RADIO ADVERTISING LESSON: Don't Sell Features OR Benefits

danoday.com/blog Radio advertising copywriters have been taught to sell "benefits" instead of "features." But a successful ad campaign requires more than just "benefits." Radio copywriting expert Dan O'Day explains.
Here's an important radio advertising lesson for you:
Commercials should not focus on "features."
Nor, contrary to what you've learned elsewhere, should your ads focus on "benefits."
Instead, radio copywriters should concentrate on selling the RESULTS of the product or service being advertised.
Consumers don't want the product. They don't care about the product. They care only about what the product can do for them.
I don't care if Ed's Toothpaste has been judged the World's Greatest Toothpaste. I want to know if it can keep my teeth cavity-free, my smile gleaming white, and my breath fresh and inviting.
Let me illustrate with a real-life example.
Right around the turn of this century, my office manager began nagging me to get TiVo.
This was before most cable television providers offered their own DVR (Digital Video Recorder) options. TiVo pioneered that product category.
It also was in the days when people used video cassette recorders (VCRs).
My office manager nagged me for a year and a half.
She had TiVo, and now she was trying to convert me.
"You really should have TiVo, Dan."
"Why?"
"Well, it lets you record any program."
"Um," I ventured, "did you ever hear of a VCR?"
"Well, yeah, but you see, you can record a program and you can watch it whenever you want."
I said, "Yeah, see, I can actually take any videocassette I want and play it whenever I want."
"Dan, you don't understand. It changes your entire television viewing experience."
That was the problem. Nobody wants to have their television viewing experience changed.
Did you wake up this morning thinking, "Gosh, if only I could find a product or service that would change my television viewing experience?"
Eighteen months after my office manager began her Make Dan Get TiVo campaign, I had lunch with a friend of mine. He had just gotten TiVo.
I said, "Really? So what do you think?"
"Dan, it completely changed my television viewing experience."
I wanted to scream.
"What do you mean?"
He said, "I don't channel surf anymore."
I said, "Gee, I thought you were a busy guy. You're telling me that you frequently spend time at the edge of the sofa with a remote control, looking for something to watch?"
"No," he said. "That's not what I mean. What I mean is with Tivo, whenever I turn on my television, there is always something I want to watch."
That was the day I decided to become a TiVo customer.
So, the product or service for which you're about to write a radio commercial: What are the results the consumer will enjoy by purchasing that product or service?
The answer to that question will tell you what your radio copywriting efforts should be able about.

[@leoschumaker225]

Learned a great lesson. Thanks.

[@djcrazygatl]

Thanks for reminding me of the obvious, sometimes we loose track of what this is all about.

[@trevorw3062]

Thank you Dan. I’ll try this now!

[@radiovoice70-RadioGoodies]

Please let me know if it helps! (It also makes copywriting more fun, more interesting.)