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Thirty-Second Spots Enjoy New Focus

Thirty-Second Spots Enjoy New Focus

What’s the ideal length of a radio commercial?
It seems like an innocuous question, but just how important the answer is can be judged from a statement this week from the Radio Advertising Bureau.
The organization put out a statement “for clarification purposes,” saying it was “in response to a publication from the Media Buying Academy that erroneously states, ‘The RAB has been preaching for years that it takes 60 seconds to tell a story.'”
There are suitable times to utilize all radio commercial lengths, RAB said, including :15s, :30s, and :60s, “just as there are appropriate situations that call for comedy, music, sound effects, or special voices.”
The bureau said in the announcement that “the key components of successful radio advertising (are) proper execution and placement. These elements are determined by variables such as brand, target consumer, message, environment, etc.”
Commercial length has received new attention recently due to competitive pressures from satellite radio and thanks to promises by large groups to alter commercial practices to reduce on-air “clutter.”
RAB pointed out that the Radio-Mercury Awards has added a: 30 commercial category that it will debut this year, and that the Radio-Mercury Creative Workshops have introduced a new module on “How To Write Effective 30 Second Radio Commercials.”
Anecdotal evidence and press reports suggest that more stations are also exploring other non-traditional spot lengths, schedules and ad cluster sponsorships.

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