Brett’s note: One of the first blogs I read when I dipped my toe in the blogosphere’s waters was Portland’s Finest Advertising Blog by Phil Bernstein. I still read it today. Phil Bernstein was gracious enough to entertain my own curiosities a few months back, interview-style, and I wanted to share it with you in this 3-part series which will post on the Mondays of the next few weeks. Chime in, and be sure to dig into the greatness that is Phil’s blog. 

Brett Duncan: You call yourself Portland’s Finest Media Rep, but what does that mean exactly? Give us a brief background of what you do, where you work, who you work with and your area of expertise. 

Phil Bernstein: I’ve been working in sales/marketing/advertising in one way or another since 1984. For the past 13 years, I’ve been selling radio advertising for what is now Clear Channel — representing five radio stations and their online equivalents. I like to say I’m in the “ear rental” business — my clients rent the attention of our listeners for 15, 30, or 60 seconds at a time. My job, in oversimplified terms, is to design campaigns that cause our listeners to give their money to my clients.

When people enter my business, they receive a lot of sales training, and tools to help them convince businesses to buy radio advertising. But there’s very little training on how to write good copy. This means that a lot of good money is wasted on advertising that doesn’t work.  I’ve put a lot of my own time and money into learning how to write advertising copy that sells.

BD: Obviously, you can’t just summarize everything you’ve learned about great copywriting into three to four sentences, but could you point out four or five areas or lessons that you feel are either crucial to success or that are repetitively overlooked by advertisers? 

PB: My white paper goes into a lot more detail on these, but here are the most common things to watch out for on the copy front:

1. Simple is good. When clients listen to their commercial, it is the most important thing in the world to them at that moment. When the ad actually plays, the audience is driving, or working around the house, or hanging out with friends at the beach. A complicated message is simply lost on them, because other things are competing for their attention.
2. The ad needs to be about the prospect, not about the advertiser. “Nobody buys a quarter-inch drill bit because they want a drill bit. They buy it because they want a quarter-inch hole.” I’ve heard this quote attributed to five different people over the years, but whoever said it first, it’s worth remembering. Too many commercials are about the drill bit.
3. Write the way people talk. Especially if it’s a “dialogue” spot.
4. Make sure there’s a clear call to action. Ask yourself what you want the prospects to do after hearing your ad — and then tell them how to do it.

BD: So where did the “Portland’s Finest” originate? 

PB: The “Portland’s Finest Media Rep” thing started in the late ’90’s. I’d read a Jeffrey Gitomer column in which he recommended finding ways to make every customer interaction memorable. So one day, almost as a joke, I put “Portland’s Finest Radio Rep” under my name on a fax cover sheet. I got an immediate call back from the client, demanding to speak to “Mr. Finest”. So I left it on the fax template — and added it to my letterhead, my outgoing voice mail message, my email signature, and everything else I could think of.  Eventually I talked my bosses into letting me put it on my business cards. The license plate on my car now says “FINEST”, too. When we morphed into an online company, I adjusted the title to “Portland’s Finest Media Rep.” Everyone ought to have a personal brand, and this one’s mine. 

BD: This seems to point out the importance of personal branding. Any comments on the importance you place on people, not simply businesses, branding themselves, especially in a service-driven industry?

PB: In advertising, you need to approach this with caution — if you feature one of your employees in your ads and the employee leaves, you’ve got problems. On the other hand, I think good people in the service industry should be able to capitalize on their skills, and the reputation they’ve built. Done properly, it’s good for the employee and for the company.

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BD: Where does radio advertising fit into the overall scheme in a 2.0 world? 

PB: The 2.0 world has given everyone a lot more choices in where to get their music, information, and entertainment. Radio is one of those choices. If we don’t give listeners what they want, there are lots of other places they can go: Ipod, satellite radio, and the internet. In my own business, it’s more important than ever to make sure that my clients’ commercials tell the stories effectively. Ten years ago, just about all commercials were 60 seconds long. We now do a lot of :30’s, and I’ve become a big fan of :15’s — there’s significant recall research that indicates that in the right circumstances, a :15 is as effective as a :60. In a short-attention-span world, you’ve got to get to the point before your prospect loses interest, and a :15 forces you to do that. 

BD: So what’s a great example of some good :15 spots? Any links to them? I’m assuming a :15 spot requires the marketer to make some choices in what they communicate, versus :30 or :60. What are the most common choices you see in this instance. Also, can you share any nuggets of the research you refer to?

PB: What makes a :15 work so well is that it forces a marketer to choose one thing to talk about — you simply can’t cram a laundry list of features into fifteen seconds. It won’t work for everybody — if you need to educate consumers on a new concept, or if there’s a legal disclaimer involved (common in auto dealer advertising), you’re going to need more time. But if you’ve got a simple value proposition to offer, you may be able to tell the whole story in fifteen seconds and buy a lot more commercials for your money.

A few years ago my company hired Burke Research to conduct some listener recall research in nine different markets. Among the variables tested were commercials of differing lengths. Overall, :15’s scored 94% of a :60 in ad recall, 78% of a :60 in copy point recall, and 110% of a :60 in brand recall.

I’ve attached an mp3 of a spot I did recently for a real estate company. It won’t win any creative awards – all it does is sell. We used the owner’s voice. In fifteen seconds, he:

1. Lays out the problem — it’s tough to sell a house in today’s market.
2. Offers a solution, and their unique selling proposition — Haskins Realty Group can sell your house, and will charge a lower commission to do it.
3. Tells homeowners exactly what to do — call 503-255-5360.