1 of 1- RadioActive
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How To Keep Listeners Tuned In Through Commercial Breaks
An advertising expert claims he has a way to keep listeners engaged during spot breaks on radio. Jeffrey Hedquist outlines his message in the article below.
"Those advertising to attention-deficit disordered folks see audiences get distracted, bored, and disengaged very easily. What can you do? Vary the pace, tone, or rhythm of your commercial. And do it consistently throughout the commercial."
Unlike his advertisers, I don't buy it. I don't care how entertaining your pitch is or how it's voiced. A four or five minute break is too long for most people to sit through if they're actually engaging with the station. But that's where we are on almost every station these days. Maybe an entertaining, well produced campaign will get me to listen once or twice.
By the third time, I'm gone and it's just too easy to hit that button and go somewhere else.
I'm sure this guy knows his stuff. I'm just not sure it works as well as he claims it does. See what you think of his advice.
Engage Listeners Throughout the Commercial
- Shorty Wave
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Re: How To Keep Listeners Tuned In Through Commercial Breaks
I agree, a four or five minute commercial break is just too much, and it is commonplace these days. I also think the creative involved in a commercial makes or breaks it and these days, I don’t really hear too many well crafted spots or clever, engaging copy.
Breaks should be no more than two minutes, and if you can’t come up with decent copy, make the spot shorter, 10-15 seconds that just gets to the point, without Callum or yetis……
- RadioActive
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Re: How To Keep Listeners Tuned In Through Commercial Breaks
Shorty Wave wrote:
I agree, a four or five minute commercial break is just too much, and it is commonplace these days. I also think the creative involved in a commercial makes or breaks it and these days, I don’t really hear too many well crafted spots or clever, engaging copy.
Breaks should be no more than two minutes, and if you can’t come up with decent copy, make the spot shorter, 10-15 seconds that just gets to the point, without Callum or yetis……
It's been discussed here before, but I think 680 News may have the best plan to handle commercial breaks. I don't think they have more than two :30 sec. spots in a row and sometimes less than that. They're more frequent but there's also more content between them. So it never feels like they've aired 600 of them in a row, like many stations do.
Their unique format allows it, but it works. And I wonder why other places don't at least look at stopping those endless 5 minute commercial blocks that are a guaranteed tune-out.
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Thread Starter- bmaudioworks
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Re: How To Keep Listeners Tuned In Through Commercial Breaks
I agree, a four or five minute commercial break is just too much, and it is commonplace these days. I also think the creative involved in a commercial makes or breaks it and these days, I don’t really hear too many well crafted spots or clever, engaging copy.
Breaks should be no more than two minutes, and if you can’t come up with decent copy, make the spot shorter, 10-15 seconds that just gets to the point, without Callum or yetis……
Doing commercial traffic (scheduling/billing etc.), I've noticed that a lot of major national advertisers e.g. Canadian Tire, McDonald's, Walmart are going with mostly :15s these days, and the occasional :10. Still plenty of :30s going around, though. Breaks on the stations I work are rarely beyond three minutes each, usually in the area of two to two-and-a-half minutes, and they often include a station promo, and the odd PSA here and there.