I’m only slightly kidding. Mr. Hewitt, a top 100 talk radio show in the US, is just plain smart. He’s written a couple New York Times best-sellers, graduated from Harvard, is a law professor, and has a continual line-up of very smart people of all political stripes come on his show. You don’t usually get that pedigree with talk radio hosts.

So people often label him “the smartest man in radio”.

And it’s very good, informative radio – your personal politics aside. I’ve got to say that he often gives liberals, centrists and progressives a fair shot on his show, and through listening to the discussion, you always learn something.

He’s also become quite a bit of a cable news star, often stepping in when they want a conservative opinion on a given issue from a well known, well-spoken conservative without the screaming and diatribes.

He can also sell. I guess when you’re a pretty bright guy and people know that you’re not going to endorse just anything, you’re going to be pretty credible.

Ok, so he’s a morale crusader and thinks he knows what’s right for you. But that extends to what you’re trying to sell…assuming it makes sense for his audience.

Got to meet him a few weeks ago:

Hugh are you?

Meanwhile, you’ve got conservatives – who outside of radio would be labeled boring troglodytes – bring passion and humor every day. Say what you will about Hannity, Beck and of course, Rush; a lot of their content can be funny and it’s eminently interesting radio, whatever side of the aisle you’re on.

People like Randi Rhodes and Stephanie Miller are changing progressive radio for the better. They bring humor through their quick John-Stewart-like wit, their cast of characters on the show with great timing and impressions, and their banter with guests.

It’s what Air America needed but never really had.

I don’t know if it helps a liberal host endorse a company any better – but I’ll tell you this: it’s going to keep listeners, and that’s more than what they did in the past. I think the trick with the typical progressive listener will be suspending their natural more cynical nature and be open to endorsements from their favorite host(s). More on writing for conservative audiences versus liberal audiences later.

The short of it is that progressive radio is embracing what makes liberals more fun: humor. Which makes me think, maybe Tom Leykis should come back to the airwaves – this time, going back to where he started: politics.

Thanks for your show, Stephanie Miller. Enjoy New York!

Here’s a bunch of us meeting with Stephanie at her New York studio.

Stephanie Miller stays awake during boring business meeting!

Petros Papadakis is going to be a star. A national star. Yes, he’s fairly well known in the Los Angeles sports community and yes he reaches into pockets across the US through some syndicated radio and cable sports.

But that’s the tip of the iceberg for this cat.

Petros is going to be an empire, a machine, an industry. I’m not kidding. I’m glad I got to meet him yesterday because I think in a few years I’ll have to get through two handlers, a secretary, a PR spokeshole, and some beefy security to say hi to him as he gets into his limo.

Why? After all, he’s basically just a local sports talk radio host with some light syndication across the US. He’s also done some color commentary for football games and I believe he does the PA announcements at USC basketball games (Petros was a tailback for USC in the late 90s into 2000).

But he is magic. He’s so fun, so intelligent, so funny, so off-the-cuff, so charming that he captures a lot of my listening drive home. I think he could easily be as big as Jim Rome or Colin Cowherd some day. But here’s the thing: I think he’s bigger than sports. I think he could be a Carolla or even Stern (heck, maybe he’ll even figure out how to make centrist-politics work on the air instead of needing to be extreme left or right).

He can do sports, and he’s especially good at the college level – he filled in for Rome the day after Duke beat Butler for the NCAA basketball championship and I swear that first fifteen minutes was some of the best sports talk I’ve ever heard. He brought passion, he brought history and he brought humor. When he’s on a roll, it’s impossible to turn the channel.

But he’s much more than sports (and he’s not even much of an Xs and Os or numbers guy – he’s talking from his gut more than anything else). Petros can talk at length about movies, pop culture, all types of music, the Supreme Court, relationships, and English literature, his college major. And I’ll be honest, he’s actually more interesting to me when he is talking about non-sports topics. And he continues to bring the fire and the passion no matter what he’s talking about. He also takes big risks and, a la Charles Barkley, says what’s on his mind WHEN it’s on his mind.

In fact, I have friends who hate sports – hate everything to do with sports – and listen to Petros every day. I’m telling you – magic. You need to listen for yourselves.

What about radio endorsements? Does he bring it? Oh yes. I’ll need to find some examples and post them – but he gives probably the most passionate, knowledgeable read out there. I’m sure programming goes crazy on his live reads – because he’s always giving the client more than 60.

I need to shut up now, before my sales people read this and my rates increase.

