The Best Radio Commercial Ever?

The RAB in the UK recently published its Top 10 scoring radio ads during Q1 2011, based on their rather clever 'RadioGauge' system, which measures the effectiveness of commercials.

There are some good ads on the list, and it prompted me to revisit some of my favourite radio commercials in my archive. And every time I go through them, I'd always drawn to this one.

Simple. Powerful. Effective.

Radio commercials can be beautiful.

"Dear Sophie..."

Here's the US version of the same ad for Google Chrome...



Content that stimulates an emotional response always works best.

Now think of the last opportunity you had to do that on the radio with a promo? Did you use the "power of emotion"?

"Dear Hollie..."

I love this...



That's all :-)

"Dearly beloved... Please welcome on stage..."

The radio station 'intimate gig' with some competition winners and a selected invited audience is nothing new. It works really well; reinforces a music image or association with a particular artist; and adds some sparkle to a station, whatever the format.

But to add that special something, the choice of venue if often the factor that can really make the difference.

Last week, Absolute Radio launched their 'Summer of Live' with an intimate gig with one of the most sought after live bands in the country, Elbow.

And the venue? A crypt in a church! Oh... and not any old church. It just happened to be St Paul's Cathedral in London.

Tonight, Absolute Radio broadcast the entire gig on the radio (which sounded great by the way)... but of course, being the digital brand that they are, they filmed it all and you can watch it in super HD quality here.

So... intimate gigs for your station? Yes please - they work well. Venue that captures the imagination? Go for it! Once you open the box of creative possibilities, the project takes on a whole new and exciting dimension.

If a radio station can manage to stage a gig in the venue that hosted the funeral of Winston Churchill as well as the wedding of Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales... then anything is possible!!

Do Stunts Still Work?

Do stunts still work?

In a mediascape where there is more content than ever before, all vying for some of our headspace, does the good old fashioned 'radio station stunt' still cut through?

Here’s one from the station I work with in Austria, Kronehit.

In April, they decided to hold a “Naked Wedding”. The concept - 2 people get married with no clothes on. Simple really! Quite a few stations have done this worldwide, and if you’re one of them, you’ll know how successful it can be. But in conservative, Catholic Austria... doing something like this takes quite some balls... so to speak.

Here’s a short highlights package of how it looked on the day. Caution: there may be some nudity. Mind you, I guess the clue’s in the title...



In any diary based or CATI system of methodology as they have in Austria, it’s difficult to measure the cut through for these type of events. Do the audience register what you’re doing? Do the wider public notice your radio station stunt?

Google trends is a nice way of seeing what people are searching for at any one time.

If you take Kronehit’s biggest competitor, Ö3 (from the Austrian Public Service Broadcaster) they have more weekly audience and also are consistently a more ‘searched for’ term on Google in Austria. Except in one particular week...

As you can see, for the first time ever, Kronehit (the blue line) overtook Ö3 (the red line) in terms of search, which is a great moment for the station. It shows that stunts, if executed and PR’d correctly, can still cut through to a much wider audience than just a station P1’s.

If you're attending the 'Local Rundfunktage' in Germany at the start of July, you must go and see Kronehit PD, Rüdiger Landgraf's presentation on 'Radio and Social Media', where he'll talk more about the stations' strategy to connect with its youth audience.

In terms of Kronehit growing its awareness and building its image as a station for a fun, young Austrian... another step up the ladder has been completed, and the 'stunt' played its part well.

"The Hills Are Alive..."

I had a bit of a ‘half term break’ in Austria with the family last week. Nothing like a good bit of “mountain air” to cleanse the mind!

While I was away, I tried not to think too much about radio and media related stuff, as everyone should have a little bit of ‘downtime’ to recharge the batteries.

So on Day 1, in the local tourist information office, I thought I’d pick up the bus timetable to check on the times of buses to Salzburg.

(A regular and delightfully punctual service between Bad Reichenhall and Salzburg you’ll be pleased to know!)

And there on the back of the timetable...

... and advert for ORF’s local offering in Salzburg... Radio Salzburg.

(ORF is the Austrian Public Service Broadcaster)

There’s 2 things I liked about this ad.

First, the placement. What better place to reinforce your local credentials other than on the back of the local bus timetable. It says “connected” and “unpretentious” to me.

Second, the strapline. “Wo ich daheim bin”... translates as “Where I’m at home”. It’s a really good piece of communication that shows the radio station is close to the listener in terms of ‘emotion’ as well as geography in a simple yet effective way.

So, despite my best efforts to not think about radio and the media for at least a week, I’m afraid I failed miserably! But I’m kinda happy I did, as I like radio station marketing like this.

Is your station being marketed in the right places? Remember – sometimes ‘context’ is everything.

Sony Radio Academy Awards - 2011

Every year, I’m amazed at the quality and range of programmes in UK radio, celebrated and rewarded at the ‘Sony Radio Academy Awards’... the UK’s “Radio Oscars”.

The news from the night has already been pretty well covered. You can see the full list of winners here, and read some good reviews online.

The one thing I always leave the Sony’s with (apart from a large dent in my wallet. 'How much for a round of drinks?!!') is a renewed sense of optimism that in the UK, we have a radio industry that thrives on creativity and innovation, and is home to so many passionate industry professionals that want to keep creating brilliant programmes and formats.

From Ronnie Wood through to BBC 5 Live Breakfast, the range is just superb. So, if you don’t live in the UK, and want to experience the 'Best of British Radio'... take a look down the winners list, and track down some of their shows. You can hear a lot of live and previously broadcast shows here on the Radioplayer.

So... as Dan McGrath and I (pictured) prepare for our new radio show ‘Cafe 80s’ on Absolute 80s, which starts this Saturday at 9am... we have something to aim for next year!