Voiceover Blog

There’s a lot to be said about customer service goodwill.  The help and service you give today comes back over and over.  The branding folks call it loyalty.

Over the last week, I’ve had a number of good/bad customer service experiences.

In searching for a brand name skin care product, I called the brand’s call center and was put off by the near hostility of the CSR when asked where I could find the product.

I usually have found it at CVS.  The CVS call center was almost Disney-like in their commitment to help me find the product.  Thank you, Amanda.

A few days later, my wife was having a bit of a time attaching a new bike rack to her car.  A couple of local bike places did not want to help.  But on a slow Sunday afternoon, I urged her to stop at a TREK store in a large shopping center nearby.

It only took ten minutes for the  guy to come out and
show her how the straps attached. He was very matter-of-fact about it, but he earned a ton of goodwill from both of us.

I still vividly recall the employee of an office supply store who
shut me out 30 seconds beyond closing time after my printer
ran of ink.  I’ve never been back.

One of the most viewed pages on this blog is the one about
satisfied and unsatisfied customers.

How do your customers feel about you?

Is there anything you can do about it?

–Thanks for reading… and sorry for the ”Wimpy” title ;-)

The Radio Ad Lab did a study on what makes a radio spot effective.

Any guesses as to what they “discovered”?

Successful radio ads use words that touch the senses and emotions.

Well, DUH.

I hate to spoil the party, but we’ve known that for 50 years.  That’s why radio is called “theatre of the mind”.

The study goes on to say, “strong beginnings make a difference”.

That does not mean that your spot should start off with sirens and the phrase “IF YOU’RE IN THE MARKET FOR A USED CAR, LISTEN TO THIS!!!”

Anyone who has worked with me in the past, or read any of these blog posts knows I’ve been preaching that for years.
At least RAB CEO Jeff Haley was correct when he said, “Audio creative is a tough assignment and often does not garner the attention it deserves”

Yes.  It is not easy to write a 30 second commercial that is compelling, direct, AND emotional.

Maybe that’s why you don’t hear too many of them. Account Execs and overworked production directors don’t, can’t or won’t take the time to give the client value for their advertising investment.

But the best quote of all comes from The Starcom Mediavest Group Research Director who wrote: “This approach to measuring emotional engagement gives us new insights on the creative-Radio paradigm”

Spoken like a true research geek.

I’ve met with countless clients who have told me - I Don’t Want To Sound Like Every Other Ad On The Radio.

What they mean is - I Want Something That WORKS.

Of course.  That’s the goal of any advertising. But you can’t write a spot from a Yellow Pages ad.  That’s like mixing apples and kumquats.  Emotional impact will not come from a laundry list of goods or services you have to sell. It comes from telling the customer how they’re going to feel when they buy and use them.

Ask any car salesman. They can talk all they want about mileage, features, colors, payments…but they know they have the sale when the customer is sitting behind the wheel in the showroom and IMAGINES himself driving down the freeway.

This is not news.  Some of us have made a career out of producing effective radio like this.

RAB head Jeff Haley goes on to say, “We will continue finding and sharing ways this medium is used best.”

You do that, Jeff. You do that.

–Thanks for reading

I saw my friend Tom last night.

I value his friendship. Tom asked if I would ever consider working in radio again.

Let’s see, Tom..
Cox Radio is off in the 2nd Quarter
Beasley is down 11%
CBS decides today to sell 50 stations
Lincoln National’s 2nd Quarter profits have fallen
And now Bain Capital and Thomas Lee (who also own a large stake in Cumulus) are in control of Clear Channel

It’s almost enough to cause someone to break out in song.
Sing along, won’t you:

So bye bye Miss Radio Dial
Drove my Chevy to the Levee for an XM free trial
Them San Antonio boys really raked in a pile
Singing Less Is More while Programming cried
This is when The Radio Died.

–Thanks for reading.

I’ve always said that I’d rather get results for clients than win awards.  Still, awards are nice. And one of the premier prizes is the Radio Mercury Award. It’s given for creativity - an altogether rare animal these days.

As I looked over the list of this years’ winners, one name stuck out: The Zimmer Radio Group.

Zimmer is a group of small market stations, but anytime there is a national award for creative audio, you’ll see them in the winners’ column.

Small market stations have to sell a lot of spots to pay the bills.  They produce a lot of spots.  And in the Zimmer Group, they’re all creative.  Imagine that.

Imagine someone actually taking time, paying attention to little details in the script, to ensure you havr the right message and that it’s presented in a compelling fashion.

Imagine a partner in your advertising investment who actually cares about your bottom line as much as their own.

Imagine your customers interested in what you have to say.

Imagine your advertising working to bring in new customers and keeping the old ones.

Creative copy. Creative thought.  Creative treatments.

Most places just want to crank them out and get your check with little regard to your message.  That’s why most radio in-house is produced for free.

And it sounds like it.

Want to get the most out of your investment?  Find a partner who knows how to write for the ear.

Want results?  Make sure you don’t sound like every other jewelry store, or supermarket, or haberdasher.

Find the Zimmers of the world, and let them create for you.

– Thanks for reading

They are those little things that make you shake your head in wonder.

I collect them for grins.

Like the invitation from the Alzheimers Foundation for their fund-raising event called “A Night To Remember”

Here are the latest:

The Cincinnati Museum Center recently hosted an Asian Heritage Festival.  The ad in a weekly entertainment tabloid was placed directly across from the Museum’s ad for it’s latest exhibit, “Bodies”.  So, theoretically, you could celebrate Asian heritage AND see dead Chinese folks at the same place!

