The First Five Seconds: How to Keep Radio Listeners for Another Twenty-Five
by Nick Matthews
The following excerpt is from the beginning of a radio ad that Write Label developed for a client:
DAVE: Thanks for the food, Tom! These burgers are great.
TOM: Sure thing, Dave! Glad you liked it!
(SFX: Plate smashes)
Whoa, what happened? Things started ho-hum but there was a surprise: a plate smashes (emphasis on smashes, which sounds different from a plate that’s crashed to the floor). A smash is deliberate… so what’s going on? Are Dave and Tom about to fight?
Let’s hear the rest of the ad to find out:
DAVE: Why did you smash the plate?!
TOM: You were done eating! Don’t worry, I’m sure someone else will clean it up!
Well, that’s… interesting. Smashing plates when they’re done eating? AND someone else is going to clean it up? Hopefully, the listener is curious to learn what’s going on here.
That intro is the hook.
In advertising, you’ve got one chance to hook the listener. Just one chance. And it has to happen in those first five seconds. That’s when the listener is deciding whether to tune out the noise, change the channel, or let their mind simply drift.
There are many types of hooks. One efficient, to-the-point hook is to start with a relatable problem and offer a solution:
ANNOUNCER: “Are you going through a divorce and paying out the nose? The family law firm of Brainerd, Jones, and DeWitt knows how to save you money.”
Problem, solution. Simple but effective.
Write Label’s favorite hooks to write are those that are a little out there and funny. To seize the listener’s attention, our pool of writers craft hooks that do any of the following:
· Ignite curiosity
· Spark imagination
· Surprise the listener
The plate-smashing hook is an example of surprising the listener, and the surprise is delivered via a story, which is natural for engaging with listeners in order to sell products or, in this case, an idea (the ad was written for a sanitation department that wanted to reduce illegal dumping and the “someone else will clean it up” mentality).
Let’s look at a hook that sparks imagination, written by Write Label for a mosquito spray ad:
SFX: Buzz of mosquitoes, then sound of WWII-era plane descending
MOSQUITO 1: Perspiring kids playing tag, 11 o’clock!
SFX: Abrupt plane ascension
MOSQUITO 2: What the? Something’s off! Wait, wait, new target! Ohhhh, yeah! 4 o’clock! Out-of-shape, sweaty dad struggling to lift a bag of charcoal! Who’s thirsty?!
That’s a fun concept to imagine: mosquitoes as fighter pilots. This hook sets up a conflict, too: mosquitoes vs. humans. Conflict is a key ingredient in storytelling.
Why do we like these hooks so much? Because hooking the audience these days is difficult. Listeners are bombarded by not only countless advertisers craving their attention but also devices and social media tempting them to check-in. That’s why you need a hook that immediately gets their attention. That requires boldness and anything but the usual.
A lot can happen in five seconds. Hook your audience for another twenty-five with fun, offbeat premises. Contact Write Label today to tap a pool of experienced writers inexperienced in normalcy.
