Reflection Post 5

This week's lecture and tutorial were all about creating a radio ad for a product, specifically towards university students. Creating or writing something like this is never an easy task as there are a few pointers that you need to take note of.

One of the few pointers that you need to take note in writing an effective radio ad is the length of your radio ad. Depending on your slot in the radio advertisement (15s, 30s, or 60s), you must be sure of the time limit you are given and you have to be precise. Therefore, while writing (eg.) for a 30 second advertisement, you should have 7-8 lines. It's not easy, as you need to cram in all your important information into it while leaving an impression in the listeners' mind.

Another pointer to take note is to plan what you want to say in the radio ad. While you want to inform your listeners with as much as info as you can, try to keep it clear and concise and only make list on the important and necessary points. Also, you wouldn't want to list out too many different points, you will not want your listeners to go all confused. Thus, it is not easy as you need to know what is necessary and what is not. Just because you have 30 seconds of airtime, doesn't mean you should cram the ad will full of words but are unnecessary. 

The third point is to use a strong opening statement in your radio ad. You don't have much time in a 30 seconds ad. Thus, it is important to get the listeners' attention in the first few lines. It's not an easy task writing one as you need to create a question, preferably an open-ended one that all listeners can relate to.

The fourth point is to include key attributes of the company and the company's personality into the radio ad. This is also not an easy task as you need to know and understand your company well. Without having a clear understanding of the company, you wouldn't be able to show the key attributes and the personality in the ad. Therefore, the ad wouldn't be as effective as it would have.

The final point that is needed to be taken account for is to write an effective contact info for your radio ad. Even though they are just a phone number or a website address, not everyone could remember them in 5 seconds or less. Therefore, writing an effective one so that the listeners could remember it is not an easy task. By using simple numbers like 1300-88-2525 (Pizza Hut) or 1300-888-333 (Domino Pizza), it could help listeners remember the numbers easily. Also, by writing them in a jingle, it could also help the listeners recall them easily too.

In conclusion, writing an effective radio ad is not an easy job as you need to take note of a few points that are needed to create an effective one. With these points, you will make worth of that 30 seconds of ad knowing that listeners will listen and also remember some info from it.

By: Renvin Kaur Sidhu