You’ve got competition.  And you’d like to steer people towards YOU instead of THEM.  Want your ad to get noticed?  Don’t camouflage it.  Do something different.  The goal is to make your listening prospect feel good about you and feel comfortable enough to call, go to your website,  or walk in your door.  But that won’t ever happen if your ad never gets heard.  Just because you have a radio ad airing…doesn’t mean that it’s being heard.  If it sounds like the typical radio ad (who you are, what you do, where you’re located, and your phone number 5 times)…it’s probably not getting heard.  It’s going in one ear and out the other.  Blah, blah, blah.

So what can you do?  What should you do?

DO NOT BLEND IN.  Ads get ignored that look, sound, or smell like every other ad.

Your message is YOUR message.  Make it personal.  Get me interested.  How can you interest your prospect?  There are infinite ways, but here are a few ideas…

People love stories. It’s how human beings naturally communicate most impactfully.  (spell-checker says that “impactfully” is not a word – oh well).  Sharing a completely unique and entertaining story can keep your prospect engaged.

People appreciate new information. Teach me something.  We love to learn new things.  Just don’t get too “smarty pants” and talk over my head.

People love to answer questions. If you’re standing in the middle of a group of 10 people and ask a question out loud…every person will want to answer that question.  Either out loud or in their head.  It’s how we’re wired.  So a good headline to an ad is sometimes a well-thought out question that will get the direct attention of your very specific prospect/potential buyer.

People “perk up” or “snap out of trances” when you use words they don’t expect. Don’t bore our highly complex brains with the predictable.  Don’t use words that you think you should use.

Break the rules.  There are no rules. Comedians are a good example.  There is a kind of science and psychology to making people laugh…but if comics all used the same words, how funny would that be?  Comedians follow no rules.  They have a specific goal in mind – to make your stomach and face muscles hurt from laughing so much.  They can’t do that by being like everyone else.

I could keep going…but there’s a limit to our attention spans, right?

Let’s not partake in “camouflage advertising”.  Get noticed.  Say no to camouflage advertising.  You’ll get a much better return on your investment.

Duane Christensen

Sioux Falls Radio Advertising blog

Results Radio / Townsquare Media-Sioux Falls

And to learn more about standing out and getting noticed with your advertising you can get the Kindle edition of my book here, Take A Bigger Slice.

…