Ryan,
Have you tried Rick Murphy's free copy library? It's an awesome resource!
Just go to www.WikiCopy.com, register for an account (it's fast & free).
Then in the search entry form, select "Pest Control" as the product, and "30" as the length, and voila! 27 results come up. You might check for other length ads, too, just in case there are more idea starters there.
Good luck!
Rebecca
Ryan,
Jason Skaggs, now the head of production for Chicago's WGN radio, was with Zimmer Radio Group in Joplin, MO back in 2005 when he won top prize in the Radio Mercury Awards' then-new "Thirty-Second Commercial" category with this great spot for a pest control company. You can't steal the copy, of course, but perhaps it will spark your imagination.
Let us hear what you come up with!
Best,
Rod
Ryan,
One more from the Mercury Awards archives - and one of my all-time favorites. It was the $100,000 Grand Prize winner back in 1997 for client Ortho. It's a fine example of how brilliant copy paired with a great voice (in this case, that of voice actor Steve Morris) can create an engaging and effective spot. No music, no sound effects. Just a guy's voice.
When you signed them, what did they reveal about their company, their clients, why they want to advertise, what they do differently, etc? They had to give you SOME information to start with, otherwise, go back and start asking questions. There is a reason they want to advertise. There are reasons people need pest control. Find where the two intersect.
Hey...I been doing this for a long time, here's what I was told many years ago " "Truth is better than creativity". Don't focus on fancy...focus on why people should call THIS pest control company versus the OTHER guy. What are the questions that go through peoples heads before making a decision to go with one pest company over another? Have your good voice announcer do a straight read. All this information can be asked of your client...so don't look at commercial as something like...."I need to have two bugs taking ect"....That's already been done anyway. Focus on making the phone ring for THIS pest company....WHY should people call him? WHAT DOES THIS pest company DO BETTER than the OTHER pest companies? That's how you get results for your customers....you keep getting more orders....let the other Radio Stations worry about winning Addy Awards. Have a long successful selling career.
Good advice so far, but there's one BIG thing missing.
For many of us who have been writing radio copy for eons, it goes without saying, but a quick scan of the radio dial will confirm, that way too many copywriters neglect a teeny tiny (yet oh-so powerful) element to creating an effective ad campaign.
First, a couple of quick points.
1. You must clearly identify the Problem that is going to be solved by your advertiser (thus clearly identifying your Likely Buyer-Listener). Why is it imperative that your listener should listen to, and respond to your commercial? Because THIS advertiser/partner is THE expert in this field with YOUR (listener) SOLUTION.
2. Focus on that ONE THING that you just identified. If ants are the problem - focus on ants only. Save the spider problem for another commercial. Your listeners are smart enough to know that a Pest Control company who claims to be an expert on ridding your house of ants, can probably do a number on spiders too.
ONE SPOT, ONE THING. Period.
Now...the secret getting that renewal - RESULTS. In the end, your client is interested in only one thing - results. They might tell you that they want a funny commercial, a creative commercial or they might tell you they just want to do some "imaging" or "branding"...but that is BS. The client with the most entertaining radio commercial ever aired WILL CANCEL if they do not get RESULTS.
Here's the Secret to GETTING RESULTS:
You must Tell your Buyer-Listener What To Do.
You've already established your Target, their Problem and Trusted Expert with the Solution. Now what?
A single, simple, clearly stated Demand For Action. Not a Call-to-Action, a Demand For Action. Polite, but firm. Not a laundry list of different ways to contact, or find the business either - just one. Make it simple and firm. Studies back this up - the more options you give a listener, the less likely they are to respond (I know, sounds weird).
Something like: "As soon as you get to work this morning - before you even get out of your car - call the Bug Killer at XXX-XXXX, that's XXX-XXXX. The Bug Killer Kills Bugs. XXX-XXXX.".
That...as opposed to typical "Calls-to-Action" that I hear all the time like this:
"Open 8am-5pm Monday through Friday, Saturdays 1am - 3pm, Conveniently located at 18672 Main St. in Niceville between Here & Nowhere with plenty of free parking - Call XXX-XXXX, on-line visit our website at www.bugkiller.com, Facebook.com/BugKiller or Twitter.com/BugKiller." ((usually speed-read due to time constraints))
My point is this, and I'm sure others will agree, the Call-To-Action is all too often an after-thought that's just sort of tacked on to the end of a spot, when it should be the climax to the spot. The whole point to your commercial, should be the the appointment (sound familiar?), the phone call, or whatever you've identified as the Action you're Demanding.
Remember, listeners are smart, but they're lost - you gotta tell them what to do. Demand Action!
I know this was kind of soap-boxy, but it's a pet-peeve of mine and I just had this very conversation with a co-worker on Friday.
Randy's advice is spot-on. Too many advertisers want to cram too much information into a single radio commercial. Instead, make each message about just one thing. Create another commercial for the second thing, and so forth.
Roy Williams uses this helpful metaphor, that of building something with bricks. Each commercial is just one brick in the structure, not the whole structure. The common threads that connect one commercial to another, providing continuity - the spokesman, the choice of music, a slogan or positioner, etc. - are the mortar that binds the bricks together.
Here's another way to illustrate the point. Show up with a box (like the kind that holds ten reams of paper) full of tennis balls. Ask the person who needs convincing to stand a few feet away from you, so he or she can catch the balls you throw. Toss one ball at a time and the person can easily catch it. But toss the whole boxful and how many will be caught? Throwing too much information at a listener in a single radio spot has the same effect.
I also second Randy's suggestion to use a single point of contact: the phone number OR the website OR the address -- whichever portal is the most valuable to the client (whichever is the one through which most business is transacted) -- and definitely NOT all of them. Big waste of valuable airtime.
Know that others have successfully traveled the road you're just starting on. Learn from them. Read these books and learn the principles of effective advertising writing from masters of the art (David Ogilvy would be a great place to start).
Avail yourself of training available in easily digestible chunks:
- Roy Williams' Wizard Academy Press offers some reasonably priced training
- Dan O'Day has an online store full of recorded presentations on how to write effective radio commercials. (As mentioned in this discussion, some of his best stuff -- presentations given at RAB and so forth -- is also available for $12 to $24 through Mobiltape.com.)
- Jeffrey Hedquist typically offers great copywriting advice in his columns, too.
