Marketing Reference Library - Marketing Plans, Postioning and More

I find MarketingProfs.com to be a pretty dependable source for resources, and the latest thinking about strategy.  Their rss feed is a great way to stay up to date.

This week, they posted links to essential references in their archives. Since DEI gets asked for these kinds of tools on a regular basis, links to them follow.

Note that you’ll have to register with the site to gain access, but it’s free, and I have not been spammed yet. I will also post these links in the marketing area of deiworksite.org.

The 7 step, 1 day, Marketing Plan: http://www.marketingprofs.com/Tutorials/frey1.asp

The Positioning Statement: http://www.marketingprofs.com/Tutorials/kanzler1.asp

How to Write a Creative Brief: http://www.marketingprofs.com/Tutorials/adcracker_brief.asp

Clear Channel creates new day part -Online

On Frank Barnako’s Media Blog  yesterday he posted an interesting interview with Evan Harrison, Exec VP of Clear Channel about Clear channel’s renewed efforts to bring advertisers to the online world after cutting back on their spot loads on-air 2 years ago 

“Harrison’s job was to remove “the mystery” from the online world.  “It’s no longer there.  The company understands now this is an opportunity.  The concept is to make the Internet an exciting complement to what we’re doing on air.”  With an emphasis on sales, he might have added.”

Read the entire post here

Secrets Revealed - Great Membership Testimonials Pt 3

The Basics
by Jay Allison

The Tips
One advantages to working in radio is that you are low-impact. When setting up interviews by phone, remind your interviewees that you are not a film/TV crew. It’s just you and a tape recorder — non-intimidating. (They’ll still ask you what channel it’ll be on.)

Become comfortable with your equipment. If you are, everyone else will be. Check, clean and test all your equipment before you go out. Put in fresh batteries. Make test recordings. Be over-prepared. Be a Boy Scout. Have everything set up before you walk in. Sit in the car (or the subway station, or the bushes) to load and label your first tape, prepare your next tapes for fast changes, set your levels, etc.

For Vox Pop, go where people are waiting. If it seems appropriate, walk right up with your sentence about what you’re doing and attach the first question to it. I’ve heard it suggested that the best tape comes from people in funny hats.

Remember eye contact. Don’t let the mic be the focus — occupying the space between you and the person you’re talking to so you have to stare through it. I usually begin by holding the mic casually, as though it’s unimportant. Sometimes I’ll rest it against my cheek to show it has no evil powers. I might start off with an innocuous question (”Geez, is this as bad as the smog ever gets out here?”), then slowly move the mic, from below, into position at the side of the person’s mouth, but not blocking eye contact. You’ll find your own way of being natural with the mic, but it is important.

Don’t be afraid to ask the same thing in different ways until you get an answer you’re satisfied with. Remember you can edit the beginning and ending of two answers together, but be sure to get the ingredients. If a noise interferes with a good bit of tape, try to get it again. You can blame it on the machine, but it might be better just to wrap the conversation back to the same place so you don’t get the quality of someone repeating himself.

For repeat answers or more enthusiasm, try: “What?!” or “You’re kidding!” or “Really??” Remember the question: “Why?”, especially following a yes or no response. Don’t forget the preface: “Tell me about…” Let people talk. Allow silence. Don’t always jump in with questions. Often, some truth will follow a silence. Let people know they can repeat things– that you’re not on the air– it’s ok to screw up. And remember to offer something of yourself. Don’t just take. Think of the listener’s innocence; ask the obvious, along with the subtle.

If you’re recording more than one person at a time, get them to gather around you and follow the conversation with your microphone. In general, it’s risky to let the interviewee hold the microphone. Sometimes lavaliere mics can be helpful, but they attract noise and eliminate your control. Try to interview away from hard surfaces — walls etc. For example, don’t record across a desk because you can get phase cancellation from the reflected sound.

If you want a quiet interview, try to get on a couch in a room with curtains and a rug. Set everything up the way you like it before you start. Be sure to check for interfering noise, like air conditioners, florescent lights, refrigerators, traffic, radios, noisy crumpling of candy wrappers in front of the microphone, etc. Get away from noise or have it turned off. A musical background is very difficult to edit. Loud hums are annoying, because they add nothing and don’t make sense.Often a noisy environment is exactly what you want. And be sure also to get the noise by itself without any talking over it.

I often like to move around during interviews. Get people up and walking– “Show me”. This can relax people and take their minds off the recording. Have the person describe where you are and what you’re doing. Refer to objects and sights around you. But try to keep the mic close to them. All this will reinforce a sense of place, action and immediacy for the listener. Moving around also gives you a variety of acoustical environments as structuring options in your final piece… possibilities for movement in time and space.

