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5/15/00 "I Tried Radio And It Didn't Work"
An Open Letter To Advertisers
Dear Advertiser,
I understand that you’ve decided not to buy Radio. I respect that, and I’m not even going to try to change your mind. You’re an intelligent adult, and I’m sure that you had your reasons.
If I were guessing, I’d guess that you tried Radio, and it didn’t work, right? You believed the glib promises and smooth assurances of a sales rep who turned out to be a con man. I’m genuinely sorry that you got burned, but I want you to know that it wasn’t Radio that didn’t work; it was the sales rep that didn’t work.
Wormy, gutless sales reps will say and do almost anything to make the sale, even when they know that you’re going to be disappointed with the results. These gutless wonders always seem to have a slick, plastic-coated response to whatever you say, but the simple truth is that they didn't have the courage to tell you that your message was weak or that you were airing too few ads to see the results that you were expecting. Heck, I’ll bet your rep didn’t even bother to ask WHAT you were expecting, right?
Chances are, the gutless sales rep agreed to let you "test the waters" and sold you too few ads to see any real results. Or maybe they let you run a weak, unconvincing ad. Either way, now you're saying, "I tried Radio, and it didn't work."
So, if you’ve decided to not use Radio, I understand. An incompetent sales rep burned you, you're still smarting from the pain of the wasted money, and you don't plan to ever try Radio again. I'm not surprised. It happens all the time.
You want to know the truth? The truth is that every Radio station in America has an audience, and a well-written message airing the right number of times always gets fabulous results. The problem is that you were given a weak dose of Radio, and you rejected it. Now that you were vaccinated with a limp ad and a weak schedule, you'll never see the white-hot miracle that would have been yours if only a real Radio rep had convinced you to do Radio right. You're not likely to ever take the plunge and get Radio Fever. Gosh, you would've loved it.
Will you please do me one small favor? E-mail or fax me the name of the gutless weasel who told you that all you had to do was reach the "loyal audience" and everything would turn out okay. I want to call the weasel’s boss and see if I can get the weasel fired. I'm totally serious. Gutless weasels deserve to be fired, because they robbed you of the fabulous success that would have been yours if only they had held their ground and insisted that you do Radio right.
But now we'll never know.
-- B. Eric Rhoads
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From the Publisher
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