Here’s the deal: Petros was born to do this – and his radio listeners and future radio listeners will sure be glad he was.

Here’s me with Petros after copious amounts of red meat.

Greek and Geek

Here’s a video of Petros being Petros. He’s an acquired taste for a lot of people – but that’s true of anything that stands the test of time.

Never, Never, Never

1. Never promise everything you plan to deliver.
Leave something to become the delight factor. That unexpected, extra bit you deliver “because we love you” will go a long way toward helping the customer forgive and forget any areas where you may have fallen short. Great ads are written in three steps: (1.) How to End. What will be the Last Mental Image your ad presents to your customer? Begin with the end in mind. (2.) Where to Begin. A clear but interesting angle of approach will gain the customer’s attention. (3.) What to Leave Out. Surprise is the foundation of delight. What will you intentionally leave out of your ad so that you can deliver a delightful surprise? What will you leave out so that the imagination of the customer is engaged?

Scott says This is usually going to be the case. However, in a very competitive environment, where the competitor has ABC and D to offer, you may have to show everything under the kimono. “Not only do we have ABC and D but we do E”, assuming E is of interest to people.

2. Never begin a sentence with the word, “Imagine…”
If you’re planning to take your customer on a journey of imagination, plunge them into it. “The wheels of your airplane touch down, but not in the city you were promised…” “You must now choose between two good things…” “If you had more enemies like these, you wouldn’t need friends…”

Scott says Yeah. This is probably a good call, even for endorsement radio.

3. Never include your name in an ad more often than it would be spoken in normal conversation. Cramming your name where it doesn’t belong is AdSpeak. Back when Americans encountered one thirtieth as many ads each day, the rule was to repeat the name of the advertiser as often as possible. Do this today and your ads will sound like they were written in the 1940s.

Scott says I think an endorser can get away with more mentions than you would hear in a typical, produced ad. If it’s a monotone read, it’s going to come across as an ad. But if there’s a lot of passion from the endorser, lots of mentions can convey excitement.

4. Never conjure an unpleasant mental image.
Fear and disgust work face-to-face, but they often backfire when used in mass media. Conjure these unpleasant emotions in the minds of the masses and you’ll leave your listeners with a vaguely bad feeling attached to your name. They’ll want to avoid you, but they won’t be able to recall exactly why.

Scott saysThis makes sense as a general rule of thumb. But some endorsers/hosts have a lot of leverage. For example, Howard Stern can get away with unpleasant mental images. The listener ascribes the negative image to comedy and Stern’s way of talking about things. After all, his whole show revolves around UMIs (my new acronym for ‘unpleasant mental images’). Furthermore, the ad sounds more like integrated content, which is usually ideal for the advertiser. The listener stays fully engaged and doesn’t have their advertising guard up.

5. Never respond to a challenge from a competitor smaller than you.
Drawing attention to a smaller competitor makes them larger in the eyes of the public. Conversely, if someone bigger than you is foolish enough to shine their spotlight on you, dance in it.

Scott says Definitely.

6. Never claim to have exceptional service.
Most people won’t believe you. And those who do believe you will expect more from your staff than they can possibly deliver. It’s a lose/lose proposition. Rather than promise exceptional service in your ads, tell the public something objective, factual and verifiable that causes them to say, “Wow. Those people really serve their customers.” Never praise yourself. Do things that make the customer praise you.

Scott says True. The advertiser shouldn’t claim it, but the endorser can, in the context of “I’ve shopped there and received exceptional service…and not because I’m a star. I looked around and they were treating everyone like royalty!”

7. Never mention the recession.I understand how tempting it is to say, “In order to help you combat the recession we’re offering…” But all that really does is remind the customer that now is not a good time to be spending money.

Scott says I think the endorser can acknowledge the ‘trying times’, which can lead right into the story of why your product makes trying times less-so. Rather, because the economy stinks, this product makes EVEN MORE sense.

8. Never make a claim you don’t immediately support with evidence.
Unsubstantiated claims are the worst form of AdSpeak. Give the customer facts, details and objective proof if you want to win their confidence. Specifics are more believable than generalities.

Scott says I also generally agree with this. But an endorser making a claim is often all the evidence you need!

9. Never use humor that doesn’t reinforce the principal point of your ad.Here’s the litmus test: If remembering the humor forces you to recall the message of the ad, the humor is motivated. Good job. But if recalling the humor doesn’t put you in memory of the ad’s main point, the humor is unmotivated and will make your ad less effective. Sure, people will like the ad. They just won’t buy what you’re selling.

