26th Annual RAP Awards - Finalists Next Month!
The Finalists of the 26th RAP Awards will be showcased next month on the March RAP Soundstage. RAP’s Gold Members will then vote for the winners, who will be announced in the April issue. Good Luck to ALL! Updates in the RAP Community at rapmag.com and on Twitter @radioprod.
Production 512 - Whomp! There It Is!
by Dave Foxx
...what was your “Butterfly” moment? When did you first feel the tug of radio? For me, it was when I was a Junior at Arlington Heights High School in Fort Worth, Texas. I was listening to KFJZ/Fort Worth, WAY before they were a Spanish speaking Christian station, when a jock named Mark Stevens interviewed my musical idol, Jimi Hendrix. Jimi had just finished a show at the Will Rogers Auditorium, which I had missed because I was grounded. (I’ve been racking my brain trying to remember what for, but it has escaped me.) As I sat in my room listening to the interview, I thought, “THAT’S what I want to do! Be a deejay so I can meet all the cool musicians, the way Markie Baby does!” Well, that’s what they called him! The seed was planted. I didn’t really pursue it until I got to University, but I was definitely headed down this path.
Q It Up: How many spots and promos does your department produce in an average week?
19 pros weigh in on this month's Q It Up: One of our readers, who does both imaging and commercial work in a one-man department, recently cranked out 55 fully produced spots and 17 promos during one week. What’s a typical week like in your production department? About how many fully produced spots and promos would you say your department produces in an average week? How many stations in your cluster? How much help, if any, do you have? How does your work load affect the quality of the work, if at all? Please add any other comments!
The Commercial Chronicles: Oh, Those Calendar Events!
by Dennis Daniel
You know it’s coming! It comes every year at certain times of the year. Those dreaded “holiday” “4 season” and “sport event” oriented commercials. New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, March Madness, Spring, Labor Day Weekend, Memorial Day Weekend, 4th of July Weekend, Summer, Black Friday weekend, Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas! Anyone and everyone who advertises pretty much has to have some kind of theme that orients itself to these calendar events. And every year, YOU have to come up with a way to make them fresh, new and distinctive. HA! Cover me up with barbed wire and duct tape and throw me over the Matterhorn! HELP!
Feature: Thanks, Coach!
By Ben Thorgeirson
One of the things I love most about producing commercials is when a client comes in to voice and I get the chance to coach. You’re probably thinking I’m on fentanyl by saying that, but it’s true! Now, I should clarify, I don’t recommend a client voicing their own spots, but let’s be serious, you’re ALWAYS going to have a couple coming in and some of them are absolutely horrendous.
Radio Hed: Cause Marketing Helps Clients and the Community
by Jeffrey Hedquist
Audience members today care about your client’s heart - what the advertiser does for the local community or the World community. How a client gives back may be as important as how they benefit the customer. According to a Cone Cause Evolution Survey, 87 percent of consumers say they’d switch brands if another brand were associated with a good cause. In fact, more and more customers expect companies to support social and environmental issues. Here are some thoughts to help make these efforts a win-win for everyone involved.
The R.A.P. Soundstage
Up first is this month’s Editor’s Choice Award winner, a tribute to David Bowie from Adam Venton at UKRD. Adam not only did an excellent job on the content and production, but his turnaround time was pretty impressive as well. Adam notes: “Following the sad news of David Bowie’s passing this month, I came into the office nice and early and made this tribute piece, which went to air on all 22 of our stations before 9am. I was very satisfied with the quick turnaround, as well as the audio. I tried to show Bowie at his charismatic best, using interview clips of his wicked sense of humour and charm, and quirkiness.” Mission accomplished, Adam!
"....And Make It Real Creative!”: So Right, It's Wrong
by Trent Rentsch
I would like to take a moment to publicly apologize to Laura Hietbrink. I was a boorish, competitive ass in 4th grade, and I’m sorry for that. It was a tipping point year for me; I was still convinced that I might still be one of the smartest people in my class. While I couldn’t have been more wrong, I fought the inevitable truth with everything I had. My only ammo left at that point was memorization, and my last battlefield was spelling.
The Monday Morning Memo: The Power of Why
by Roy H. Williams
Targeting is impotent. That wasn’t a misspelling. If you want to waste a lot of money on advertising, just target exactly the right audience and then make an offer that fails to moves them. Targeting isn’t the answer. Having the right message is the answer. Most ads underperform because they say, “Here’s what we do and here’s how we do it. You should buy it.” Tedious and predictable ads always talk about what and how. But if you want to engage the imagination, you’ve got to start talking about why.
...and more!