During the Lunch session 'Radio 2.0' it already came up briefly: how do you make a good radio commercial? Researcher Remco de Stigter lists the most important elements for you.
Recognizable sound
Quite a bit of research has been done on successful radio spots. A key characteristic of a good spot is that it contains a maximum of two messages. In addition, an explicit call-to-action is desirable when it is an actionable campaign (go to www...).
When using radio advertising as a brand-building tool, think carefully about the brand image you want to convey through sound. Especially in this age of fragmented online audio distribution, it is important that you have a recognizable sound as a brand.
Likeability and brand attribution
But the most important factors of a commercial are likeability and brand attribution. High likeability, or strong listener appreciation of a commercial. Ensures a commercial scores higher on knowledge, attitude and behavior.
Brand attribution is the link between brand name and campaign. Without good brand attribution, advertising is a waste of money anyway. Good likeability and brand attribution makes a commercial work or not. And this is very easy to measure (in advance).
Optimize radio campaign
Perhaps one of the most striking cases from Stroom was for a Dutch bank, where research showed that brand attribution was not in order in the radio commercial. After being advised to make the brand name more prominent in the spots, brand attribution subsequently improved significantly (13%).
So it pays to test your radio commercial to run a better campaign. Want to know more about this? Then contact Remco de Stigter, research director at Stroom, or your media advisor.