Wednesday Morning Meeting for October 7, 2009:

What radio can learn from Twitter: The “microscript” ad

Twitter is proof positive that “microscript” messaging is working, and how!  Millions of unique monthly visitors flood the micro-blog site, tweeting, re-tweeting, and direct messaging what they feel is important and relevant—in 140 characters or less.  In the mix are many, many sales pitches and PR posts.  Why? Because companies can push a short and focused message, out to the consumer (community), with significant frequency, and at a low/no cost.  So what can radio ad sales learn from Twitter?

We already have the answer right in front of our face; we just need to package it better.  It’s called the “microscript ad,” better known as the :10 ad.  If you can competitively price this unit to build frequency for a client, the client message will cut-through, you’ll deliver a lower CPP, and higher GRPs.  And here’s the neat part: if you’re a music station (and most country-formatted stations are), it probably won’t hurt you to stop down once an hour in the middle of a long music sweep, and pause for :30 seconds for three :10 ads.  Heck, play a sweeper into this shorter stopset that acknowledges that you’ll be back in :30 seconds and that you “get back to the music faster.”  Don’t worry, your loyal P1 listener isn’t going anywhere (see PPM data).  Think of this concept as a way to build frequency for the advertiser while containing the on-air clutter. 

By the way, for one of our clients with a modest budget, we’ve been exclusively buying :10 units in New York and Boston and the results have been extraordinary.  I’m pleased to say that business literally doubled after one month and has continued to grow over time.  Our agency is looking to roll out this strategy on at least three other accounts.

As always, I welcome your thoughts.  Please e-mail me: bknight@harrison-edwardspr.com or follow me on Twitter @BobKnightAdMan 

Next week:  What agencies are looking for in your sales proposal  

Bob Knight is Vice President, Advertising and Digital Media with Harrison Edwards PR & Marketing in New York and oversees the company’s advertising and HEdigital divisions, which include podcasting, webcasting, blogging; and print, electronic, and broadcast advertising and media buying. Prior to joining Harrison Edwards in 2005, Bob worked for some of the nation’s largest broadcasting companies, successfully developing programming in some of the most competitive markets including Chicago and San Francisco; his stations and shows were consistently top-rated.  In addition to Bob’s work as program director and on-air personality at AMFM, Inc., Clear Channel Communications, Citadel Broadcasting, Entercom, and NextMedia Group, he served as a consultant to Internet radio stations during the dot com boom. Bob’s national and regional radio commercials have won a Gold Clarion Award (AWC) and Gold “Big W” Awards (Ad Club) for commercials he produced. In 2008, Bob was named a “Rising Star Forty Under Forty” by the Business Council of Westchester and is a graduate of Leadership Westchester (Class of 2009).