Lemons on the Radio

Submitted by Mitch Seigel on Tue, 03/06/2012

When I was a pre-teen I went into an orchard with friends and found some ripe lemons to take home. After picking them from the tree the smell was so good, so fresh. Once home, I pulled a sharp knife from the drawer and cut one of the lemons in half. Mmmm, the smell was so strong. I took one of the halves and ran it across my lips, sipping bits of juice that had oozed out when I had cut it open. Wow…so good. I then bit into the fruit and the tangy sour taste made my body tingle from head to toe…...

Is your mouth watering…maybe puckering from the sour taste? But wait, you don’t have a lemon in your mouth. It’s just in your mind! This is exactly what happens when you listen to the radio and hear an ad describing something for you to buy. Radio is the theatre of the mind, and this scenario happens every day across thousands of stations throughout the nation. There are lemons on the radio.

Different than its media counterparts; television, print and the internet, with radio you don’t see the product advertised, you have to imagine what it looks like. If done well, each individual listening to the message imagines what they want to see, what they want to buy. Writing good copy to take advantage of this sort of theatre is critical to the success of the campaign.

Radio advertising should not just be the television ad without the picture. It should be creative, filled with imagination and directing the listener toward a focus, an idea, a product. The next time you listen to your favorite radio station, consider the lemons I picked when I was a kid. Are their lemons on the radio?

What are your challenges when it comes to buying radio advertising? I look forward to hearing your comments. Until next time …