The power of the promise

A local jewelry store claims, "Noncommissioned salespeople and family you can trust." Not to be overly cynical, but if you must tell me I can trust you, that's a red flag that I can't. And how do you prove that, anyway?

Like all advertising, radio advertising faces the challenge of proving its worth. Advertisers often question whether their investment indeed translates into tangible results. It should be no secret that radio is the most powerful form of advertising for generating brand identity. With its massive reach and ubiquitous availability, radio can get the job done if your client wants to build a brand.

The Customer Promise Advantage

The World Advertising Research Centre (WARC) conducted a study of over 2,000 ad campaigns and found that campaigns built around an explicit and verifiable promise to customers consistently outperformed those that didn't. These "Customer Promise" (CP) campaigns showed significant improvements in brand perception, preference, purchase intent, market penetration and market share.

This is important stuff for when we are creating campaigns. When approaching potential clients, shift from simply creating catchy jingles or memorable ads to crafting a concrete promise that resonates with their target audience.

What Makes a Good Customer Promise?

The most effective promises fall into three primary categories:

Emotional: Highlight the emotional benefits customers receive. This taps into feelings of security, happiness or aspiration.

Functional: Focus on the practical benefits of the product or service. How does it solve problems, save time or improve their lives?

Enjoyable to Buy: Emphasize the ease and pleasure of the purchasing process. How does the brand make the customer's experience seamless and enjoyable?

The Key Ingredients of a Successful Promise

Once you've identified the type of promise, ensure it possesses these three crucial characteristics:

Memorable: It should be unique and be something their competitors can't promise or haven't yet.

Valuable: Customers must genuinely desire what the promise offers, addressing a pain point or fulfilling a need.

Deliverable: The promise must be achievable and easily verifiable by the customer. If they experience the product/service they heard about in the commercial, they're more likely to repeat business with the advertiser.

Actionable Steps for Media Salespeople

Know your client and their customers: Before pitching any ad concept, deeply understand your client's target audience. What are their needs, desires and pain points? The RAB CNA System might help.

Craft a Specific Promise: Work with your client to identify a clear and verifiable promise. Avoid vague statements and focus on tangible benefits.

Emphasize Verifiability: Ensure the promise is something customers can easily experience and confirm. This builds trust and credibility.

Showcase Success Stories: Use the WARC study's findings to demonstrate the effectiveness of CP campaigns—present real-world examples of radio ads that delivered on their promise and achieved significant results.

Position Radio as the Ideal Medium: Highlight radio's ability to deliver targeted messages to specific demographics, making it perfect for reinforcing a customer promise.

If your company has fully integrated digital services, demonstrate how the hyper-targeting of digital can work with radio, both maximizing the impact of each other.

By embracing the power of the customer promise, you can transform advertising campaigns into strategic tools that drive tangible results, build lasting relationships and ultimately, secure more business for both you and the client.

Jeff Schmidt is the SVP of Professional Development. You can reach him at Jeff.Schmidt@rab.com. You can all so connect with him on X and LinkedIn.