Broadcasting (Oct 1931-Dec 1932)

Brevity is the Soul of Radio Advertising By HERSCHELL HART Production Manager of WWJ, Detroit Single Idea, With News Angle, Declared Most Effective; Salome's Saleswomanship Applied to Broadcasting lODERN advertisers can learn a lot about idling from Salome, whose success in geting John's head from Herod may be raced to her brevity and singleness of urpose. This writer contends that it is Ihe sponsor who suffers when radio sales alks bore or mislead listeners. Programs hould be subtle rather than blatant in Jheir appeal, he says, if the ether medium to be more than a "one-call" salesman. HERSCHELL HART THEN the light-footed Salome, lughter of Herodias, undertook • sell Herod on the idea that she lould have the head of John, she as far too wise to put her whole •gument into one broadcast. Salome was a wise saleswoman; ie knew her public. She knew liat public appreciated brevity ,'pove everything else and brevity , jtiie gave him — in the form of seven oadcasts that made him see that ;e palome had a real argument. i I Thus — thousands of years ago — » Ms beautiful daughter of the sup£[bsedly sleepy Orient knew an advertising fact that too few radio Ivertisers know or recognize to»y. In other words, Salome knew lough not to bore her audience ith too much salesmanship at one jtting. All available records indiite that Salome strove to please , ways and that her watchword was -evity and more brevity. The value of brevity in adversing has not been lost entirely irough the centuries. Long ago, ie value of white space in newsiper, magazine and bill board ad5rtisements proved its worth. Tony, the best printed sales arguents are those held to a few lines I : type nestling like gems in a setjng of well-conceived color or hite space. Single Idea Plan HAT fact would seem to indite that a single fact sinks in, hile several facts expressed together only serve to confuse your . -ader or listener. ] l Your merchant of quality found out a long time ago that his window display — surely conceded to be a legitimate form of advertising — profited by brevity. He found packed displays failed to draw discriminating potential purchasers, but that a window centered by a single rich article did attract and did sell. Advertising, of course, must be considered as a form of salesmanship. The advertisement is the salesman which goes into the homes of possible buyers either between the pages of newspapers and magazines or through the radio loud speaker. The radio advertisement — being vocal— is more like the salesman than the printed word, and, therefore, should be made to abide by the elementary rules laid down for the salesman. How many sales managers tell their men: "Talk to your prospect as you would talk to a friend — don't talk an arm off him — and don't try to over-sell him." Pretty good advice, isn't it? Prospects fail to breed much confidence in an article if the seller tries strong-arm methods. The "one call" strong-arm salesman soon loses his value to his firm. Radio cannot afford to be a "onecall" salesman. Radio is here to stay. It is going into millions of homes each day. It can take into those homes a friendly convincing message or it can take in a vocal bombast of general claims which can only confuse and disgust discriminating listeners. The bombast may sell some goods, but, too often, purchasers find they misunderstood the blather and that what they have bought is not what they want. Who suffers most in this latter instance? The purchaser? It is not likely, for he soon forgets the expenditure of his few dollars — but he does not forget the name of that article he purchased and found not to his liking. Radio ? — Hardly! Too many purchasers are finding merchandise they want and like by means of radio. The sponsor ? Yes ! If a sponsor makes bombastic claims for a product, the product must be as good as the claims or the confidence of the purchaser is lost. If the sponsor's bombast tires, bores and disgusts, he loses potential purchasers because it is so easy to dial away. Which, then, is better — to try to use radio to force a product down the throats of people who do not want it and who buy it only once, or to try in a friendly way to create in the minds of the listeners a desire for that product? The answer is obvious. Elsewhere I have written that the sponsor of a radio program should strive to permeate the broadcast with the personality of his product. This idea harks back to black and white. If you are advertising heavy machinery, you do not use fine-lined type and delicate borders. If you advertise jewelry or silks, you avoid massive borders and railroad gothic type. Music and Flowers IT WOULD seem well to observe the same rule in radio. Fine music would sell flowers, or fine laces, or jewelry because it, at once, created an atmosphere which caught and held the type of person who buys those things. Such a person is not likely to be interested in hot dance rhythm or in a blood and thunder sketch. But we must go a step further. A fine program can be ruined easily by the sales talk injected into it. That does not mean, necessarily, that there can be no sales talk. There must be some, of course, because the American audience is not as ready to show its gratitude as are the Chinese, and, therefore, we must sell, but we must do it in a way that will not bore or tire the listeners. Possibly the worse offenders among the writers of radio program sales talks are those who resort to emphatic generalities. And this brings up another thought. Copy that looks most convincing in print sometimes sounds like "hooey" on the air. Generalities — no matter how thin you slice them — still sound very much like the well-known sausage roll. So, if you are going to insist on calling your product "the finest of its kind" and assure your listeners that "nothing else ever will satisfy them," you can rest assured that out in that great audience of the air — in polite company or not — thousands of lips are unconsciously forming the most expressive but damning word "bologni." News Style Effective GRADUALLY radio advertising writers are finding that the most convincing air message is that which smacks of news. For some time now the A. & P. program has used the news item type of announcement. These items are short and filled with valuable information. If the listener is not interested, he does not have to wait long before the show starts again. A slightly different system is used by Swift for the Stebbins Boys. A few claims slip in, but most of the sales talk is devoted to creating a desire in the mind of the listener for an especially-prepared slice of ham or bread buttered with Swift's Brookfield. This is accomplished by cleverly worded descriptions of the dishes themselves. Possibly the only thing wrong with the talk is that it conies right at the dinner hour when it has to compete with the delicious, steaming dishes already on the table. How much more effective it would be if the broadcast could come at a time (Continued on page 32) December 1. 1931 •BROADCASTING Page 9