Analysing & Understanding Radio Commercials

Grading:




For other examples of radio adverts, take a look at these produced by Radio Works and Radioville:

Radioville ads
Radio Works Ads
Ads from around the world
RARE Awards
RARE Award winning ads
soundsvisual.com

Task 1: Your task is to write an analysis of at least three different radio commercials. you should use the information and the headings below to help you structure your analysis.....

Styles

Humorous: Is it funny?
Serious: lacking in humour?
Factual: is it based on lots of facts?
Fiction: is it story like?
Nostalgic: Does the advert refer to past times with fondness?
Pastiche: Does it pay tribute to or imitate another piece of work?
Repetition: Does the advert repeat key facts such as telephone numbers or dates?
Simple: Is it straight forward?
Complex: Is it a complicated advert?
Aggressive: Think - 'YOU BUY ONE YOU GET ONE FREE!' They shout rather than tell you.
Seductive: Think Cadbury's Flake adverts.
Surreal: Having the intense reality of a dream. (Wikipedia)

Immediacy:
Is the commercial advertising something that is limited and happening soon - IE "1 Day Sale This Saturday"

Long Term:
Is it just promoting a brand rather than a specific Item? Something that is on going?


Purpose:

The main purpose of any radio commercial is to raise 'Brand Awareness' and to promote and eventually increase sales of the product being advertised. They are informational and persuasive. In addition they also provide an income for the Radio station broadcasting the advertisement.
Radio commercials are produced to serve a purpose, what is that purpose?

To raise brand awareness?
Commercials can be about the brand, rather than the product, helping the brand solidify its position in the market or raisng its profile.
Some brands continue to advertise, even though they are already an established brand, this sends out a message to its competitors but also keeps the brand in the pubilc eye, or ear. often well known brands reinvent themselves through clever marketing.

Informational?
Information about a new product, event, scheme, new opening hours, new menu etc..

Persuasive?
"Why not treat yourself?" "Does your dog deserve the best?" "Go on you deserve it!"

Sales and Special Offers?
Needs no explanation...

Seasonal Awareness?
Christmas, Easter, Summer Holida

Radio Stations

Where are the commercials broadcast?

National Stations FM: Radio 1,2,3,4, Classic FM, Virgin (South only)

National Stations AM: Radio 5, Virgin, Talk Sport

Local FM: Radio Leeds/Sheffield, Durham FM.

Local AM: Radio Leeds/Sheffield

Regional FM: Galaxy, Real, Aire, Viking etc..

Regional AM: Magic, Radio Leeds, Capital Gold etc:

Remember BBC Stations are not commercial stations but they do produce commercials which advertise BBC products or information.



Task 2: Create 2 very short commercials (15 seconds) use a different style and purpose for each one. Try and make the style and purpose very obvious and specify which type of radio statio you will be advertising on and why?



Content:

The content of radio commercials are regulated in the same way as TV commercials.

Advertising Standards Agency

The ASA is an independent body that was established by the advertising industry to police the rules laid down in the advertising codes. They regulate the content of advertisements and stop misleading, harmful and offensive advertising. They also make sure that advertisements adhere to the BCAP Standards Code for Radio.


Radio Advertising Standards Code
Click on the link above to view the full CAP code for Radio.


RACC
The Radio Advertising Clearance Centre is the advertising body of commercial radio. It is part of the Radio Centre and is funded by the commercial radio stations who pay copy clearance fees.

OFCOM
Ofcom deal with all complaints regarding political bias in broadcast advertising. They also regulate programme sponsorship, where a programme sponsor is announced in a 'credit' at the beginning and/or end of a programme and during breaks.

Task 3: Briefly explain how radio advertising is regulated and find out what and where the CAP Codes are.
You must then produce a short commercial which breaks at least three of the CAP codes. Write an analysis of which codes were broken and how.

Understanding Radio Commercial Production

Have a look at the Radio Advertising Bureau Website www.rab.co.uk

Task: This time you have a choice of two tasks.

1. Imagine you are creating a professional radio commercial for a local business. Write a pitch, using the headings below, explaining the production process. You must include the costs for each individual section and a grand total. Your client has no idea how the radio advertising industry works, so you must include a section on...

• budget
• music royalties
• voice-over artists
• scheduling and billing
• production facilities that you are using
• roles and responsibilities of people working in your team
• music beds and stings and idents
  

Very useful website to help you set out your pitch........

2. Produce a radio programme, or speech package, which covers the main issues surrounding commercial production. You might include...

• interviews with people working in the industry
• an expert, which may be fictitious on music royalties or a professional voice-over etc...
  
• A quiz, where people ring in to guess the sonic brand trigger, or to guess the emotion associated with a music bed.

Be as inventive as possible, as long as you cover the main issues.

Budget
How much money does the client have to spend on this commercial?
You need to consider studio hire, 'talent' fees, royalty fees, agency costs etc...
The cost of broadcasting the commercial is negotiated by local sales teams and national/ regional agencies. The scheduling of when the advert is to be broadcast will have an affect on the costs.

