VO-BB - 19 YEARS OLD!

melissa eX

That's the best quote from today's WSJ article on why Google and Radio didn't work.

bobsouer · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 5:59 am Post subject:

Melissa,

Thank you for the link.
_________________
Be well,
Bob Souer (just think of lemons)
The second nicest guy in voiceover.
+1-724-613-2749
ISDN, Source Connect, phone patch

Yoda117 · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 6:04 am Post subject:

Someone needs to forward that response to XM-Sirius.

The commercials are so bad, I've gone back to AM/FM.
_________________
Voiceovers by Gregory Houser
Philadelphia based Voice Actor

Blog - A man, a martini, and a lot of microphones

Deirdre · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 6:12 am Post subject:

Well, if you're going to annoy someone, you might as well do it with class.

I remember Dan O'Day talking about screaming car sales commercials in the wake of 9/11— people were questioning the taste of shouting at people on the radio in those peculiar days following the attack. His response was something like: if it seems tasteless now, it has always been so. You're just being properly sensitive at the moment.
_________________
DBCooperVO.com

ccpetersen · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 6:21 am Post subject:

Deirdre, interesting commentary on the post-9/11 ad world.

One of my acting coaches talked about it this way -- that the peculiar silence we experienced on the ads for a short period after the attacks sort of signified that we were all speechless. That we couldn't give voice to all the things we were feeling, and that we couldn't have tolerated the shrieking ads whose noisy clamor seemed cheap and tasteless after the true horror of that day. Gradually, of course, we got our voices back, along with the tacky ads of car dealers shouting from the tops of signs, etc.

(We, meaning I suppose, mostly in the U.S. since I have no idea how the ads changed, or if they did, throughout the world.)
_________________
Charter Member: Threadjackers Local 420

Lee Gordon · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 9:30 am Post subject:

When I was a production director I always had this argument with the sales people, who wanted to goose up schedules with "value added" spots (usually 30s to supplement the 60s -- i.e. extra work for no additional benefit) or just drop the prices to increase the sot volume. My position was that radio is virtually the only business where raising the price actually improves the product.

If you raise the price just high enough, you can take in the same amount of revenue (or even more) but sell fewer spots. Selling fewer spots results in more actual programming and less tune-out, potentially leading to higher ratings, which makes those spots more valuable to the advertisers.

Conversely, filling unsold commercial time at deeply discounted rates is actually counterproductive because unlike any other business, radio "inventory" is just time that has to be filled anyway so extra inventory costs the station nothing extra but using it can be detrimental.
_________________
Lee Gordon, O.A.V.
Voice President of the United States
www.leegordonproductions.com
Twitter: @LeeGordonVoice

Gregory Best · Posted: Wed May 13, 2009 12:06 pm Post subject:

Lee, you are right on. When I was a PD it was a constant battle with the sales dept that wanted to "whore" the station with cheap easy to sell campaigns. I am so glad I am out of that game.
_________________
Gregory Best

greg@gregorybest.com

KaseyKruz · Club 300 Joined: 18 Apr 2008 Posts: 336 Location: Michigan

A good sales pro can sell a spot no matter the price if the ratings are there and the show surrounding the spot is good. I often asked sales how they would sell if no one listened to the station. I would often get blank stares and even a stock retort, "well if we were't selling you wouldn't get paid", to which they would usually get interupted with the response, "we would get someone else to sell then". That would always get a dirty look. People will buy if it is a product they like, and if people like the station, the sales will reflect it. I can't stand the "dollar a hollar" sales weasles. It just shows how lazy and untalented they are.
_________________
Does life start at 40?

Chuck Davis · Posted: Fri May 15, 2009 9:41 am Post subject:

"I don't want to irritate my audience for cheap money,"

And now that the Portable People Meter is in place in more markets every ratings period, irritating the listener is plain and simple poison.
_________________
Wicked huge.....in India.
www.chuckdaviscreative.com

Eddie Eagle · M&M Joined: 23 Apr 2008 Posts: 2393

COURVO · Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 1:13 am Post subject:

What car ads?

Our TV station is going broke from the dearth of them.

'Lost 4 Chrysler dealerships this week. Since last October, close to 10 dealerships overall

CourVO
_________________
Dave Courvoisier - Las Vegas, NV
http://www.CourVO.com
CourVO@CourVO.com
Courvo's "Voice Acting in Vegas" Blog: http://www.CourVO.biz
on your phone at courvo.mobi
702.610.6288
"I'm not a news anchor, but I play one on TV."

Lee Gordon · Posted: Sat May 16, 2009 1:38 am Post subject:

bransom · DC Joined: 06 Nov 2008 Posts: 650 Location: St. Louis, MO

Couple things:

One, Ed Christian (quoted in the WSJ article) is a really smart guy. I was lucky enough to work for him for a while, long ago, before he started Saga. I'm not surprised he didn't want the Google deal.

Second, I think most of the discussion about sales tactics ignores the realities of dealing with ad agencies and media buyers, at least in major markets. In those media buys, which often make up 90% of a station's revenue, buying is done by mathematical formula. Hit the magic number and your station is in the buy. Go over, and you're out. Yes, selling matters, etc. But only to a point ... a small point.

Eddie Eagle · M&M Joined: 23 Apr 2008 Posts: 2393

donrandall · Guest