When You Hit 'Em, Hit 'Em Hard

Buried within my December 18 posting — "Don't Water Down The Good Stuff" — is an important lesson of which I first became consciously aware during a conversation with Dick Orkin. He was telling me about a particular campaign the Famous Radio Ranch had done in South Florida.

The big U.S.P. was the superiority of the client's service over that of the established market leader: the dominant regional newspaper. They made that the focus of the entire campaign: how lame the newspaper's service was compared to their client's (which was just being introduced to that market).

One of the local radio stations balked at airing the spot, because they didn't "want to upset the newspaper."

"How much money does the newspaper spend advertising on your station?" asked Dick.

"Uh...Nothing. They've never advertised with us."

"So what's the problem?"

The campaign aired as written, and it was hugely successful: Soon the client had a larger market share of that particular service than the newspaper.

As Dick told me the story, I had an aha! experience. When writing copy, I've always looked for strong themes and strong lines. But until that moment I never consciously sought to pounce on them; I viewed them as vehicles to help deliver the sales message.

But now when I find myself writing an "edgy" line that powerfully drives home that message, I'm quite willing to throw away the original script and start all over, with that provocative line as the commercial's focal point.

To use a boxing metaphor: If you discover your fighter has a powerful left jab, don't just hope that he occasionally throws it; build your fight plan around that left jab.

2008: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ONE BLOG I ALWAYS READ

For most of the world, 2008 officially began sometime in June, when I published my very first blog post. Radio people argued over whether it's a good idea always to put music under the DJ's voice, and the Internet hasn't been the same since.

I've been sharing The Best Radio Video Ever for years now, and I recycled it as a blog posting.

Hotlining Is For Wimps took dead aim at short, insecure PDs.

A bunch of friends and I reminisced about our First Days On The Air.

I paid tribute to America's (and probably the world's) greatest living radio personality.

Ira Glass did the work for me in this posting — far better than I could.

My video camera revealed the seamy underbelly of Dick Orkin's Famous Radio Ranch.

I fessed up to a hoax I played on San Francisco listeners.

Ever meet a dumb radio station receptionist?

I have no idea who called this fax spammer.

Whoever it was, he called another representative of the same fax spamming company.

Hollywood voiceover coach Nancy Wolfson revealed her true feelings about radio people.

Voiceover Hall-of-Famer Patrick Fraley did his best to disguise his awe of me.

Don LaFontaine left us too early. Unless you saw it here, probably you never saw this video.

Everyone thinks my international travels are so glamorous. They are.

A lot of people never heard the Terry Moss production that caused the FCC to change its rules.

Ross Brittain demonstrates the true glamor of a radio star's life.

My attempt to get everyone excited about one of the coolest songs ever...Well, kind of flopped.

My 3-part series on how to react to a competitor's misleading contest seemed to amuse people.

My favorite rendition of Cream's "White Room."

Finally, one or two people shared my awe at this demonstration of How To Write A Hit Love Ballad.

All in all, I think it's fair to say that this blog has never had a finer year. And I owe it all to my dozens of loyal readers. Next year? More of the same, except for the new stuff.