hold onto. 

When writing for the ear, generalities slide right off. But details? Details dig in. They light up the senses. The sound of tires crunching gravel as someone pulls into their driveway. The smell of bacon on a Saturday morning. Say “2:13 a.m.” instead of “the middle of the night.” Those small touches invite the listener to feel the ad, not just hear it. 

People don’t remember generalities or trite phrases. They remember moments. So, give them moments – real, colorful, sensory moments. That’s where emotion lives. That’s where trust is built. 

Radio is a theater of the mind. You must paint a picture. If you want your ad to be listened to and remembered, don’t aim to be clever. Aim to be clear, bold, and tangible. Give your audience something they can see, smell, hear, or feel. 

Pull up a sampling of past ads you’ve written – you’ll probably notice they could use a lot more “color”. Start writing more specifically – today. If you’re short on specifics to work from, go ask your clients better questions (remember last week’s article?), and get the details you need to create better ads!  

Generalities and vagueness are forgettable. Specifics are sticky. Make your message stick.