Radio Advertising Production: Regulations and Costs

Issues that must be considered in terms of radio advertising:

Compliance

The overarching principles of this Code are that advertisements should not mislead or cause serious or widespread offence or harm, especially to children or the vulnerable. Broadcasters are responsible for ensuring that the advertisements they transmit comply with both the spirit and the letter of the Code. All compliance matters (copy clearance, content, scheduling and the like) are the ultimate responsibility of each broadcaster. The ASA may decline to investigate where there is a dispute which, in its view, would be better resolved by another regulator or through the Courts.

Rules

Advertisements must be prepared with a sense of responsibility to the audience and to 
society.
Advertisements must comply with the law and broadcasters must make that a condition 
of acceptance. 

Harm and offence

Principle: Advertisements must not be harmful or offensive. Advertisements must take account of generally accepted standards to minimise the risk of causing harm or serious or widespread offence. The context in which an advertisement is likely to be broadcast must be taken into account to avoid unsuitable scheduling. Advertisements must contain nothing that could cause physical, mental, moral or social harm to persons under the age of 18.

Rules 
Advertisements must not cause serious or widespread offence against generally 
accepted moral, social or cultural standards.

 Advertisements must not exploit the special trust that persons under the age of 18 place 
in parents, guardians, teachers or other persons. 

Advertisements must not include material that is likely to condone or encourage 
behaviour that prejudices health or safety. 

Radio only – Advertisements must not include sounds that are likely to create a safety 
hazard, for example, to those listening to the radio while driving.

How does this relate to my advert ?

Intellectual Properties Research

What is Intellectual Property?

Intellectual Property (IP)

Intellectual Property or 'IP' is a broad term that is used to describe the results of creative and innovative endeavours. It is described as 'intellectual' because it is the result of the application of the mind.

It is described as 'property' because, just like other property, it can be owned, sold and transferred, leased or given away.

Types of intellectual property include:

1. patents (for new or improved products and services)
2. trade marks (for logos and brands)
3. registered designs (for the shape or appearance of a product)
4. plant breeder's rights (for new plant varieties),
5. copyright (including software, databases, and other copyright works), and
6. circuit layout design rights.

Confidential Information is sometimes also called intellectual property, although it does not have all of the features of the items described above. Confidential information can be referred to as trade secrets,or know how, and can include items such as a client list, manufacturing specifications, business and marketing plans.

Radio Production Task 2b: Question 4

Stages of Production

Research:
This was the first step in which I had to do some research about my product. I researched into the different companies in which my product relates to. This is a crucial step when producing a radio advert, as you would need some sort of idea to base your product on.

Brainstorm Ideas:
Brainstorming is when you come up with the initial idea of how your radio advert will go, what it is about, how you will produce it whether you will use a voice recorder or a studio e.t.c. In this stage you have to take into consideration of the research you did, and you have to keep your target audience in mind.

Script Writing:
The script is when you plan on what you will say in the advert. This is stage where you take your ideas from the brainstorm and base your script around it. This is a very crucial stage because without the script you most probably won't have a clue on what you will be saying in your radio advert. Writing the script is pretty easy once you have the basic knowledge of what you want to say. In terms of creating a professional radio advertisement, script writing can be quite expensive, this is because you will have to hire someone who can produce a good script for your advert.

Record:
This process is when you record what you have written on your script. In this stage you can either record in a professional studio, where you have the best equipment to make your advert sound professional. However, before you record you should make sure the script is thoroughly checked throughout. For example look for spell errors. In terms of the budget, this process would require a lot of money due to the fact that you'd have to pay.

Editing:
The editing process is when you ad in the music bed to your recording. You also have to edit out some mistakes or unwanted background noises. When doing this process you must use a software in which you are comfortable with to edit your advert, you can also add some special effect such as distorting your voice when you know what you are doing.

Complete:
This is the stage where you finalise you advert, checking if there no distortions or if other voices are too loud preventing other voices to be heard. This is when you mix down your advert and convert it to an mp3 format.