Music Royalties

How Music Royalties Work.

If you plan on using music produced by somebody else you need to obtain permission as the composition is covered by copyright.

There are 4 categories for copyright licences and related royalties:

Mechanical: permission to reproduce, royalties paid to artist, writer and publisher based on numbers sold.

Performance: blanket licence giving permission to broadcast / perform live, royalties paid to artist, writer and publisher when song is played or performed.

Print: royalties paid to writer and publisher based on sales of sheet music.

In Radio commercial production you need a Synchronization licence which allows songs/music to be reproduced in a television program, film, video, radio and commercials as background music.


Take a look at the following websites for further details on copyright of music:

British Music Rights
Alliance Against IP Theft (AAIPT)
British Copyright Council
British Literary and Artistic Copyright Association (BLACA)
Copyright Licensing in Schools
Mechanical-Copyright Protection Society and Performing Right Society Alliance (MCPS-PRS Alliance)



Voice over artist fees
Fees for Voice over artists vary depending on whether the voice is of a celebrity, the amount of skill and experience and the type of voice over session. Voice over artists in the UK are usually paid by the hour , known as a 'Basic Session Fee'

Other factors include where and when the recording will be broadcast, the medium to be broadcast in and audience reach. With this in mind, artists are entitled to a 'usage fee' (sometimes known as a repeat fee). In exchange for certain limited rights to the use of their voice, a 'buy-out' fee will be paid (a form of royalty).

A buy-out is an agreement where the voice receives an additional fixed fee in return for releasing the rights to his or her voice. For example, if a celebrity records a voice for a toy (IE Buzz Light Year) they will be paid the BSF and a buy out in return for the rights to use that recording in perpetuity.

To work out the appropriate fee for Voice Over artistes use this fee calculator:
http://www.usefee.tv/ and have a glance at the UK Guide to Payments PDF.


For further information regarding rates and jargon have a look at the websites of the following voice over agencies: VoiceFinder and Broadcast-Support.


Approval of script
Scripts may need re-drafting several times to meet the needs of the client. It will also need checking that it doesn't break any of the codes set out in the advertising codes regarding claims that may have been made and facts that may have been stated.

Traffic (Scheduling & Billing)
When the commercial is to be broadcast affects how much it would cost. For example - if you were to broadcast an advert during 'drive time' (effectively the prime time of radio) where the audience figures are higher, it would cost more than if it were to be broadcast during a 'graveyard' slot where there would be a lower audience figure.

Production Facilities
A professional production house would possibly consist of the following:

A studio with:

Mac G5, equipped with Pro-Tools
DigiDesign D-Command Pro-Tools interface
Prima LT Codec
PC, running Adobe Audition

Voice Booth
4 Audio Technica AT4033 Condenser Mics (for broadcast PR sessions)
1 Neumann TLM 103 Microphone (for voicework)

(Broadcast Studio)
Sonifex S2 Broadcast Mixer
ProntoNet codec
Telephone Balance Unit
Neumann BCM 104 Microphone
PC, running Adobe Audition

Tannoy 05A active monitors, Beyer DT770 headphones and 500Gb back-up portable hard-drives.


Roles
Many of the roles of producing radio commercials are the same as TV commercial production or radio broadcasting with a few more specific roles including:

Account Executive: looks after the clients.
Creative director: In charge of creative ideas.
Script Writer: Writes the script for the commercial.
Casting Director: Auditions the voice actors and casts the appropriate voices.
Studio Manager: Is in charge of the recording studio.
Sound engineer/recording engineer: operates the sound recording equipment.
Editor: Responsible for putting together the voice recordings, music beds, sound fx and creating the advert.


Music Beds
Does the client want music to be playing in the background /underneath the dialogue? If so what:

Live music recorded with the speech.
Library music -often copyright free
Production music, - via CD (again often copyright free) or created 'in house' or on software such as Garage band.

Think about the style and arrangement of the music, eg Pastiche, (have a look at the styles stated above in the (Understanding Radio Commercials blog).

Are you going to be using and Jingles or Stings (short blasts of music that identify the product/company - similar to a TV Ident) in the commercial?

Stings and Idents

Sonic Triggers: noises that are associated with a particular Brand, See below for a popular example.

For more examples of sonic triggers, have a look at the Aerials Foundation website.

Producing Treatments & Scripts for a Radio Commercial

Task: You must create a brief for a real client. Use the headings below to structure your brief but consult sections 1 and 2 to add any other relevant sections. Your brief might be for....

• A local business
• A community event or project
• A school department or event
• A product designed by another student
• An informational advertisement for local government
• An advertisement for a radio show or Friday World

radioadvertising.org.uk

Identify Client:

Is it a private company? Local Business? Government or Public Information Broadcast (Public service announcement)?

Are you promoting a service, a product or a brand?

What is the budget?

Client Brief:

What style: funny, serious complex, factual etc...

