There’s always the old question in commercial radio of which team is the most important. The ones who “bring in the money” or the ones that make the product what it is – helping to bring in the pounds.

I actually believe that both departments provide vitality to the running of the radio station – and both need each other!

In commercial radio there are two types of radio promotions: one which has a strategic vision from the programming department designed to build hours or audiences and another which has been solely developed by the commercial department to help bring in the revenue.

However it seems in todays ever-increasing world of demand for revenue generation it’s often the latter which stands out for all the wrong reasons.

I hold my hand up that I’ve been pushing an idea through programming to help reach a sales target – without making sure it’s “right” and “relevant” for the radio station and its audience.

Commercial demands can sometime dictate and lose the creativity. (“I know the client would want to give away a selection of floor tiles as a star prize – but I’m sure listeners will rather win £1000 spending money.”)

Get it right, however, and it can become the most powerful form of radio advertising for brands and programming departments alike.

Radio promotions create wonderful opportunities for listeners to get excited, enthused and engaged with the radio station brand, the on air talent and, in turn, the sponsor.

Have a listen to these very excited local radio listeners from Isle of Wight Radio when they realised they were on air as winners:

CHECKLIST Here’s a quick check list of what to ask yourself when putting together that promotion proposal …

1. Does this work for the audience – yep, OK then.. does this work for the advertiser?

2. Does the promotion deliver both the station brand and the advertisers brand with credibility and power

3. Would you enter / go to the website / come in store? Is it engaging?

4. Would you tell a ‘friend’ about the promotion that you’ve heard on the radio – does it have that stickiness and talkability?

So commercial guys and programming teams – c’mon, work together in harmony and put yourselves in each other shoes.

Commercial - come up with something but don’t sell your soul and think about if the audience will enjoy it?

Programmers – I know you are precious about your audience and we understand why – but come on – there’s a target to reach and it’ll be great to get them on board!

As Harry Hill says –

Here’s a guest blog from producer Alistair Miskin – looking at some of those radio production cliches that come up time and time again … do you recognise some of these gems?

I’m sure that many of us have been guilty of using them in a script at one time or another.

No? Are you sure? Not even the time when you were given that S&P brief at 4.30pm on a Friday for a “garden tool winning weekend”?

There are loads of annoying clichés used in radio ads and promos. I know, so many of you told me when I asked on Twitter earlier this week (@alistairmiskin)

So… To celebrate the fact that they annoy the heck out of you (See what I did there?), here are YOUR suggestions for some of most irritating ones heard in radio commercials and promo trails.

I feel sorry for the voiceovers who probably have to read many of these day in, day out. What I would say though is that I never personally considered some of the above as clichés, but hey, they’re your suggestions.

If you’re rushed for time or have hit a creative wall it’s all too easy to reach out for a worn-out phrase or concept. My belief is that it’s probably best to walk away, do something else and come back to the script with fresh eyes.

Right… It’s time for you to cleanse yourself of the tired, the repeated and often used phrases. Leave your suggestions for clichés below or via my website and I’ll update the article with your comments.

Remember, it’s only a bit of fun, so no naming and shaming of specific ads or stations!

Thanks to @ChrisSigsworth @codoherty @KarlSvenson @aldupres @lisamccormick @ellisstuart @rickilee @johnfoster257 @dicannell Michelle Dignan, Matthew Lomax, Brian Place and so many more for their help via twitter #radiocliches and Facebook.

Al

Read more and get free production audio from http://www.miskaudio.com/

Capital FM have revised their stand out TV creative for 2012 featuring a new artist line up designed to promote the UK’s Hit Music station.

The original ad which launched exactly a year ago when Capital FM became a national station has received a large amount of praise, including the Arqiva Commercial Radio Marketing Award. It now has a fresh look for 2012 which includes playlist artists The Wanted,  Labrinth, Ed Sheeran and Jessie J. We also see Rhianna with a new blonde hair do!

UPDATE 03.01.2012 – 16:30

It seems that listeners across the North East and London get more than the worlds biggest starts in their creative as the new Breakfast Show teams make an appearance in the regional variations with Bodg, Matt and JoJo, who replace Steve and Karen following news of their move to Metro Radio in the Spring  after ten years at the station and Dave Berry who replaces Johnny Vaughn- with the advert helping to raise awareness of the new show as well as the music proposition.  SMART!

