Speak for yourself—except in broadcast ads“C’mon down, folks,” shouts the retailer
against a backdrop of store or car lot. “We’ve got unbeatable
prices!”
For Detroit-area Baby Boomers, it may be Ollie Fretter
in the 1970s, who promised: “I’ll give you five pounds of coffee
if I can’t beat your best deal. The competition knows me, you should
too.” A humorous spoof of similar TV spots can be found in the
Disney movie “Toy Story 2.” Al, of Al’s Toy Barn, stands
outside his store dressed in a chicken suit and implores customers to
come on down and save some “buck-buck-bucks.” Thinking of appearing as the star of your own television or radio ad? Think again, the experts advise. Broadcasters sometimes call these “do-it-yourself”
ads, and most times they don’t convey the image or achieve the effect
the retailers desire. “In rare instances does this kind of ad look or sound professional,” says Rob Buttery, creative services director for Citadel Broadcasting in Lansing. “In this area, Sundance
Chevrolet’s Terry Hanks successfully uses an outlandish approach,
with very little scripting and even less polish as part of his cowboy
‘schtick.’ But his success is rare.” Frank Williams, a producer at WOOD-TV in Grand Rapids, puts a figure on how rare is rare. “Of the ads I’ve produced where we use the business
owner in the ad as a spokesperson, it has worked well maybe 5 percent
of the time. Some people surprise us and turn out to be naturals on camera.
But it’s rare, and it’s difficult to tell who’s going to
work well until we are shooting the spot.” Not only do these “do-it-yourself” ads often
appear less professional than a more polished spot, producing them can
be more frustrating and stressful than retailers expect. “When clients come to me and say they want to read
the copy in their radio ad, I inwardly groan,” says Buttery. “I
understand they want to be involved, but making a good radio spot, even
just reading copy in a recording studio, is harder than it looks.” Television ads are even more difficult, says Williams.
“Often, retailers have a basic misconception that it will be easy
to shoot a TV spot. They might picture us coming down and shooting the
store, having them read some copy and have it all done in an hour.”
In reality, he emphasizes, it’s never that easy or quick. “Despite everyone’s best efforts, clients who
appear as spokespeople in their ads often don’t like the experience,”
says Tiffany Dowling, of Motion Marketing & Media in Lansing. “Our
goal is to make the process successful and pleasant, so people look forward
to doing it again.” Clients are often more nervous than they expect to be,
or they realize in the radio studio how hard it can be to get the right
sound—natural, energetic and upbeat, says Buttery. “We can gently
coach them, helping them to speak more slowly, avoid a monotone or phrase
things right—getting pauses in the right spots, for example.
Coaching a client for a television appearance involves
the same issues, with additional concerns such as standing properly, gesturing
appropriately and looking into the camera. This is not to say that retailers should never appear
on camera or in a radio spot for their stores. There are many good alternatives
to “starring” in your own ad. Jayme Clark, an account executive at WLAJ-TV in Lansing,
says she sometimes encourages clients to appear on camera for just a few
seconds at the end. “People like to do business with people they know
and like. When we believe clients will come across as sincere and friendly,
we encourage them to appear, briefly, on camera. They might appear at
the end and invite people to come in,” Clark said. Another common technique is to show the retailer while
using a voice-over for the message. Greg Husby, owner of Foliage Design
Systems in Lansing, recently shot his first television ad with WLNS-TV.
The ad, taped in his store, shows Husby speaking with a customer, but
another voice delivers the message over shots of Husby in his store and
warehouse, along with still shots of his work at locations around Lansing. “It was a lot of fun—a lot of work and preparation,
but also exciting,” reports Husby. “It’s a serious thing,
spending money on a television spot.” Husby attended a program offered by WLNS-TV for businesspeople
considering television ads. “It helped me focus on what I wanted
to accomplish with the ad and understand the process better, with more
realistic expectations.” Planning the ad is crucial, according to the experts,
and that’s where the retailer’s input is invaluable. Deciding
on your target audience and your primary message will help you and the
media firm when considering issues like time slots and frequency—when,
where and how-often your ad will run. These issues can have as much to do with the success of a broadcast ad or ad campaign than the actual ad itself, insists Dowling. “Some clients don’t realize how important frequency is. Consumers need to hear a message many times before it resonates.” A good account executive will help retailers work through such issues. Sharon Deault, co-owner of Colortyme in Lansing, describes
her experience working with Clark to plan an ad. “Jayme gave us a
questionnaire to fill out, to help us identify our target audience, to
focus our message, and so on. This kind of planning makes the process
go much more smoothly.” Radio and television ads are powerful tools for broadening
your customer base. Approaching the process of creating a broadcast ad
with an open attitude and clear knowledge of your business is the best
way of ensuring the success of the effort. “It’s like calling a plumber,” says Williams.
“You can probably do the plumbing yourself, but if you just call
the plumber, chances are it’s going to be done a lot more quickly,
with much less headache and with greater success.” This article was written by Michigan Retailer staff writer Amy Buttery. |
The
scene is a familiar one to any television viewer. Images of local retailers
whose outrageous, goofy or downright dumb television advertisements are
lodged in our memories. 
“But
it’s sometimes frustrating for all involved. We may need to do many
takes to get it just right or accept a good-enough take instead of a perfect
one.”