GLOBAL – It’s World Radio Day, 94 years after the first ad ran in 1922 (in NYC, Medford ME, or Seattle; for a car dealer, electric store or AT&T – the stories vary!). So here’s a take on the state of radio advertising from someone who’s been unreasonably passionate about the medium for a pretty long time.
Let’s start with the reassuring news that, in terms of audience numbers, radio is alive and kicking just about everywhere, certainly in the 42 or so countries where I’ve taken my workshops and seminars. In the US, more Americans listen to AM/FM radio than use Facebook, more than 50% of them, aged 12 and over, listen online, and more of them are doing it through mobile devices, even in cars.
In Mega Manila, one third of radio listening is now through mobile phones and devices, and that number will only increase (Does anyone under 20 actually own a radio?)
These important changes to the way people consume radio are equally significant for those who create and produce commercials for it. For many, it could involve rethinking the way they approach the medium.
Radio’s new reality is that its very definition is evolving; it is no longer simply Broadcasts coming from that rectangular thing in the middle of a car dashboard or a box sitting on the kitchen table. Therefore, as commercial creators and producers, our thinking should also evolve – towards audio, which includes streams, audio blogs, web sound and podcasts.
And what about things like Google Cardboard? If we can have commercial VR – even simulated, shouldn’t the sound be as spatial as the video?
The major awards have already begun to think this way. Last year, the Cannes “Radiol” Lion Grand Prix was awarded to a 7 minute Soundcloud audio piece. This year Cannes and LIAA have renamed the category Radio & Audio. Clio simply calls it Audio.
So, is there still a case to be made for – let us say conventional format – spots? For sure; because there are still millions of people out there who can benefit from hearing about products and services, and there will always be a need for well-told stories that connect emotionally, with beautifully-written, well-directed and acted scripts, humor and of course powerful, memorable music and sound design.
But for our radio/audio spots to evolve along with the medium we must remember, when we write and produce, that customers (and awards juries!) are likely to be listening on headphones and will hear our work in a more direct and intimate way than before, and be more aware of and susceptible to detail, nuance, tone of voice, timing and of course, the picture the ad creates. So radio/audio crafting is more important than ever.
Audio advertising excellence is achievable in the Philippines; certainly the talent and creative enthusiasm are here. Perhaps what’s also needed is more support and encouragement from advertisers, media agencies and the radio industry itself.
In a follow up to his World Radio Day article, Tony Hertz told us that he cited Berlin Wall of Sound as an example of the evolution of how radio is evolving, particularly in an awards-driven environment. Here is his take – written just after Cannes – on the jury’s choice.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tony Hertz wrote his first ad a long time ago in Washington DC, while working at a local agency as a part time messenger to support his pre-med studies at George Washington University. It was a 10 second radio spot.
3 days later he heard it on air, and that did it – the world lost a potentially mediocre doctor and gained a passionate-beyond-all-reason radio copywriter!
And even though he worked his way up the ladders, to become CD at McCann-Erickson agencies in London, Tokyo, Brussels and Birmingham, and did lots of award-winning print and TV – including a film Lion – radio has always been the medium closest to his creative heart and soul. His two London-based radio specialist outfits – The Radio Operators, and Hertz Radio amassed shelves full of Clios, LIAAs and various other oddly shaped silver and gold objects, and Tony is still the only person in the world with both Black and Yellow D&AD Radio Pencils.
Tony Hertz relocated from the UK to the Philippines in 2012. His first radio directing outing in Manila won Cannes Silver and AdFest Gold, and of course he continues to conduct his acclaimed radio workshops and seminars all over the world – 40 plus countries and counting.