We featured the advert (12 months on) and its effect on social and music industry buzz in our festive edition of The Earshot Creative Review podcast - showcasing how the ad is a great example of partnership between the music and radio industry and how it’s a great celebration of radio. In the podcast - James Cridland discusses how the ad is a great example of Capital telling us that ‘Radio is fantastic’ as it promotes the medium of radio with the biggest names in music telling us to listen to the medium.

Download audio file (ecr_festive2011_2.mp3)

Music tastes change, playlist changes and the station needs to be sure its on top of the coolest artists around. Jessie J makes an appearance in the new creative ahead of her year as a reality TV judge on the BBC’s The Voice  along with Ed Sheeran, Example, Labrinth and Global’s very own The Wanted.

However, I am surprised One Direction don’t make an appearance as their album was fastest-selling debut album of 2011. The Wanted make their appearance with the phrase “Boom” which sends the Twitterverse into foray with #TWBOOM trending both in the UK and across the world.

The new TV creative has certainty help spike the social buzz for the station as people take to the social networking site of Twitter to share their thoughts on their favourite artists appearing on the new advert .

Twitter search results for 'new capital fm advert'. (Click to read full size)

Might it have something to do with the launch of brand new breakfast shows on Capital’s flagship London station and across the North East?

Another great advert from the folks at Global and even better to see people celebrating their love of radio within their social space! Bring it on!

Earshot Creative Review Podcast

Oh come on -you didn’t expect us to start of list of festive listens without mentioning our very own home grown podcast did you? If you’ve not already, take a listen to Steve’s latest foray into audio production which was recorded in front of a live studio audience at the bar within the West End’s Novello Theatre. You’ll hear sixteen pieces of great audio from stations like BBC Radio 1, URN, Capital FM, Choice FM and Classic FM, Norway’s P1 and Xfm. You’ll also hear the informed views, expertise and experience of James Cridland, John Myers, Nik Goodman, James Stodd, Lou Nash and Jacob Rickard.

Carols in Surround Sound for Headphones

Take a listen to a audio experiment from the BBC this Christmas. A 2007 carols service from the BBC archives will be available online in a ‘binaural’ format that creates realistic surround sound through ordinary headphones. There are six different surround settings to choose from, to suit different types of headphones and head shape. The trial is part of BBC Radio’s continuing innovation in audio, including the launch of HD Sound, the Wimbledon NetMix experiment and ongoing trials of ‘3D Sound’ technology.

A Year in Radio

This Christmas Day (Sunday 25th December) at 7pm, BBC 5 live will be broadcasting a two-hour programme about the year in radio. Produced by Ben Green and supported by Heather Davies (a fellow Radio Academy 30 under 30 recipient) – the shows look at some of the highlights on UK radio in 2011 from Chris Moyles on the air for days to Ronnie Woods assault on the awards circuit. During the 2 hour programme, many of the biggest names in broadcasting talk about highlights from the year gone by and the people that inspired them to get behind the microphone in the first place. Plus, station controllers and industry experts look ahead to the big issues in the year ahead – such as the impact of 5 live’s relocation to Salford, the planned cuts to BBC local services, radio’s future in the digital and mobile world, and there are still so few women in the industry.

John Peel’s Shed

Earlier this year – I was invited by Maple Street Studios to see an intimate performance of John Osborne’s memoir to his prized box of records that he won from John Peel and his extended love of radio. Radio 4 have recently broadcasted the adaption from this performance direct from a five-star, complete sell-out run at the Edinburgh Festival. A story about one man’s love for radio, how it allows you to escape into another world. Based on his book Radio Head, up and down the dial of British Radio, this is about what happened next: a show about the pleasure of having your own personal project. The story is about passion, obsession with music and about legacy; trying to do something special with such a rare, eclectic box of records.

We also throughtly recommending reading his book called ‘Radio Head’, if you’ve not already asked Santa for it.

If you’ve got any other seasonal listening recommendations – please get in touch via jonathan@earshotcreative.com

Thank you to all our readers and listeners in 2011. It’s been great to connect with so many of you. From Jonathan and Steve, we wish you a happy, healthy and merry Christmas and New Year!

