“Many of the country's largest national broadcasters are on the verge of bankruptcy, and the Radio Advertising Bureau announced that Q1 2009 was the industry's worst-ever quarter in terms of ad spending.”
Something sad and pathetic has indeed happened to radio at large. (Though certainly something high and mighty is happening at Radio Twit.)
I was recently sitting at a conference table with the great air personality
Radio is no longer run by broadcasters, and if advertising is the lifeblood of radio, the commercials are no longer created by anyone who Gets It or gives a damn.
For years, I’ve watched helplessly as radio professionals create little globs of self-pleasuring audio, thinking they were creating sales messages. I’ve listened to everything from local spots to national campaigns and wondered, Who on earth let this crap have life?
For sure, there are radio people and agency pros who understand how to create great radio advertising.
But too often, radio advertising is a victim of wholesale ignorance. The writing is weak and sloppy. The production is uninformed and self conscious. And at every level, from local to national, all is presided over by people gleefully leading advertisers down the merry path to Hell.
How did this happen? And how can it be corrected? Is it even correctable?
I only know that it pains me to have to write this. And I have no answers. But if this industry doesn’t undergo some serious self-examination and implement some extraordinary self-correction, our favorite broadcast medium (and arguably the most powerful advertising venue in history) is going to become a vast wasteland that pales by comparison to anything Newton Minnow could dream up.
Of course, I mean all this with love.
Posts
Blaine,
ReplyDeleteDon't disagree with your premise at all. But there are pockets of hope throughout the radio landscape, both within and outside of our industry. These exceptions may not disprove the rule, but at least they're a breath of fresh air - and a glimmer of hope that the real "disease" might yet catch on.
Those of us committed to raising the bar are challenged first to set an example in our own work; it's easier to say this than to practice it consistently in the face of conflicting demands on one's time. (Reminds me of a Winston Churchill quote that an old sales trainer was fond of using: "Sometimes it is not enough to do our best. Sometimes we must do what is required.")
So, we attempt to get it right ourselves, example being a powerful influence, and we take advantage of the opportunities presented to us to encourage, instruct, and inspire others to do likewise.
Onward and upward...
Rod--
ReplyDeleteI only hope there are more of you out there. Keep 'em flying. No, wait. more importantly, keep 'em raising the bar.
bp