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Radio And Production
August 2010
August 2010 Highlights
Feature:
Authentic Voice
by Buzz Calhoun
We’ve all read the countless articles, watched the videos,
and studied the books about microphone technique, breath
control, and choosing the right equipment. We’ve fought tooth
and nail with clients who insist on writing a newspaper ad for
the Radio and done our best to convince them it will not break
through the clutter. And we’ve even worked so hard with several
voices to put together what we knew was an award winning
campaign only to have the client back out at the last minute,
not pay, or decide they wanted something completely different
than what we had produced.
R.A.P. Interview:
Johnny George, Johnny George Communications, Fishers,
Indiana
by Jerry Vigil
You’ve been hearing Johnny George’s work on the RAP Cassettes
and CDs for years. Back in 2006, after a long stint with
Susquehanna in Indianapolis, Johnny made the leap to try and
make it on his own. Today, Johnny George Communications is alive
and well. Johnny’s guy-next-door voice has found a market, but
that’s not the only thing that keeps his clients coming back.
These days, there are tons of guys-next-door, and it takes a bit
more than a USB mic and a laptop to rise above the present ocean
of talent. Johnny shares some valuable lessons and advice about
his recent journey in this month’s RAP Interview. Check out this
month’s RAP CD for a montage of a few of Johnny’s current VO
demos.
Production 212:
Prime The Pump
by Dave Foxx
The last couple of columns have dealt with the creative
process. If you’ve been following along, the first step is to
find your creativity when you Fill The Well and then to free
your creativity when you Drain The Brain. Now, we need to let
your creativity flow by showing you how to Prime The Pump. In
the days before we all had indoor plumbing, most people got
their water from a local well. If you had a nice sized farm, you
probably had one just outside the farmhouse kitchen, making it
convenient to get water into the house. Very often, especially
if the well is a deep one, you had to pour water into the pump
in order to get the water flowing up from below. This was called
priming the pump. Today, if you’re having a hard time getting
your car started, you might pour a thimble of gasoline into the
carburetor. In financial circles, it’s a pretty well known axiom
that to make money, you have to spend it. All of these are
examples of priming the pump.
Radio Hed:
Positioning
by Jeffrey Hedquist
Your clients need to be more persuasive than ever in courting
over-marketed potential customers. Positioning is a tool to help
you and your client do that. What is positioning? This article
will not give you the ultimate definition, guaranteeing you a
top mark in your marketing class. This is a quick & clean
summary – some guidelines to use in helping your client
differentiate themselves from their competitors. Positioning has
come to mean the process by which we try to create an image or
identity in the minds of your client’s target market for its
product, service, brand, or organization. Re-positioning
involves changing the identity of a product, service, brand, or
organization, relative to the identity of competition, in the
collective minds of the target audience.
Q It Up:
The RAP Network Speaks - What are you
doing to keep your edge?
Q It Up: What are you
doing to keep your edge? Are you reading? Do you have a
consultant? Going to seminars? Researching current marketing
trends on your own? Digesting RAP mag every month? Eating
vegetarian? What are you doing to keep your edge?
If you have a question for the RAP Network, email it to
editor@rapmag.com!
Notes Off the Napkin: Random
Notes
by Andrew Frame
Sometimes the cocktail-napkin copy notes required two or
three napkins. Sometimes it barely covered one side of one
napkin. A good multi-drink lunch would involve more than one
prospective client, and I’d end up with several alcohol and
ink-smeared papers. This is one of those times. Literally.
Somebody in my producers group said it, but for the life of me I
can’t remember who. To paraphrase, “I hate it when someone uses
the word literally, figuratively.” We were watching the local
FOX affiliates 10pm “news,” and I wouldn’t be exaggerating if I
said they used the word “literally” a half dozen times before
they broke for weather. It seemed that everything that happened
that day, happened “literally.”
...And Make
It Real Creative - The Creative Tap Room: Third Round
by Trent Rentsch
This month, the virtual Creative Tap Room continues to
fill up, as Creatives from a variety of disciplines answer
the question, “Where does your Creativity come from?” You
might remember that last month closed with some high-kicking
shenanigans led by one of my more Avant-garde Creative
buddies (the advantage of a virtual bar is not getting
tossed out by some tattooed giant for such nonsense). As the
lunacy comes to a crescendo, I see the front door open and a
couple of familiar heads pop through it. While I wouldn’t
blame them in the least for turning tail and running, they
both begin to clap as they pull up chairs and join the
party. The first one to place an order is a guy I’ve known…
well, quite a long time, since high school, in fact. I had
lost track of him for some years, but thanks to the miracle
of Facebook, we’ve reconnected. And what has Rich Woolworth
been doing since we played Dungeons & Dragons and organized
Science Fiction conventions back in the Stone Age?
The Monday Morning Memo:
Never, Never, Never
by Roy H. Williams
1. Never promise everything you plan to deliver. Leave
something to become the delight factor. That unexpected, extra
bit you deliver “because we love you” will go a long way toward
helping the customer forgive and forget any areas where you may
have fallen short. Great ads are written in three steps: (1.)
How to End. What will be the Last Mental Image your ad presents
to your customer? Begin with the end in mind. (2.) Where to
Begin. A clear but interesting angle of approach will gain the
customer’s attention. (3.) What to Leave Out. Surprise is the
foundation of delight. What will you intentionally leave out of
your ad so that you can deliver a delightful surprise? What will
you leave out so that the imagination of the customer is
engaged?
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