Radio Sales Café

Ok you talented, highly educated group of radio gurus. . . I have a question for you and kind of want to see where this lands. We sell :90 call in's on all our stations. . . the pros clients seems convinced that doing one of these a week is the best advertising method they can do (even when they have nothing to talk about), some purchase more, the sales person doesn't have to chase ad copy. Cons: I noticed a trend that once a client purchases phoners they usually do not like to purchase ads because they do not feel they are effective, also we have clients that don't prepare a script so the DJ's have to lead them all the way through, also rarely are live call in's :90 long, most if not all exceed the time limits, and for most of you that have been involved as DJ you can't just be rude and hang up?
So do your stations sell phoners or are they for special promotions only? What do you charge for them? What are your feelings on phoners?

The technical quality of most phoners today exceeds what we had "back in the day". We also have the technical ...should I say requirement to tape the phoner before airplay. Most clients like to hear themselves so a tape delay - record the phoner during a music sweep - answers most of your discipline problems for time. I f you are selling phoners as a premium - I assume :90 seconds costs the same as two :60's or better... who cares if that's all they buy? One footnote... everybody and his brother will follow suit. Creative spots breed copycats.
So make hay while the sun shines!

I think sometimes we forget the listener when we brainstorm spots. I don't mean the potential customer, I mean the listener. Exteneded phonce conversations that drag-on are painful - for the air talent, for the listener, for the PD trying to keep the audience for the AE's to sell. So the calls should be pre-recorded so there is a chance to edit out pauses, mis-steps, etc - and keep the call to the prescribed length.
When they have success with these, great! Edit them down to :60s for a traditional commercial scedule. That sounds like a win for everyone.

Over the years, I've heard some great campaigns built on phoners. It takes a client who knows what he wants to accomplish and a DJ who's genuinely interested in helping the client make the most of the opportunity. When that relationship "clicks," it can make for great radio - conversations that entertain listeners and help brand the client. (I'm going to have to dig into the archives to see if I can't find an example or two to post here.)

Personally, I'd be reluctant to sell once-weekly spots though. Regardless of the technique, equipment, or content...it's still a commercial. And one commercial a week doesn't constitute much of a presence. My inclination would be to insist on running at least once-a-day...better still, do one every morning and repeat it 2-3 more times throughout the rest of the day, exposing the message to different audiences. A good idea, especially one involving so much preparation and effort, ought not to be squandered or sold too cheaply.

Dave's comment about copycats is well-taken -- another reason to put a premium price-tag on the opportunity, with the DJ/talent getting a portion of that revenue, to encourage his "ownership" of the campaign and to discourage half-hearted advertisers from devaluing the concept.

Phoners are like gold around here! I can't think of any other thing we do that generates a response as quickly. I love it when my clients tell me their phone was ringing even before they were off the air. However, just like anything else they can be abused. And they are not a good fit for every client. I actually have one client who pays someone to be at her business every Thursday afternoon just to do her phoners. She realized that she was not very good at them but still recognized how effective they were so she hired out. I think it all comes down to your relationship with your client. If they trust your expertise, you can have those conversations about keeping to 90 seconds and copy notes. After all, its all about helping their business , right?

Wendy,

My only comment about this is what you've already alluded to, and that is the time element. In my exprience a :90 second phone interview can easily become 120 seconds or more unless the on-air personality develops an exit strategy that he/she employs to close out the spot. We do very few of these and when we do they are, by a large margin, the most expensive ads on the station and reserved for very special situations.

Phoners are great for small markets. The first one I was involved with was in 1988. A sales rep said she had sold a call in. I thought it was crazy. 23 years later that same business owner is calling in and she is a household name in the town, sometimes we talked about store specials, some days we talked about the Grammy's the night before. Everybody knew (knows) this person (business), now.... she is on 5 stations in the market.

 

Morning and afternoon shows.... why not wrap in this call with events of the day, and the sales pitch for the client too.

 

Just think about it, a realtor could feature the house of the day. Restaurant - meal of the day. Realtor - house of the day and so on.

 

If your client (the business) becomes a household name, you keep the sale, the client gets the business, life is good.

 

Sometimes it is a ego thing for the client, but it does get results.