RADIO, TAKE A LESSON FROM DETROIT

Nick Michaels
Copyright AVC 2014 All Rights Reserved

Have you noticed something lately? American cars are now competing for the buyer’s attention again. GM, Ford and Chrysler are all scrambling to deliver the best product at the best prices.  Suddenly those buyers who were were only looking at imports are looking at domestic cars and buying them. 

Detroit realized that it was time to change their mindset. The automobile is no longer a “means of getting from here to there.” It has become a mobile connected transportation device. Give the customer what they want. It’s working. Radio can take a lesson here. For the last 20 years radio has forgotten about its customer. The listener is the customer not the advertiser. Unless and until radio goes back to richer programming and personalities the future does not bode well for it. Be creative in your programming. Give those listeners, with so many choices, a reason to choose you. If GM, Ford and Chrysler can do it so can corporate radio, it takes the commitment to change your mindset and give the customer what they want.

MAKE NO DEMANDS

Nick Michaels

Copyright AVC 2014 All Rights Reserved

Due to A recent illness I was hospitalized and forced to watch commercial television. At home I never watch commercial television. However I had no choice. Some of the commercials were extremely annoying. The ones that were most annoying were the ones where someone was telling me to do something or buy something or get this type of insurance. They were very strident in their approach. Too much energy. Too much in my face. They though it was a call to action but they were making too many demands...ARRRRRGGGHH! And I couldn't take it anymore. 

Then this commercial came on and no matter how many times they played it, I was never annoyed. It's a commercial for Budweiser beer about a young man and his dog and how the dog is waiting at home while the young man decides to spend the night at a friend’s place. When he gets home the following morning the dog is waiting and they share a moment of bonding and love that feels as good as ice cream on a hot day.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eubWYPhcEEo

This commercial is proof that in order for advertising to be accepted in the over communicated world it should detach from selling and become about emotional engagement. This commercial is completely and utterly emotionally engaging. It has a very low psychic entry fee. Everything about it, from the music, to the way it is photographed is easy. It makes no demands! Think twice about that next call to action. Anything that could be interpreted as a demand is a mistake in this environment.

RADIO'S WAR ON CREATIVITY

Nick Michaels
Copyright 2014 American Voice Corp. All Rights Reserved

Why is radio advertising and promotion today the least audience friendly and most annoying? The chickens have come home to roost. For 20 years radio has waged war on the cost of creativity. The messages have become more product centric and retail in nature at a time when all other advertising is going in the opposite direction. The over communicated world causes the audience to put a much higher value on their time. The result is they shun any message that doesn't resonate with them, perceiving it to be a waste of time. To them it is the audio equivalent of spam email. Try connecting with the audience about their feelings and their needs, wants and fears instead. 

WHO REALLY CONTROLS YOUR BRAND'S IMAGE

Nick Michaels
Copyright 2014 American Voice Corp. All Rights Reserved

Do you think you are in control of your brand image? Think again! Below are two examples from THIS WEEK. One of the things social media has done is give the consumer a much bigger megaphone than the ad budget of the advertiser.

How one bad phone call can wipe out a multi million dollar ad budget


How one act of kindness can be worth a multi million dollar ad budget

ENHANCING THE AUDIENCE'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MUSIC.

Nick Michaels
Copyright 2014 American Voice Corp. All Rights Reserved

 Does your presentation enhance the listener's relationship with the music?  If all you do is play the music and say your call letters and some cheesy slogan you have already given up the fight. The audience has a deep relationship with the music.  How are you enhancing that relationship? Are you helping the audience understand it better? Is your presentation allowing them to get closer to it? Are you focusing on those important feelings, which is the reason they listen in the first place?

In the over communicated world, time becomes the most valuable currency. As the audience puts more and more value on their precious time, they become much more discriminating about where they spend it. If you offer nothing more than the music, you are no different (or better) than all the other places where they can get the music. In the over communicated world, different is better.

NO MARKET IS TOO SMALL FOR GREAT IMAGING

Nick Michaels
Copyright 2014 American Voice Corp. All Rights Reserved

I have learned that market size has nothing to do with quality. Some of the best radio stations I have ever heard are in smaller markets. Radio is about human connection. An art that is vanishing at a time when we need it most. The audience is realizing how valuable their time is and how much EVERYBODY wants a piece of it.

For me it is all about working with those that want to connect with their audience at the deepest level. A radio station needs a soul. A human voice that the audience can relate to and connect to. Its imaging should be about how the audience's feelings are being enhanced by the listening experience. In short it's all about the audience not about the radio station.

Does it work? It sure does. We have a decades long track record in Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco as well as Green Bay, Springfield Missouri, Santa Barbara, San Diego, and markets of varying sizes from the smallest to the largest. Give your station a competitive edge by giving it a sound that is totally unique and very human. We will make you sound different and stand out immediately and do it within your budget requirements. 

NickMichaelsStudio@gmail.com 

STOP SELLING START STORY-TELLING

Nick Michaels
Copyright 2014 American Voice Corp. All Rights Reserved

In the over communicated world in order for advertising to be accepted it must detach from selling and become about emotional engagement.

The demand on the audience’s time is increasing exponentially while the supply of their time is fixed at 24 hours a day, to which not one second can be added. This realization is hitting the audience like a ton of bricks. They are no longer willing to spend their precious time on an advertiser’s message unless that message has something in it for them, and I don’t mean 25% off on Thursday. The facts in the message are a burden to the audience. Something they must carry on their back. Every phone number, address, price, date, time etc is something for which they no longer have time. 

Stop selling them and start telling them a story. 

Click this for an example