1. Alix Kelly
A2 Media Advanced Portfolio
Ancillary 2
Conventions of Radio Advertising
Radio advertising is aimed at selling a product or service to a target audience on “airtime.” There
are four main parts of advertising; these are humorous, surreal, dramatic and realistic. These types
of advertisement are there it informs their target audience on certain events that may or may not
concern them, or to entertain them on the things that give them a sense of escapism. In my
coursework I will be looking at creating a newspaper for a local area. For my Ancillary research I am
analysing the use of radio advertisement and developing an understanding of the codes and
conventions of a radio advert. I have gathered my knowledge from references of various secondary
resources including the internet, videos and books. They state numerous conventions from a music
bed to the time a radio advert should be aired for on the radio. In this report, I will analyse my own
interpretation of these references.
Firstly, to start my secondary research I looked on the internet as numerous websites to find the
most reliable sources about radio codes and conventions. I narrowed them down to three quotes
from three different websites including a blogs and also an article on word press.
1. ‘It is common to hear a music bed in a radio advertisement to make it more
memorable for the listeners. When radio advertisements have no music bed they
can sometimes be perceived as boring and therefore do not maximise their full
potential terms of reaching a large target audience.’ (online)
2. ‘A radio advert is a commercial which is heard to promote a specific
brand/product. They are heard to convey a message (PSA) or persuade you to buy
the product and grab your attention. Radio commercials range from short and
snappy ads at 10 seconds to 45 second radio ads.’ (online)
3. ‘Will contain the slogan of the product, Language will be tailored to demographicThe voiceover will be upbeat and lively to attract attention and typically uses an
English accent and will speak very clearly.’(online)
From the information I have gathered here, I can see that a radio advert will use music as an
effect to make their radio advert stand out and unique to other radio adverts. This avoids it
being boring and perceived as a non-successful advert for the audience. The music used
depends of the different aspects of your audience. For example, an advert aimed at a
younger audience might use music which is from a recent chart release or a jingle that’s
upbeat and fast paced. However, if the target audience is of a more mature age, the jingle
or music bed might be slower paced and recognised from a different decade to a younger
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2. Alix Kelly
A2 Media Advanced Portfolio
Ancillary 2
audience. In my radio advert I would use an upbeat jingle at the start of the advert, but will
then fade into a more serious low toned jingle as the advert focuses on a serious headline, it
is aimed towards a more mature audience; however it is a local newspaper and will contain
information that is aimed at celebrities. This makes it less formal and serious as other
newspaper such as The Times. My newspaper will be aimed as a cross between Manchester
evening news and The Sun. Furthermore, I can understand that a radio advert is to grab the
attention of the audience. As this is a radio advert, it is much harder to grab the attention of
the audience because it is all audio based. For example, films that are advertised on the
radio will have to use the most significant parts if the film that are going to grab the
audience’s attention otherwise it could come across as dull and give the film a negative
review. As for a newspaper, they would need to advertise the most important aspects of
their expertise. What is so special about this newspaper? What does it inform its audience
about? These are questions I will take into consideration when I make my radio advert for
my newspaper. I can summarise that radio adverts range from short edgy clips of 10
seconds, to a longer more informative advert of 45 seconds. I will aim to make my radio
advert run similar to this time frame. This means I have enough time to make a clear point
to my audience and also express the most important and valuable points about my radio
advert. Finally, a radio advert will have a slogan that gives it brand awareness to its target
audience. As it is an audio based advertisement, the slogan will have to be short and snappy
but create a distinctive image in the audiences mind. Depending on where their target
audience is located will depend on what language is used. For example, if the target
audience is a young, lively group who live in a built up city, the slogan might be fun and
exciting. On the other hand, if the target audience is men who work in a busy city in London
the slogan might be more serious. In my radio advert for my newspaper, I will make a short
and snappy slogan that will grab the audience’s attention and stick in their mind so that they
will always recognise the music bed and slogan. I will also use my own voice as a voiceover
and speak clearly and punctually so the audience can understand my voice.