Then

Cincinnati’s Xavier University named their Business Ethics Center after a major contributor - Cintas.  Cintas has also been in the news of late for receiving record-setting fines from OSHA for more than 170 violations since 2003, one of which led to the death of an employee.

Have YOU seen any good ones lately?

– Thanks for reading

Quick.

Which LOCAL radio spots have you heard recently that have stuck out in your mind?

Uh-huh.  Me too.

It’s not supposed to be that bad.  Really.

Here’s what they’re saying over at the radio station:

“I’m often embarrassed by some of the work I do which is considered acceptable to A.E.s and clients”

“I put a little extra time in a spot to sell the product better and I was told by the GM I had spent too much time on it and the client wasnt worth the effort.”

Wait a minute.  Did you hear that??  THE CLIENT WASN’T WORTH THE EFFORT ?!?!?

Local radio revenues are down 5-7% in most markets. National sales are off 15%.

So tell me… which clients aren’t worth the effort?

How many GMs and AEs have had bad experiences at a restaurant?  Probably quite a few.  Wonder how many ate there again?

So if a client doesn’t get the service they should be accorded, and if they get less than expected results, if any, from a poorly produced message, think they’ll be opening their wallets again?

The restaurant doesn’t advertise a Ptomaine Platter.  But I’ll bet the chef knows if his Blue Plate Special makes his customers sick, he’ll lose more than customers.  He’ll lose his customers’ friends.  Because they’ll hear about it.

Radio is dishing out the same poison, and they have a hard time believing advertisers aren’t beating a path to their door.

It’s enough to make you sick.

–thanks for reading
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“So what exactly is it that you do?” I asked.

“We fine-tune the art and science of delivering performance through our model that embraces a business tangible and intangible objectives to build momentum, and fuel the opportunity pipeline,” They said.

“Oh,” said I, scrambling for my buzzwords dictionary.

“We help businesses communicate to their clients,” They added.

“Well, why didn’t you say so in the first place?”

Communication is about sharing ideas.  If you try to Baffle Them With BS; you’ll only get the same in return.

“What do you do?” They asked.

“I help businesses tell their story to customers and investors” I said.

“Wow.  We could use someone like that,” They exclaimed.

“I thought maybe you could.”

–Thanks for reading.


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In a world where local radio is cutting back the personnel and personality of their product, believing that the younger demo would be just as happy without, There’s someone from the other side of the microphone making waves.

A listener, yes, a live, breathing, smack in the middle of the demo listener actually likes local personalities!  Josh Curtis has started a Facebook page to protest Rock WGTZ/Dayton flipping to an adult hits format, and banishing personality from it’s presentation.  Josh says, “I’m not saying (the new format) is horrible, but there’s no personalities on there. I think that’s what really makes a radio station.”

Make note of that last sentence. It’s what great Program Directors have said ever since Todd Storz watched a waitress drop a nickle into a jukebox. Would KHJ have been the same without Robert W. Morgan, or WABC without Cousin Brucie?
Unfortuntely, there are very few programmers left who know how to train and motivate good jocks to become outstanding personalities.  And with ad revenues headed south, it might not be long before someone puts two and two together.

Let’s hope so.

Thanks for reading.

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I’m envious.  Peter O’Connell has come up with a great publicity tool.

Peter watches the NBC Nightly News and thought there was something a little off about the way Michael Douglas delivers the show’s open.  I have to admit, I’ve heard better myself.  Apparently, Michael wasn’t in his “Gordon Gecko” mode during that session.  At any rate, Peter, and his blog, recently held a mock open audition for some of us to do our own version of the NBC Nightly News opening.

From NBC World Headquarters in New York, this is NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams.

Who wouldn’t love to have THAT on his resume?

About 40 of us “auditioned”. And now, anyone can vote. If this had been the real deal, and I was sitting in a waiting room with some of these guys, it could get a bit unnerving, to say the least.  And - surprise! - I actually got a few votes, as well as some very nice comments.  Brian Haymond from Charlotte wrote:  ”..(this) fella should be swamped with TV imaging work.”  Thanks, Brian.  I’m working on it!

This was actually a great exercise to hear the same script performed by so many different talents.  And it’s probably going to get Peter some amazing publicity.

If you’d like to hear the auditions and vote (hint-hint), Peter’s Blog is here.
And Brian Haymond’s site is here.

More signs of radio consolidation reaching critical mass:

FCC Chairman Kevin Martin basically gives Congress the middle digit in his attitude of  ’I don’t care what is good for the public interest, ‘coz I have friends in high places’ and vows to press on with a vote on media cross-ownership.

The National Association (yeah, right!) of Broadcasters agrees with Chairman Martin, citing the FCC’s research that “consolidation has no statistical effect on advertising rates” Which is kind of like asking a barber if you need a haircut.

Many large radio groups, seeing dwindling sales and dwindling stock prices reward more employees with pink slips in the days before Christmas.

Citadel starts sorting thru it’s stations to see which ones are ripe for a sell-off. And the Clear Channel go-private venture looks like it’s in trouble again.

Consolidation has clearly failed, yet the FCC and the NAB continue to kowtow to a handful of idiots bent on trying to improve their fortunes while the public trust evaporates around them.

–Thanks for reading.

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