Who are the target audience?
who is the product/service aimed at?

What is the unique selling point (USP)??
the marketing concept that convinces consumers to switch brands - IE, what does your shampoo do that a similar one doesn't, what can you offer that another service can't.

For examples of slogans and tag lines - take a look at this database: Ad Slogans
They also have a student aimed slogan maker website: adslogans.co.uk

Development of Script:

Start with a Mind Map of initial ideas - key things that need to be included. From then you can draft a script.

Think about the timing- what you will say when, where certain sound fx may appear. Do you need to speak faster or slower.

What is the message you are trying to put across?

Is there a tag line you need to include?

You may find after discussion with the client that you need a change of emphasis or change of style to suit the actual product (service) being advertised.

Script Production:

By producing scripts with different approaches to the ideas you provide your client with options.
Your Script may need to be re-drafted several times to meet to clients needs. Once the final draft has been completed it is sent to the client for approval before production can commence.

Producing Radio Commercials

Task: Produce a professional sounding radio commercial. You should have considered the points below in your treatment.

Sourcing of Elements
Music:
Are you using a song or famous piece of music or are you commissioning your own piece?

Dialogue:
The Script- are there any specific points that need to be made, tag lines that need to be included.

Single/Multiple Voice:
If professional Voice over artists or even celebrity voices are required, voice over agency websites are the first place you'd look:

Voice Over Gallery
Excellent Voice
Voice Finder

Sound FX:
Have a look at websites such as Sound Dogs
Don't forget about possible fees on these sounds so try and use royalty free Sound FXs.

Recording Voice Session
Rehearsal:
By providing your 'voice' with the script as far in advance as possible will allow them to become familiar with the dialogue prior to rehearsals beginning.

Directing Talent:
You are responsible for making sure that the 'talent' speak how you want them to. Make sure they know what pitch and tone to use


Time Constraints:
How much time have you allocated for pre production, recording and post production before the final product has to be handed to the client?

You need to allow yourself plenty of time for all parts, in particularly the recording of the 'voice'. Recording studios are booked by the hour with other bookings usually to follow.
What happens if your voice over artist is late, leaving you will less time to record.

Recording:
It is best to record in the radio studio using Quicktime.

Mixing & Balancing
Live during recording or in Post Production?
When would be better for your production? Would it be easier to mix and balancing the sounds as you were recording them or once you have the recorded dialogue and can edit the speech together with sound fx and music beds?

Post Production
Editing:
What software are you using?
Garage Band is recommended for this project.

Master Copy & Back up copy:
You must always save a back up copy of your recording.
For purposes of this project, save a copy to each of the following places:

Your personal folder on the computer.
Memory Stick.
Simply Click.

Task: Evaluate your commercial by answering the relevant questions from the list below....

Production : Evaluation : PartcofPD

Purpose :
What was your original aim?
Did you actually achieve your purpose? Your own opinion.
Now ….you must gather audience feedback by playing your package to a group of people from your target audience. You should then write under the following headings :

Audience
What did they say? Did they enjoy it? Did they take your preferred reading…. Or an oppositional reading? Use words like “primary target audience….. uses & gratifications theory”

Representation issues.
Did you give positive messages… or negative …. were you biased?
Did your package only include boys/girls or both?
Were different ethnic groups included in your plans? If not, why not?
How did your music track add to the mood of the piece?
Were the locations appropriate to the package? Why? Why not?
Was the language appropriate for your target audience?
Was it realistic when compared to a similar professional product?

Technical issues
What were the levels like? Voice? Music? Background?
Did you cut off anyone’s voice when you edited the piece? If you did, how could you solve this next time?
Was the microphone work o.k.? Why? Why not?
Was there enough variety to keep your audience interested?
Was your editing o.k.? Have you used single track editing or multi-track editing?
Have you used sound effects? Why? Why not?
Have you used any actuality in your piece? What was it?

Conventions/Narrative
What do you think was typical of this genre? Make a list.
What would be the same in a similar professional product?
Do they have any advantages over you?
Features of good narrative include........ enigma.... , equilibrium, disruption, resolution, hero, villain.... did you use any of them?
Would you regard your story as single strand or multi-strand?


Own performance... self evaluation
Did you learn any new skills?
How do you think you did? ..... strengths?.. weaknesses?
Were you a good team member? Why? Why not?
Did you argue or were you prepared to listen to the opinion of others?

Future targets
What would you improve on next time?
Produce a brainstorm of some ideas for
1. PROMOTING your audio product?
2. DISTRIBUTING it?
Which ‘laws/controls’ might you need to consider? Copyright? How can you get permission to use music?
Look at MCPS (Mechanical Copyright Protection Society) for prices.
Look at Ofcom’s programme codes/news codes/advertising codes, depending on your chosen genre. Have you followed the guidelines? If you have and you have no worries…. Ask yourself WHAT IF I’D DONE………..? This gives you a chance to look at the codes more thoroughly.