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
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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