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Radio And Production
February 2012
February 2012 Highlights
R.A.P. Interview:
Rod Schwartz - Account Executive, KHTR-FM/KQQQ-AM &
Owner Grace Broadcast Sales/Radio Sales Café, Pullman,
WA
by Jerry Vigil
Yes, you read his title correctly. Rod Schwartz is an
Account Executive, a salesman, being interviewed for a
production magazine. But wait… he’s not your ordinary
salesman. Rod knows a few things about what we do, too,
particularly when it comes to what makes radio advertising
work for his clients. And he’s been making those ads work
for 33 years at the same stations in the small market of
Pullman, Washington. But his story doesn’t stop there. Along
the way, Rod established Grace Broadcast Sales, a family run
company servicing radio with syndicated “sales booster”
programs as well as creative services. And more recently, he
launched the fast-growing Radio Sales Café, a social website
for radio salespeople. You’ll find some great stories and
lots of worthwhile information in this two-part interview.
Check this month’s R.A.P. CD for some excellent commercial
work from Rod, and don’t miss the rest of the interview in
next month’s R.A.P..
Production 212:
Planning Your Execution
by Dave Foxx
When I was a little younger, feeling pretty full of
myself and just starting to build a reputation in the
business, I thought it was perfectly reasonable to say “A
lack of planning on your part does not constitute an
emergency on my part,” to my Program Director when he
strolled in with a last minute promo. I said that exactly
once. In a very quiet, dry voice, I was informed that if I
didn’t make it my emergency, he would find someone who
would… permanently. What I had failed to recognize at first
glance, was that some things are not in the Program
Director’s control. Secondly, there are a LOT of people out
there who can do what I do and some can no doubt do it even
better than I can. End of life’s lesson.
Test Drive:
PromptBuddy Audio Production Widget
by Steve Cunningham
Not so long ago -- in the October 2010 issue of R.A.P. to be
precise -- we looked into a unique program, Word2WAV, which is
designed for voice actors who work in the IVR business, or read
scripts for e-learning videos, or any other task where lots of
lines have to be read from a script, recorded, and the resulting
audio files provided specific file names. I received an email
during the first week of 2012 inviting me (and several thousand
of my very best friends, I’m sure) to investigate another
software program designed for the same application. Naturally I
scooted off to the website of Wells Park Communications, where I
found a link to the company’s PromptBuddy product
(wellspark.co.uk/promptbuddy.htm). Wells Park bills PromptBuddy
as an “Audio Production Widget” which promises to allow prompts
to be recorded, automatically topped and tailed, and saved as
.WAV files. These are automatically named whereby the name
consists of the first 64 characters of the prompt line. It was
certainly interesting enough to deserve a look.
Radio Hed:
Helping In Home Services Clients Succeed on
the Radio
by Jeffrey Hedquist
Many of your clients have in home services. Are there
opportunities you’re missing to help them? I’m talking about
tree trimmers, carpet, rug & upholstery cleaners, duct cleaners,
drain uncloggers, plumbers, water filter providers,
electricians, window washers, painters, landscapers,
hardscapers, garage door installers, snowplowers, remodelers,
gardeners, septic tank servicers, insulation providers, interior
decorators, staging pros and others. Entering people’ homes is a
very personal thing, so you need to help them build trust.
...And Make It Real
Creative: It's Hard to Be Simple
by Trent Rentsch
As a China Marker-carrying member of the Old
Fart Producer’s Club, I think I’ve survived long
enough to have a fair idea of what works and
what doesn’t. Deadlines work, last second,
thrown together spots don’t. Real testimonials
work, fake testimonials voiced by the client’s
mother’s neighbor who wants to break into “the
business,” don’t. Humor in commercials works,
humor in commercials, doesn’t… but that’s
another column for another time. Of all the
truths this old Splicing Tape-carrying member of
the Old Fart Producer’s Club knows, this one is
the truest… simple works. We could be talking
about copywriting, producing, hell, even
shopping for toilet paper. Simple works,
complicated doesn’t.
The Monday Morning Memo:
Three Ads: One Bad, Two Good
by Roy H. Williams
Ads are (1.) category-focused, (2.)
product-focused, or (3.) client-focused. The
good thing about category-focused ads is that
they’re portable; anyone in the category can use
them. The bad thing about category-focused ads
is that they don’t distinguish you from your
competitors, because anyone in the category can
use them. I’ve been told there are some good
category-focused ads out there, but I’ve never
encountered one personally.
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