Summarise the duties and skills needed by a Radio Commercial Producer

Essential Knowledge & Skills required for a Radio Producer

Radio Producers need the following:

ability to generate original ideas, and to think creatively about how to communicate them

excellent writing and story-telling skills, which they can adapt for different audiences and platforms
when necessary, an understanding of how to use their voice to communicate effectively with listeners

knowledge of the Radio market, different station and programme styles, and audience demographics

the confidence and tenacity to pursue information, overcome obstacles, and pitch ideas to senior colleagues

ability to work independently but also as part of a team

self-motivation and adaptability

ability to work effectively under pressure, react quickly, and meet tight deadlines

determination, diplomacy and excellent interpersonal skills

empathy and patience, the ability to build rapport and draw information from people

ability to coach and develop talent in others

a comprehensive knowledge of the subjects relevant to the Radio genre in which they wish to work

a thorough knowledge of the law, ethics and industry regulation as they affect Radio production

knowledge of when it is necessary, and how to acquire, the relevant clearances and licenses, including copyright and music clearances

knowledge of the requirements of the relevant Health and Safety legislation and procedures

a high level of IT skills - particularly good word-processing and data handling skills

ability to learn how to use a variety of recording equipment and to operate different radio studios

ability to conduct effective internet research, use relevant computer software for audio editing, and, when necessary, to manipulate visual images or edit video, and upload all such material for use on websites.

Which of these skills do you have?

I have a  high level of IT skills - particularly good word-processing and data handling skillsI have the ability to conduct effective internet research, use relevant computer software for audio editing, and. when necessary, to manipulate visual images or edit video, and upload all such material for use on websites.

Task 2b

Which of the radio(s) stations would be most appropriate to reach your target audience and why? 

The radio station i have chosen is Smooth radio. the reason being that smooth radio reaches 3,153,000 (6%) adult listeners each week. This would help my radio advert because i'm targeting people who have suffered or have lost someone to cancer. Seeing these statistics about adult listeners, i would guess that some of them have r know someone who has cancer. Another reason why i've chosen Smooth Radio is that, it excludes appeals to both a male and female audience, but with a slight female majority (54%), this help my radio advert as it is targeting both males and females. Smooth's male listenership totals 46%.

What times of day would your radio advert be broadcasted? Why?

The time (s) of the day in which my radio advert will be shown is 11pm. The reason I chose this specific time is because the radio advert station itself starts at 10pm, so if I showed my advert when the radio station starts, not many people would be tuned in. Plus at this time some people would going to work, so when they tune in they will hear the advert. 

How long would your advert run? Why?

I have chosen to make my advert 60 seconds is because, 60 seconds is enough time to write a 60 second advert that makes your message clear than a 30 second advert that leaves doubts and questions.
You need to include specific details to help persuade. Specifics are always more believable than generalities. Close the loophole. Answer the question lurking in the listener's mind. 

But don't bore your audience by answering questions no one was asking.You're in a business category that's new and not easily understood. If you need to create the realization of need before you can sell your solution, it can easily take 60 seconds.You need to "baffle them with bull." 

If you sell a generic commodity, and your strategy is for people to buy from you simply because they like you better, you're going to need a world-class creative team. These ads are, without question, the hardest of all ads to write. But they can also be the most entertaining. These are the times when your production people can shine like the sun. Inspire them but don't instruct them. Buy them food, give them praise, and remind them that they're geniuses and that yes, everyone misunderstands them but you. Production people live to create ads like these, but you've got to give them time, encouragement and freedom.

How much cheaper than Television is radio advertising?

Radio advertising is more affordable than television advertising. This is due to the fact that it reaches target audiences at a lower cost than making a visual advertisement. Radio is three fifths as effective as TV, but only one seventh of the cost. So radio can be a much more cost-effective medium than television for advertising purposes, if it's used correctly.

Which times of the day cost the most to place a radio advertisement?

The times of the day which cost the most are early mornings and late afternoons.

Reflection and Feedback

Effectiveness of techniques used e.g. Storytelling devices and conventions.

For my computer game idea, I created an action, supernatural and fighting game. For my inspiration I used games such as the ‘Tekken’ series, the ‘Street .I used quite a few conventions in terms of the genre. For example my game’s genre is action, supernatural and fighting. Keeping that in mind, I designed my characters to suit the style of the game e.g. Cadmus has a hooded coat and a flaming sword and Oriax is wearing battle Armour and holding a weapon.  These conventions will make it easier for the audience to understand what type of game it is. In terms of the way the story is told, I chose to you both text and cinematic (animation). The reason being that if I only used text, the game would getting boring because I know that people don’t like to read as much when playing a game, so that’s why I chose to put some animation just to mix things up.

Possible Improvements

In terms of improvements, I guess I could minimize the amount if text I use in the opening sequence and input some cinematic footage.

Music Workshop

Interpretation of Aloe Blacc's 'I need a dollar'

This is my fourth music video edit. For this task me and Damilola did Aloe Blacc's ' I need a dollar' music video. I experimented with different transitions and fades. The theme which we tried to put across was sadness and misery because, the song is of a poor person needing some money because he doesn't have none. So we tried to capture the mood using the weather ( it was rainy and cold).

The Original music video