An opinion by Steve Timmins, 107.6 Juice FM – @juicesteve

Arg on the Radio

This week I found out that James ‘Arg’ Argent from The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) had landed a network radio show. As a professional Broadcaster, who has learned (and is STILL learning) his trade the long, hard way, I can honestly say that this news of Arg’s appointment deeply saddened me. So, I did what most people in today’s social network society do when they are annoyed with something… I took to Twitter to air my frustrations! I was then asked if I’d write my thoughts as a blog entry, so here goes.

Let me make it clear from the start that this is not a personal vendetta against James ‘Arg’ Argent. I have never met him, and wish him well in the future. However this doesn’t mean that I agree with his appointment. “Why so against it?” you might ask. “Why would it even bother you?” I’ll tell you exactly why it bothers me. It’s wrong. I say that not as someone who works in the radio industry, but someone who loves the medium of radio, someone who lives, breathes and sleeps it every single day. I’m not saying that you have to be a self-confessed radio ‘geek’ to land a job on air, I just know the difficulties that many people face actually landing that first on-air, behind the mic job.

I believe it was an episode of TOWIE (a few weeks back apparently) that showed ‘Arg’ taking to hospital radio. How many of us started out there? I know I did. It’s a great stomping ground and a great place to learn. Now, how many of us, weeks later, land a network show on commercial stations? Not many. Was it down to his incredible presenting skills demonstrated in a 2minute clip on TV? Or was it down to the fact that it’s ‘Arg’ from TOWIE we’ll get some good RAJAR figures for this?

Arg on the Radio

I think that the frustrating thing for me, is that I know how hard my path into radio was, the endless hours in whatever studios I could manage to gain access to, the countless rejection letters, the comments of ‘you’ll just never make it’ (which unfortunately people in this industry will and do dish out), I’ve made tea, handed out flyers, dressed up in scuba gear in town centres to give away cash, all in an effort to simply get my foot in the door.

Too many reality TV characters (I prefer ‘characters’ to ‘stars’) seem to think that being a radio presenter, or possibly the more popular career migration to Club DJ is a sensible route for them after their 15minutes of fame. I’ve been a Club DJ for the past 15 years, and it’s fair to say that in the past couple of years there’s been a massive influx of gigs boasting ‘see XXX guest DJ’ from ‘XXX reality show’ on the bright glossy posters adorning every available space in the City. The truth is that most of these ‘XXX guest DJ from XXX reality show’ either turn up for 20 minutes with a mixed CD and pretend to mix, or actually attempt to mix, and you cringe with embarrassment as it’s very apparent to both professional onlookers and revelers that they can’t. To a DJ who’s been in the game as long as I have, it’s a big slap in the face to your profession. People with no discernable talent, turn up to a club, pretend to work, then stand in a VIP area getting sozzled, get papped, while the ‘real’ DJ’s entertain the crowd, it’s all compounded by the fact that they are paid handsomely for it too.

I’m not saying that if you’re on the TV you can’t make the transition to radio successfully, that’s untrue, casing point, Radio 1, notably Fearne Cotton and Vernon Kay, both successful TV presenters, both now successful radio presenters, and there’s the key word ‘presenters’, it’s something that they already know how to do, and do well, the leap across the medium is not that far.

By contrast, a cast member from TOWIE who is not a presenter is clearly ousted when put in-front of a microphone. A pre-recorded show non-the-less, does that not say a lot in itself, I can see a PD’s mind working now;

“This will be great publicity for us, but there’s no way he’s doing it live, and we need to get a producer in with him” (so much for the confidence in him)

Is a quick hit on RAJAR figures worth the risk? Me personally, I don’t think that it is, reality TV shows are Marmite, and personally I know I’d flick the station rather than have to endure it. What kind of a society have we become that we adore these mediocre entertainment shows.

I hope this doesn’t come across as a jealous point of view, far from it, I love my job and my station, and I genuinely wouldn’t want to work anywhere else. I work as part of a great team and that’s a rare thing to find. I also shy from any kind of limelight, I don’t do my job for the celebrity interviews or showbiz parties. I just, well, love radio. That simple.

Radio is, has been and always will be a notoriously difficult industry to penetrate, the ones who truly love their craft, persevere and have a little bit of luck along the way will, and do make it. Failing that, you could always try and land yourself a role in a reality TV show!

The show runs across the following stations Southend Radio, Chelmsford Radio and Connect FM Peterborugh.

This guest post reflects personal opinion and not necessarily the views of Earshot Creative.