Moreover, to have a variety of recourses, I looked on www.youtube.com to find a video that
contained the information regarding the codes and conventions of radio advertising, after
searching I found a valuable source with the following quote.
‘In advertisement there are four different types of advertisement; humour, surreal,
dramatic and realistic’(online video)
I can interpret from this information that radio advertisements are all unique; there are a
variety of different structures that radio companies follow. Humour is about entertainment
and will be made to catch the audience’s attention by making them laugh or telling a joke or
advertising a comedy film that is to be released. This leaves the target audience being happy
and will remember the advert. Then we have surreal, this would be an advert that catch
theseaudience’s attention by being different and odd. This would be used from a product or
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3. Alix Kelly
A2 Media Advanced Portfolio
Ancillary 2
service that has an unusual function. These can fall under the humorous category because
they will have a unique selling point about their product that will stick in the audiences
mind. Thirdly, there is the dramatic advertisement, this makes products seem like “must
have” items and are persuading he audiences to buy the product as soon as possible. These
could also be about new releases in the box office or exclusive deals and offers that might
be available for a short amount of time at retail stores or restaurants. Finally, realistic radios
adverts are done with real people are real life scenarios. These could be reviews, or adverts
that are making awareness about a service such as charities or events that might be
occurring nearby their target audience. For my newspaper, I will make a realistic/dramatic
radio advert as I want the audience to see the newspaper as something you should have
whenever possible and also make it stand out amongst other adverts by making it similar to
a breaking news report on the radio.
My final piece of resource is from a book called “Advertising for dummies” by Gary Dahl. It expresses
the important roles each aspects of advertising are. It narrows down to the details of how to
advertise and grab the attention of your audience to a full extent.
‘Don’t say one thing in your radio advert and another in a print…waters down your
overall advertising impact’ (book)
From this quote I can summarise an important point. When doing your radio advert, you need to
make sure your story line of the advert is the same as what it would be for a newspaper. The story
you have chosen for your radio advert needs to be in your newspaper otherwise you could confuse
the audience you intend to attract. It also “waters down” or minimises you advertising strategies and
will lessen the chance of your target audience relying on your for valuable information whether your
job if to inform or entertain. This book had interesting facts about how to advertise the best way
possible to attract the most of your target audience. It includes tips on different mediums such as
TV, radio and print adverts. It is clear that each medium requires similar key concepts in order to be
a success towards their target audience. This includes continuity, clear and understandable language
and a clear plan for the demographic of their target audience. For my radio advert, I will ensure that
the headline I use to make my newspaper with on my radio advert so the audience can recognise the
newspaper.
To conclude, after looking at these references and interpreting their meaning, I am going to ensure
that I use a suitable music bed for my advert that is going to be recognisable and upbeat to the
audience. I will use a female to do my voiceover and use clear and punctual speech so the audience
can make a clear understanding of what the radio advert is about. I will use the same headline to
both medium and I will also use language that is similar to the demographic of my target audience.
This keeps a clear continuity of my newspaper and expresses a professional and sophisticated
approach. Overall, I can establish my target audience will be a mature but aged between 20-30 and
will be interested in news nearby the area and also celebrity gossip.
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4. Alix Kelly
A2 Media Advanced Portfolio
Ancillary 2
References
1. http://robyounga2media.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/codes-and-conventions-of-radioadverts.html - Rob Young 24/10/2013
2. http://katietedlowe.wordpress.com/units/radio/radio-advertising/ - Katie Ted Lowe
24/10/2013
3. http://lucytayloradvancedportfolio.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/additional-codes-andconventions-of.html - Lucy Taylor 24/04/2013
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcgsU3Y61rg - Midgieeex’s Channel 14/11/13
5. Advertising for dummies
Page 285
Gary Dahl
ISBN – 978-0-470-04583-1
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