Today is an event-filled one for HD Radio.
I was quoted in this LA Times article about the phenomenon. Meanwhile, a slew of new ads have been released for radio stations to rip and play.
I have listened to all the spots and I have the following questions:
1. What is the goal of the campaign?
And don’t say “increase awareness” since awareness never sold anything. Benefits, solutions to problems, that’s what sells stuff.
To my ear, the goal is unclear. Further, each spot seems to strike a different note. The most common buzzphrase is “radio revolution” which is a vast cliche. The equally fuzzy “audio explosion” is referenced a few times, too.
2. What is the message of the campaign?
Well, there are several messages. Each rendered in a characteristic chit-chat style which sounds like every other chit-chat radio spot, to my ear anyway. The Mark Driscoll spot I posted previously is considerably more vibrant – and simpler, too.
3. Will the listener understand what the heck it is?
Maybe, but not without a lot of very close listening and oodles and oodles of frequency.
4. What do we want the listener to do?
Only one of the :30’s mentioned the new radio you need to buy (assuming I was hearing them closely enough). The fact is: If you don’t go to the store, you don’t get HD radio. Shouldn’t this message be more prominent?
In fact, shouldn’t the sole purpose of the spots be to bring consumers into contact with actual radios?
The SOLE purpose?
Shouldn’t it?