Tag Archives: message

To Advertise or Not to Advertise – That is the Question

I’m hoping Mr. Shakespeare does not mind us stealing one of his famous lines and putting our twist on it, however, the question is real. This is exactly what many business owners are asking themselves…Should I advertise, or shouldn’t I?

As frightened as business owners were when the whole COVID-19 crisis started, in some ways, they are equally scared and confused now. In addition to the question, “Should I or shouldn’t I?”, they are most likely following it up with, “If I do, when do I start and what do I say?”

We all have opinions on when and how people will react and what it’s going to look like as we begin to reopen. The truth is, no one really knows, and we will not know until we get there.  Being prepared and ready to pull the trigger when the time is right is key. If they snooze – they will certainly lose!

As we speak, the debate is ongoing as to what to say. Some say, stick with your “pre- COVID-19” message, others claim a message with a Coronavirus theme of thanks and gratitude will get a better response. Either will work, but only if they air it!

Where you say it is not as important. However, we strongly suggest they stick to the same stations/mediums as they were using before. Regardless of the message, the audience will be familiar with them.

The key to selling advertising as we creep back to “normal” is this… have an IDEA! An idea for your clients and prospects will make it easier for them to say YES! You must have an idea, or help them create an idea so when it comes time to answer the proclamation of, “To Advertise or Not to Advertise”, they answer, “Let’s Advertise!”

Stay Safe – Stay Healthy – Stay Strong!

A Message of Value

“King of Sales” Jeffrey Gitomer was quoted as saying, “Dude, you’re gonna lose all your customers if you don’t reach them with a message of value every week”. That statement is always true, but now more than ever. Are you reaching your clients and prospects with a message that provides value to them… every week?

When the storm we’re currently facing settles, those that had a quality relationship (a relationship of value) with their clients and prospects will reap tremendous rewards over those who didn’t. This scenario is no different than the businesses that continue to advertise versus those that don’t.

We are very proud to say that the ENS Media clients that participate in our SoundADvice program have been providing their clients with a “message of value” every week for years now. How do you think they will weather this storm? We’re 110% confident that they will do far better than most.

Business owners really only want a few things from media reps and I’ll give you a hint, it’s not low rates and great ratings. They mainly want IDEAS and to know that you CARE about the success of their business.

Far too often the only time media reps contact a client or prospect is when they are trying to sell them something, or at minimum, show and tell them how great radio is. “Messages of value” are all the other things that pertain to and are important to their business; such as motivation and retention of employees, hiring and firing, sales promotions, vendor relations, strategy, point of purchase, messaging, community involvement, and marketing and advertising from every angle imaginable. Things that can help them run their business easier, smoother, and as profitable as possible.

If you or your team is extremely organized and dedicated, it’s possible to do this on your own. But if you want your relationship with your clients and prospects to NEVER miss a beat and provide them with information that is timely, relevant, and professional, I recommend you check out ENS Media’s 4-Part SoundADvice program. SoundADvice is market exclusive and available to individual reps or entire sales teams. It will be the least expensive and highest return CRM program you’ll ever find.

If you have the courage to do what you’re asking your clients to do, which is to continue to promote and brand yourself, we’ll make it easy for you. Start your SoundADvice program now and you will not be invoiced until the pandemic has ended and life is headed back to normal. This could be one, two, three or more months absolutely FREE. If you take advantage of this NOW, you and your team will be on the road to providing your clients and prospects with a “message of value” every week.

Whether you choose to consider our SoundADvice program or not, we urge you to deliver a “message of value” to your clients and prospects on a regular basis.

Contact us to receive samples of past SoundADvice issues and full details.

CAPS, Bold, !!! … — !

Quick Easy Tips… How to Write BETTER Ads!

I learned a long time ago and have preached for many years that one of the most important elements in successful advertising is the “MESSAGE”! When teaching and preaching radio advertising, I start with these rules:

  • People don’t dislike ads, they dislike BAD ads! AND…..

  • NO ONE listens to your radio stations for the ads; we must make them “HEAR” the ads…

Why are most ads … BAD ads? The main reason is that the announcer is simply reading the scripts as they are written, Bland and BORING with a capital “B”!!!

Are your ads written in proper English, using perfect grammar and punctuation OR… do you write them (and produce them) like people really speak?  I could talk for hours on how to write and produce ads that work, (it’s one of my favorite subjects) but today I am speaking directly to the elements (CAPS, Bold, !!! … —) of the script!

Nine times out of ten, scripts are written in normal script style with proper sentence format and near perfect grammar. Unfortunately, that is exactly how the announcer reads it. Again — BORING! STOP Doing This!!!

If you want a healthy or … pregnant pause, use … or —. If you want emphasis on a certain word …. use all CAPS and/or BOLD type and certainly use !’s. If the word needs EXTRA emphasis, !!! is better than ! or !! And, never… NEVER write a full script in ALL CAPS – but a single word HERE and there is O.K. !

These little tips will help announcers voice and produce BETTER ads! Your announcers will appreciate it – your listeners will like it – and…your CLIENTS will LOVE IT!!

Better ads get better RESULTS! Great Ads – Get GREAT RESULTS!!! And, Great Results nearly always equal – Longer Term Business and BIGGER $$$’s!

If you would like help training your team on how to write GREAT ADS, we provide half day and full day workshops on this exact subject!!! To visit about this workshop – CONTACT ME…—!!!

That’s Not Branding

Our TOMA (Top-of-Mind Awareness) Surveys consistently and convincingly prove radio’s effectiveness, but occasionally a ‘good’ radio advertiser does not fare well in the survey.

On those rare occasions, we dig deeper to help the advertiser create a campaign that works. We begin the process by capturing the local knowledge of the radio account executive.

Very often the account executive will say, “They bought our branding campaign.” When we ask about their ‘branding campaign’ they’ll usually say something like, “It’s six spots a day for 52 weeks.”

That’s not branding!

That may explain the reach and frequency of the advertiser’s message, but it’s the message itself that establishes the brand and the results. The good news is we can always find the reason an advertiser’s campaign did not help them capture TOMA (Top-of-Mind Awareness) and we’re doing them a huge service by focusing on a message that will achieve their objectives in the future.

We’re speaking at the RAB/NAB Radio Show in Austin next week. If you’re there, please introduce yourself. We welcome the opportunity to meet our ENS on Sales readers.