Music, Jingles & Commercials – Small Business Advertising Campaigns
By Tom Gauger
While thousands of books, articles, and countless magazine spotlights try and capture the essence of marketing, trying to convey the successful marketing campaign, there really is only one true test and that’s your sales. Above anything else it’s your overall revenue. What works for some companies obviously doesn’t hold true for every business. And with the promise of continued growth with internet sales and marketing, one often wonders where to begin or throw marketing dollars next.
Many hold to a particular set of marketing rules. Some say that direct marketing is king, while others yet are convinced that radio and TV coupled with some limited direct marketing yields the highest returns. There are those yet who do nothing and depend solely on word of mouth – while the cheapest route, rarely sustains any business long term although incredibly cost effective and great for building a client base – no one will debate that. With all of the different marketing avenues, where does one begin if they are to advertise on radio or TV and what’s the best route and with whom should you get help making your commercial? Great question!
As a radio and TV writer, I can attest to the number of great commercials written through the years and then the, well then there are those that we all could do without. What makes for a great radio or TV ad and how should you go about doing it? At ReelMusicianPro.com we aim at delivering a unique message for each client that comes to us – From small business to large national companies. Working with your marketing department whether that’s you or creative directors at ad agencies, getting the right message across is obviously key. What many end up doing though, is choosing a “cookie cutter” and cheap sounding music or media company because their price was cheap. Often times, it’s the advertising sales guys at the local radio or cable companies selling you on their in-house voice over guy and industrial music supply. Let’s be clear about this – Cheap sounding commercials, while there are always exceptions, not only sound cheap, come across as cheap, but will undoubtedly give you a cheap image and may very well not increase your sales at all – In fact it may cost you.
You want to aim for a commercial to give an instant picture to your customer of who you are, that you’re quality and that you’re dependable. You say “duh” and you’re right. But the fact is, if you want a successful radio and TV campaign, you’re going to have to do it right. And that doesn’t mean break the bank, but it does mean that you are serious and want a commercial that will give your company the edge in the consumer’s mind so that you gain the consumer’s heart.
“How do I do that?” Great question. Get with a proven music house such as ours or others that are out there who deliver top notch and quality productions and who have the experience to create a commercial that justifies not only the expense, but drives your sales to another level. It’s about the sales, and without the experience or passion to deliver great sounding and looking spots you might as well not even get your wallet out.
Listen to the music samples – Can you hear every word? Do the productions sound solid? Do they sound creative or are they just using loops and a computer to generate your image and sound? You want music that supports your image, creates the backbone for the voice over and is catchy, but don’t go with the same old tired musical hook lines, otherwise you won’t stand out. You need to sound fresh, authoritative and with a certain caring flare in the texture of the voice over and music which supports your great customer care and no hassle sales approach. Keep these things in mind and you will be well on your way to a not only creative ad, but one that will stand out and ultimately increase your sales in a real way!