One of the most important aspects of creating effective radio ads is to be conscious of the amount of copy you put into a 30 second spot.

Our Executive Creative Writer, Dennis Johnson, made the comment in a meeting the other day, “Just because you can read the ad in 30 seconds doesn’t mean your audience can hear it in 30 seconds.”

It’s a truly great point that a lot of people overlook. A 30 second ad can become overcrowded fast. If a commercial has included too many offers, has long directional locators or dealership positioning statements (“where we do business the right way” or “you are going to like the people here”) the key message can get lost. Many people in the automotive advertising arena are very guilty of overloading a spot with too much copy.

Whether you go by word count to know how much is too much or whether you time the ads out as you read them, always keep the listener in mind: They must be able to hear what you are saying before they can respond or react.