subject: How To Advertise Real Estate On The Radio [print this page] Dan O'Day:Hi, this is Dan O'Day again from Radio Copywriting Masters. We have a quick case history today from Phil Bernstein. Phil is an account executive from Clear Channel/Portland. And Phil, you're a salesperson who came to my Copywriting Masters class, and you even paid your own way. Is that right?
Phil Bernstein:That's correct, yes.
Dan:I understand you have at least one case history to share with us that somehow came out of that class. Can you quickly tell us about it?
Phil:Sure. This actually was something that had been a conversation that had happened long before the class actually took place. It was the owner of a real estate company in town who had done some advertising on my stations, had done some advertising on some other stations in town, was usually writing his own copy and I know, from having talked to him, was not thrilled with the results. I told him that I was going down to a three day copywriting seminar in Los Angeles and asked if I could use his company as an example and work on a script. He said that would be fine.
Dan:Did you have any fear that mentioning that to him in advance would somehow undercut your authority as an expert?
Phil:I didn't really think so because I didn't think I really had any authority as an expert at that point. So, this was something I hope would bring me some.
Dan:So, he had been advertising off and on various stations in the market. Who wrote the copy for the spots that he was running?
Phil:He was usually writing his own.
Dan:Oh, really? So, what was he writing?
Phil:It was a variety of things. At the time, he was running on another station with an ad that, in effect, compared selling your home with being out at a picnic in the park -- that when you work with this company, it was just that easy.
Dan:You're kidding.
Phil:No. I'm serious, and I've sold a home. In the best of markets, it's no fun at all.
Dan:But he meant it's like a picnic in Central Park at 2 o'clock in the morning?
Phil:No, not necessarily. I think he meant during the day in Laurelhurst.
Dan:Wow. Buying or selling a house with us is like a picnic in the park.
Phil:Yes. And there's a lot of evidence of the contrary.
Dan:Yeah, a little believability issue. Was he satisfied with the results?
Phil:He had not been happy with the results. He had shared that with me. But he had not been happy with anything else I had brought him, either.
Dan:So, what was it that you came up with? What did you bring back to him?
Phil:Well, he was interested in being involved in our traffic network, which involved 15-second commercials. And the beauty of a 15-second commercial is you have to get to the point in a hurry. Thinking about what somebody would need from a house transaction You talk about the principle of WHAM: Why and How will it Affect Me? As a home owner, what I want is to be able to just put the house on the market, close on the deal and get back to my life. So the ultimate theme that I came up with in your class was, "List it, sell it and move on."
Dan:What a great core message. What a great way to say it. List it, sell it and move on. You understand that a large percentage of people who hear this are going to steal that line for their clients?
Phil:Well, I guess as long as each time it runs, I get a nickel. That's fine.
Dan:There you go. Everyone's on the honor system. "List it, sell it and move on." And you had to do it in 15 seconds?
Phil:Yes.
Dan:And I seem to recall you saying to me that at one point you were having trouble getting that message down to 15 seconds?
Phil:Yeah, to be able to tell the story in 45 words or less. I was having some trouble with that. One of the things you taught us was that often you can take a look at what you've written and ask yourself whether the commercial would still be as good if you eliminated the first sentence. Sometimes, even the first paragraph. So, I took the beginning and took it out, and it didn't seem to hurt at all. That helped me get down to 15 seconds without damaging the core message.
Dan:I don't know of any lesson I've learned that's been more valuable to me then cutting out the first paragraph if it's a :30 or a :60. I learned that from Dick Orkin. It saves my life just about every time I write copy. So, you looked at what you'd written. You simply deleted the first sentence and then you read it and asked yourself, "Is it any weaker?" Is that pretty accurate?
Phil:Yeah, that's it. And it did not seem to be.
Dan:So if it's not any weaker, you didn't need that first sentence.
Phil:Right.
Dan:So, you've got a 15-second spot that's built on the core message of "List it, sell it and move on."
Phil:Right.
Dan:Took it back to Portland. What happened then?
Phil:I called the client up and I said, "I'm back. I've written a commercial. Would you like to see it?" He said, "Could you come out this afternoon?" He was eager to see it, which was different.
Dan:Why do you suppose he was eager?
Phil:I suppose because I had been to school. This had the stamp of approval of having consulted an outside expert.
Dan:Ah! OK. If nothing else, he was hoping to pick your brain or get some of the knowledge that you had paid for, but he would get it for free?
Phil:Perhaps. Or at least he felt that what I was going to bring him had more credibility because it had come from that kind of an exercise.
Dan:Did you have the spot recorded, or was it just a script?
Phil:Just a script. So, I brought the script down.
Dan:And you handed it to him to read to himself?
Phil:No, I actually read it to him. And after I read it to him, I handed it to him.
Dan:What was his response?
Phil:He said, "This is very different from what I've been doing," and then he said, "I think I'd like to go with this."
Dan:Wow. Were you expecting that kind of immediate commitment?
Phil:No, I was not.
Dan:I know the answer to this. This is a set up. So, I guess you weren't prepared, huh?
Phil:No, I actually was. Dan, I'm a trained professional and I had a proposal in my briefcase.
Dan:So you whipped out the proposal. Can you share with us the dollar amount on that deal?
Phil:The dollar amount that I brought in was three months for about $18,000. The commission was enough to pay for the class including my travel expenses and actually wound up in the black.
Dan:That's not a bad deal.
Phil:No, it wasn't a bad deal at all.
Dan:OK., Phil. I'm going to put you on the spot. You have a few moments to share one key tip. What is the one thing people should take away from this success story that can help them with their advertising?
Phil:I think, probably, the one key to it is you have to, whatever the length of the commercial, whether it's 30 seconds or 60 seconds or even 15, somewhere within there has to be what you call the "WHAM Principle" -- Why and How does it Affect me? Me, the listener. Probably the real takeaway is to have something that is a realistic benefit to the listener, that the listener will get by doing business with the advertiser. You've got to get to it quickly, you've got to explain it simply and you've got to get them to do what you want them to do.
Dan:That's actually one of the good things about a 15 second format, which has lots of limitations. But it forces you to identify your core message, it forces you to identify how it affects the listener, and it forces you to say it really concisely.
Phil:It forces you to get to the point and then shut up. I think that's not a bad thing.
Dan:[laughs] In life, perhaps.
Phil:Yes.
Dan:Final question. I think it's been maybe nine months since this experience, since you went back and signed the initial $18,000 contract. Is he still on the air?
Phil:He is still on the air, and I can tell you that the real estate market around here is not a picnic in the park. So, the fact that he is still with me nine months later, number one, has made this a profitable investment. And number two, tells me that the advertising is working.
Dan:That's great to here. Phil Bernstein, Clear Channel/Portland. Thank you very much for sharing your success story with us.
