Olivia LyonsAdvanced PortfolioAncillary 2 Research Codes and Conventions of Radio Advertising

Codes and Conventions of Radio Advertising

Commercial radio stations make most of their income by selling "airtime" to advertisers. As I will be creating a radio advertisement for my advanced portfolio, advertising the newspaper I will be making, I have carried out a research task to find out about the codes and conventions used in radio advertising. I have collected secondary research from a range of different sources such as videos, websites and books in order to help me collaborate my research and create a detailed report. The research I have done will then later help me create a successful radio advertisement.

The first secondary research source I used was a video from YouTube. From this video I have taken the following quotes:

‘A radio advert can range from 15 seconds to 60 seconds but the average time for an advert is around 40 seconds’ (video)

‘The voiceover will be upbeat and lively to attract attention and typically uses an English accent and will speak very clearly for audibility’ ‘research quote’ (video)

‘Often contains a music bed or “jingle” to make the advert memorable with a voice over on top’ ‘research quote’ (video)

From this research I discovered that a conventional radio ad lasts anything from 15 seconds up to 60 seconds, therefore when I create my own I will take this into consideration in order to conform to conventions. As it states that the average length of an advert is 40 seconds I am going to aim for my finished product to be this long in the hope of the advert not being too short or too long. From watching the Codes and Conventions of Radio Advertisement video I also found out that radio adverts typically have a voiceover that uses an English accent, and that speaks very clearly. I understand the importance of this as a clear voice is important for audibility and for attracting the audience’s attention. From this research I have decided that I myself will record the voiceover for my radio advertisement as I feel I have a voice that can be clearly understood. This will also help for reliability purposes. In addition to this, I found from the research that a convention of radio advertisement is to have a music bed or jingle in order to make the advert memorable. This tells me that it is important to make a radio advert stand out from the rest by incorporating something in order to make it memorable. I will take this into consideration when making my own radio advertisement as I think adding some sort of music or jingle would stop the ad from being purely speech which could be seen as boring to the audience, and may affect their view on the product, in this case being the newspaper I will be creating.

The second secondary research source I used was the internet, where I used a range of different websites to help me research and understand the codes and conventions of radio advertising. From three different websites I have taken the following quotes:

Olivia LyonsAdvanced PortfolioAncillary 2 Research Codes and Conventions of Radio Advertising ‘Whilst the most common spotlengths are 30 and 40 seconds, spots can in effect be any time length up to 60 seconds or even longer’ ‘research quote’ (online)

‘There’s a relationship between advertising volume and advertising effectiveness. The greater the volume the less effective any individual advertisement is likely to be’ ‘research quote’ (online)

‘You have sixty seconds. Packing too much into the ad overwhelms the listener, triggering the natural cognitive processes that minimize sensory overload’ ‘research quote’ (online)

‘This is radio. The theatre of the mind. In TV you can just show someone. In radio, you show them with sound. It’s both a burden and a benefit of radio advertising because it’s both harder to do but more impactful when done well’ ‘research quote’ (online)

The first and third quote, taken from two different websites, links with the information I found from the first secondary research source I used. From this I found that a clear convention of radio advertising is for the ad to last any time length up to 60 seconds. Further research, using a different website, then made it clear to me that it is important not to pack too much information into the ad and to keep to the point so that the audience don’t become overwhelmed. I agree with this and think it is important in order for the message to get across to the audience as their attention may divert to something else if they become confused. From the research I also discovered the importance of sound and volume. Sound is extremely important in radio as sound is the only thing that can be used to connect with the audience, however from carrying out the research task I also found that the greater the volume the less effective a radio ad is likely to be. I will take this into consideration when creating my own radio advertisement by ensuring I use good sound that will attract and appeal to the target audience, but also ensuring the volume is at the correct level.

The third and final research source I used was a book called Advertising for Dummies. I used a book in order to collect research from a wide range of sources. From the book I have taken the following quote:

‘A single voice reading 60 seconds of clear, concise, fact-filled copy that motivates and sells listeners is always a good bet. No frills. No jokes. No unrealistic dialogue. Just the offer — the selling proposition — read by a good, strong voice. You may want to toss in some background music or even some sound effects.’ ‘Research quote’ (page 147)

The quote I have taken links with previous research in relation to the codes and conventions of radio advertising. For example, from each research source used I have identified that radio ads can last any time up to 60 seconds. The quote I have researched from the book also explains how an advert should be to the point ‘just the offer’, and use no frills, jokes or unrealistic language. This then ensures the audience don’t get confused about what is being advertised and don’t divert their attention because they don’t understand the purpose of the ad. The quote also states how some background music or sound effects can be used, which is a convention I identified from previous research. I think it is important to include some form of music into a

Olivia LyonsAdvanced PortfolioAncillary 2 Research Codes and Conventions of Radio Advertising radio advert as it is the sound that catches the audience’s attention therefore it is important to make it interesting, stand out and memorable.

Overall, I think the research task has been a success. I have been able to find and understand clear codes and conventions of radio advertising as well as being able to define my own interpretation of how I would incorporate conventions into my own work. This has helped massively and will later help when I analyse radio adverts and produce my own.

Secondary Research References

Videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcgsU3Y61rg24/10/13 MidgieeexCodes and Conventions of Radio Advertisement

Onlinehttp://www.rab.co.uk/planning-your-campaign/ways-to-advertise-on-radio/spot-advertising07/11/2013Spot Advertising

Onlinehttp://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2009/11/advertising-volume-and-advertising-effectiveness.html#more7/11/2012Al RiesAdvertising Volume And Advertising Effectiveness

Onlinehttp://www.strategicmediainc.com7/11/2012Article Number 22The Top Ten Keys To Creating Great Radio Ads

BookAdvertising For Dummies, 2nd EditionGary DahlPage Number 147ISBN: 978-0-470-04583-1