15 SECOND MEALS

I had a stupendous dinner last week. In fact, I cooked a stupendous dinner. My wife coached me on what to do while on her cell phone on her way home from work one evening. I prepared, cooked, and served to my family, and it was a dish I’d never had before. As we sat scratching our full bellies after the meal, I asked the missus where she got the recipe.

“On TV.”

“Oh. Rachael Ray? Alton Brown? Emeril?”

“No, I got it from a commercial. No, wait. In fact, it was a 15-second FoodTV promo.”

“You got that recipe in 15 seconds? Did you write it down?”

“No.”

“Well, how did you remember it?”

“I saw it a few times, and finally decided to make it.”

And clients still try to tell me that 30 seconds isn’t enough time for an effective commercial. Bull. With the right message repeated enough times, you can make your point in very little time, indeed. Case in point, naysayers: I made a delicious supper for my family using a recipe gleaned from a 15-second promo on TV!

It isn’t hard to present a recipe, or any message in 15 seconds. You just have to know who you want to reach, and what you want them to know. And you must understand that their time is valuable – so you gotta make your point.

That’s what FoodTV knew about us. They knew that as regular FoodTV viewers, my wife and I like to cook, are interested in new recipes, and know our way (more or less) around a kitchen. They didn’t waste our time with step-by-step instructions on how to cook pasta, how to chop garlic, or how to choose a tomato. Granted, the recipe wasn’t fancy, and wasn’t difficult. It was a great “middle-of-the-week-I-don’t-know-what-do-you-wanna-have” meal. But to my wife and me, it was remarkable. We agreed we’d have it again, and we both remember how to make it next time.

Advertisers, do you see what I’m getting at? Tell the right people what they want to know, don’t let ‘em forget where they heard it, and YOU WILL MAKE A LASTING IMPRESSION!

And here’s the recipe, by the way: Put a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a pan, saute a couple cloves of garlic and some onion. Dice about half a dozen tomatoes and add to the saute until everything’s warmed though. Season to taste, and toss with your favorite pasta. Light, easy, and really quick.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I smell something burning.

DIRTY THIRTY (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Get Out of Radio)

This post is liable to piss off a lot of people, a lot of whom I worked with, and worked for. But it will also be helpful to many, particularly if they believe they have something to learn about how radio is evolving and, dare I say, growing.

I’m sure everyone in the industry has heard about “Less is More” by now. About a year ago, my former employer, Clear Channel Communications, spearheaded an effort to cut down on ad clutter by promoting the use of 30-second ads as opposed to 60-second ads. The philosophy makes absolute sense to me: Shorter spots and fewer spots in each break means more demand for ad time, hence higher spot rates, ultimately equalling more revenue and more time spent listening for radio stations, and more content for listeners.

Personally, I love the idea. Let me rephrase: I LOVE THE IDEA!! But I’m afraid that few others I’ve met in the business have “bought in” as fully as I have, and I’m honestly not sure why. Could it be because radio reps are afraid to go to a client and tell a story that sounds like their ads are being cut in half? Could it be fear of change? Or fear of the unknown? Or could it be because the majority of sales reps I’ve worked with in the past are nothing more than ordinary sales reps, as in “I represent selling, sales, and those items sold, and nothing more.” I believe it’s all of the above.

When you cut an ad down from 60 to 30 seconds, you’re doing more than merely shortening a commercial. You’re changing the dynamic of how that ad works. No longer can you leisurely take your time getting to an advertiser’s core message. With TiVo, DVD, satellite, internet, iPods, yadda-yadda-yadda, now more than ever, consumers are saying, “Cut the crap, and make your point, already, otherwise, I’m focusing my attention elsewhere.”

The Story -- Don’t go in to see a client/prospect/advertiser with bad news: “We’re cutting down our/your ads as part of this new initiative that ‘Corporate’ is making us do.” Bad, bad, bad. You already sound like you don’t believe there’s value in what you’re offering. Ya gotta trust that this initiative is a help, not a hindrance. As Yoda said when Luke admitted his disbelief in the power of The Force, “That is why you fail.” Try this instead: “We’ve found a way to make your business more visible on our station(s) than ever before.” Ooh… sounds intriguing, huh? Increased visibility? Heck, yeah, tell me how!

The 30-Second Spot – It is not, NOT a matter of bringing the current 60-second spot to the producer/copywriter and saying, “Here, cut this down to a 30.” They don’t work the same way. With 60’s, copywriters and producers had the luxury of extra time to persuade, enlighten, and develop ideas. With a 30, you have to get in, make your impression, get out, and leave the listener something -- one thing – to remember. Not a list of services, phone numbers, hours of operation, etc. If nothing else, at least remember:

The Most Important Thing About ANY Business: The name. What’s the name of the insurance company with the duck? How about the one with the gecko? In both instances, these companies have given you great, simple ways to help you remember who they are. That’s a shining example of what 30-second ads are designed to do. Not explain, but rather, remind. One point, uniquely presented, and often repeated, will make a more lasting impression than laundry-list ads riddled with erroneous information that isn’t retained by the listener/consumer.

Me? I’ll encourage my clients to use 30-second ads. It’s the way TV viewers and radio listeners are thinking these days, “Make your point quickly, make me remember it, and I’ll become a customer.” Plus, the public will appreciate us not wasting their time. Will I still do 60’s? Yup -- when necessary, and when appropriate. There are times when an advertiser will want to explain a service, introduce a product, or drive a message home when a little more time may be needed to say what they have to say. The key is knowing when to say 60, when to say 30… and when to say 15, or 10, or 5, or even 1. Yeah, there are one-second ads now. Talk about getting to the point in a hurry, huh?

So, anyhoo, there’s your mission, as an advertising consultant. Got that? You’re not a sales rep anymore. You’ve been promoted. Congrats. You’re an advertising consultant now, and you’d better start thinking in those terms if you’re gonna make this “Less is More” thing work – for you, and your clients.