Scott says I disagree a bit here. If the host is usually humorous and the show is built with comedy, unrelated humor within the spot makes the ad seem more like content. I’ve heard some great Bill Handel and Howard Stern “ads” that sell a lot of product but contained humor completely unrelated to the message.

10. Never say things in the usual way. From billboards to storefronts to packaging to messages on T-shirts, ads whisper and wheedle and cajole and shout to win our attention. A 1978 Yankelovich study reported that the average American was confronted with more than 2,000 advertising messages per day. But that was 30 years ago. When Yankelovich revisited the study in 2008, the number had jumped to more than 5,000 messages per day. The mundane, the predictable and the usual are filtered and rejected from our consciousness. Win the customer’s attention with words and phrases that are new, surprising and different.

Scott says This is going to be true for 90% of the advertisers out there. However, the more your product or service is needed, and the less the competition, the more you’re able to hit the nail on the head and say your message in a usual way. In that lucky case, once your frequency starts to climb,

then

would be the time to mix up the messaging and use all the Robert Frank you want.

Yesterday I heard an endorsement ad for Sony products. I can’t even remember who the endorser is. I’m sure I need that 3+ frequency

Was it Dan Patrick? Rush? I forget. I’ll post when I find out.

—————
Got it. It was Dennis Miller talking about Sony HD TVs. His ‘endorsement’ is lacking a lot, though. He needs to say “I got one, saved 30%, will never buy one from anyone else again, and the picture blows me away”. Nice attempt, Sony, but you’re not maximizing the concept.

What advertisers need is Dick. I’m talking about Dick Clark, naturally. Despite the depiction by Michael Moore, could there be any better personality endorsement than Dick Clark? He’s squeaky clean, America loves him, and you couldn’t imagine him lying if his life depended on it.

If I recall, he was doing some Columbia Record commercials 25-30 years ago; and I can only imagine that that he sold a jillion records (well, we know he sold a bajillion on American Bandstand).

I had the opportunity to talk to him during my second year at Leo Burnett (before it was Starcom Media) and he literally gave me an hour of his time…didn’t look at his watch once.

Who would even be a close approximation in radio these days? It wouldn’t be the rabid right or rabid left. Seacrest? Yeah, probably. But Seacrest would probably talk about anything if paid enough. You get the sense that Dick Clark would have only taken money if he believed in the product. Maybe Leo Laporte is comparable, but he isn’t famous enough. Probably not Imus, either

Above is a picture of me (on the far right) with DC back in ‘95 or 96. He looks ridiculously young. I look like Pudgy the SuperNerd. My past supervisors Jill Huseby and Rob…oooohhh, I can’t remember his last name. Anyone know?

That’s not the point. The fact that Canon, a huge multinational corporation, is using endorsement radio is a very smart move.

The internet has commoditized everything, it seems. There are shopping sites, independent review sites (not to mention “independent” review sites), comparison sites, Brand sites, Brand microsites, affiliate sites, and the list goes on. If you find the right site, you can look at price comparisons, userability comparisons from actual purchasers and reviewers, and great offers on what you ultimately buy. You add all of Canon’s competitors to the mix, and you have a very hard time cracking the purchaser’s thick and jaded skull beyond price discounts. (And outside of maybe 2% of Americans, who’s really going to know the difference between one camera and another when you’re talking about the big brands?)

But if I’ve learned one thing, and I’ve probably learned at least two things, it’s that peer-to-peer reviews matter.

Enter radio endorsements. Again, in a very cluttered environment, by which I mean competitors and advertising as a whole, endorsement radio could be the difference between a flat year and a significant bump in holiday sales.

Take me, for example. I don’t know one camera versus another. But the ad I heard on KFI made it seem like if I’m going to buy a camera this season, I’d be foolish not to consider the Canon. At the very least, it put Canon in my consideration set…which is half the battle.

Awwwww snap, smart move Canon.

Listen to Marotta talk about Canon

The Wall Street Journal talks about the 5th and best P of marketing: Papal.

“Companies like Apple, Natuzzi, and Serengeti are vying for association with the Pope.
He is said to own a specifically engraved white Apple Ipod…Benedict XVI is striking a snazzier profile, presenting international brands with a welcome change of pace. Being associated with the pope is worth at least 100 times more than an A-list celebrity because the pontiff has a more devoted following, says John Allert, chief executive of the British unit of Interbrand, a global branding consultancy that is part of the Omnicom Group Inc.”