The annual PromaxBDA Africa, which celebrates the art of on-air promotion and marketing, will take place at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg on 26 October. Screen Africa spoke to some of this year’s conference speakers about the art of engaging an audience within a changing media landscape.
The question of what makes a good promo has a very different answer today to what it was a few years ago. This is the opinion of regular PromaxBDA Africa speaker and project manager at South African company Reel Media, Bron Schultz.
“Promo making in South Africa has now reached a standard where there are a lot of “good’ promos on air. Technically, the industry has reached a very high level of delivery but the problem is that a lot of these “good’ promos are very same-ish. The design is lovely, the writing is clever, the editing is sharp but their efficacy is declining. Playing out 30-second spot after 30-second spot, with similar technical proficiency is creating a new kind of, very beautiful, wallpaper.’
According to Schultz promos should be part of a broader thinking campaign that extends to other media. “I’m not talking about expensive billboards or magazine runs for every programme, but clever use of mobile and online platforms that engage the audience instead of just delivering information.’
Creative director of LifeStyle Channels Australia, Jens Hertzum, adds that an effective promo needs to be different: “Keep the message striking, simple and memorable. Engage on a level that grabs the audience’s attention in a unique way – the only way to stand out is by being different, so communicate in a way that’s a little bit different from the pack.’
He notes that the effective use of audio, which his session at PromaxBDA Africa will focus on, is one of the many tricks that can make a promo stand out and cut through the clutter. “The audience has an innate desire to engage with something smart, so make something smart for them to engage with and allow them to complete the communication loop.’
Clutter
Maurice Marable, creative director and VP of Creative Services at BET in the US, believes one of the secrets to a good promo is being clear about the assignment and your creative goals. “I am a big fan of research and understanding the nuances of the target audience. Developing creative concepts that break through the clutter happens when you apply good research with great writing.
“Also follow through on your concept – every element must reinforce your message emotionally or practically. That includes great music, appropriate sound design, graphic design and casting the voice. If you treat every element with equal importance, you will produce a great promo.’
Creative director and copywriter Roseanna Donovan, based in Australia, believes that a good promo, as with other forms of advertising, should be relevant to the product or brand and to the audience and should show respect. “We’re intruding into the leisure space of the audience – let’s be polite, good company and not wear out our welcome.
“Look for the idea in the product, not in your own head. What’s this message really about? How can you express that in a way that no-one else is doing? What’s being over-done at the moment? What’s not being done much at all? What’s the “brand truth’ of this product? Genuineness is also important. Avoid pretension, jargon, cliches and buzz-words. Find the truth in the product and talk about that. And don’t write for your colleagues or friends or the awards panel, write for the audience.’
Founder and CEO of IfWeRanTheWorld Cindy Gallop has a background in brand building, marketing and advertising. Her advice for a good promo is: “Do it differently. Do it interactively. And do it where they least expect it.’
Schultz adds: “Stronger ideas that truly engage an audience to think about and choose their content are necessary. Offering digital collateral or extras on mobile and online platforms or creating communities around products or content creates loyalty and loyalty is the key word to cutting through the clutter.’
Changing landscape
Gallop believes that the “old world order’ of entertainment is collapsing with the nature, form and delivery methods of content changing. “Stop trying to protect your old world order business model. Redesign an innovative, disruptive new world order way of making money,’ says Gallop.
Schultz notes that audiences are increasingly difficult to reach. “It used to be simple as the audience sat there and waited for you to show them what you wanted to, when you thought it would be most effective. However now, as the audience engages with several media platforms at the same time – Facebooking and Tweeting, while watching their programme – channel hopping or whizzing past your work, you have to work harder to break through.
“Some broadcasters have started using social media effectively to supplement their reach, but I don’t think that there is enough innovation happening within the field of promos, or, more broadly, broadcast marketing in general.
“The market is fragmenting and will continue to fragment further as more and more content is disseminated in a manner that allows viewers to decide when and where they will view. Broadcast marketers need to start getting ahead of the curve and thinking about “permission marketing’ and how to put their message out there in a way that will allow viewers access to it, when they want it.’
Hertzum adds that audio can also play an important role in grabbing attention in a multi-screen environment. “Good audio is vital to a good promo and the old adage still holds that lacklustre visuals can be saved by a good music track, clever sound design or strong voice-over delivery. Furthermore, when watching TV, people are often playing with their iPads, reading or making a sandwich rather than being totally captive to what’s on, so good audio alerts and engages them far quicker than a visual.’
According to Marable, the secret to engaging an audience is to be fearless. “My approach is to find a way to touch people – be it emotional or pure
entertainment. Breaking through is like writing a mini movie. You must have a great concept and story. People don’t want to be talked to, they want to feel something; they want to be entertained. They want to laugh, smile, or even cry. I am always pushing for “WOW!’ I want to sweep the audience away.
“Along with that, I push for high production value. That doesn’t mean spending a lot of money; it means making sure I am pushing every piece of the promo towards the best possible execution.’
Donovan warns creatives to be aware of the difference between a big idea and big execution. “A big idea is apparent straight away, on the page and in the script. Big execution usually needs a big budget and a lot of explaining and lengthy rationales and doesn’t convince anybody, usually because it’s all show and not much substance.’
Trends
According to Schultz, international trends point towards the creation of virtual communities and brand evangelists. “In other words, accessing your very specific target audience, and recruiting them to become brand or content evangelists of the likes of Apple fans.’
Hertzum adds that he has noticed a trend of promos being far less conceptual. “More reliance on overly produced design and shoot work has made us promo makers lazy and the use of key skills such as scriptwriting and audio design have been overlooked and under used; much to the detriment of our output. It’s time for promo makers to stop looking to advertising for techniques and to reignite their own skill base by using copywriting and audio as their new promo weapons of choice.’
Donovan notes that there is a lot of “sameness’ in Australian promos. “For example, promo makers are using the same, frequently unpleasant voice-over; same irritating presenters; same cliched graphics and camera techniques. Leave your ego at the door, but keep your creative courage with you and try something new. You’ll never bore anyone into buying what you’re selling.’
By Linda Loubser
screen africa magazine – october 2012