If you interrupt or overlap your voice with your interviewee’s, you won’t be able to edit yourself out. This will eliminate that sense of the interviewee communicating directly with the listener; instead the listener will be an eavesdropper on your conversation. It commits you to a production decision. If you want to leave your production options open, don’t laugh out loud, or stick in “uh-huh” or other vocal affirmations. You must let your subjects know you’re with them, but use head nods, eye contact and develop a silent knee-slap and guffaw.

If you do want your presence in the interview, think about perspective. Do you want your voice to be very on-mic? If so, then you should move the mic up to your own mouth for your questions. Do you want to defer the primary focus to the interviewee, but have your questions legible? Then, pull the mic back half-way to yourself or speak up loudly. Close-mic…about six inches from the speaker’s mouth and a bit off to one side to avoid P-pops. Go closer if they speak very quietly, or further away if they are loud. Use micing distance as a volume control, i.e. move in for whispering and out for loud laughter. Don’t change the volume at the machine for this kind of quick change. You can use the built-in limiter or automatic gain control (AGC or ARL) in very changeable level situations.

If you are in a very noisy background that you want to reduce, mic your subject even more closely (2-4 inches) and re-set your record levels.

If you use your own recorder, have it set-up by a technician for the type of tape you’ll be using, and use the highest quality tape (Maxell XLl-S or XLll-S or similar) in 60 or 90 minute cassettes, nothing longer. In general, use noise reduction if you have it.

Wind, handling, and cable noise are some of the most common recording problems. Use windscreens/pop-filters and try to get out of the wind. With the body of the microphone, as with so many things, learn to have a light touch. Don’t let the mic cable bang around or rustle on your clothes. Check that all your cables have good, noise-free connections at both ends. Monitor with headphones to check for these problems.

For recording most sounds or voices you want the meter peaking a little above zero, never pegging at the limit. Some machines are more forgiving than others. In general, shoot for a record level between 5 and 8 on the mic input knob. Recording levels are critical. You are trying to keep your levels as high as possible without distortion — by recording at a nice hot level you rise above tape hiss and electronic noise. Setting levels is a balancing act between distortion at the top and noise at the bottom. Don’t use the pause button. It uses up the batteries, and if you’re listening through headphones, it can fool you into thinking you’re recording when the tape isn’t moving.

Once in while, during recording, look to see that the reels are turning. If you have a three-head machine, put it in tape mode occasionally to make sure it’s recording properly. If you have a two-head machine, wind your tape back at some point and listen to make sure everything is ok. Omnidirectional, dynamic mics are the best choice for all-purpose interviewing and basic sound-gathering. Unidirectionals are good for noise rejection from the sides and rear and for stereo in pairs, but they are sensitive to wind and handling. Powered mics (electrets and condensers) have good response and high output, but they are sensitive to wind, handling, humidity and dead batteries.

Try recording with headphones. They are almost essential for stereo recording. And they’re always helpful for catching wind noise, handling noise, cable rustle, RF interference, P-pops, hums you didn’t notice, nervous scratching, and other hazards like forgetting to turn on the tape recorder. If for some reason you must conserve batteries, unplug the headphones.

Make idle conversation when you must turn over or change the cassette, so you don’t break your flow or re-attract attention to the recording gear. But don’t take that moment to inspire a wonderful response. Sometimes I make a list of questions before an interview and half-memorize it. I don’t follow it during the interview, but keep it handy to check before the end to pick up anything I forgot.

Get all the sundry sounds, like phones ringing, dogs barking, clocks ticking, etc. — they can be useful for editing. Leave the machine running for stuff that seems irrelevant…it might not be. Yes, leave the recorder running. If you turn it off, they’ll say the most perfect thing you ever heard. Don’t pack up your stuff until you are gone. Allow people the chance to say things in conclusion. Ask them who else you should talk to. You might want to record them saying their names and what they do. Record sounds from various distances and perspectives. Experiment. For example, a toilet flush is very different recorded from five feet away than it is with the mic resting on the plumbing.

You can’t record too much. Tape is cheap. Collect and catalog sound effects and ambiences. Save everything, including your notes. Don’t erase. Take plenty of extras — spares of everything, depending on how long you’ll be on location — tape recorders, assorted microphones, cables, tape recorder batteries, microphone batteries, tapes, AC cord/adaptors, extension cords, windscreens, headphones, lots of plug/jack adaptors, patch cords, mic stands, shock mounts, Rowi clamp, gooseneck, duct tape, electrical tape, cleaning and de-magnetizing gear, pens, paper, labels…. Label everything. Pop out the safety tabs in your cassettes after you’ve recorded, so you can’t accidentally erase them. Never throw away a master. Make safety copies of precious stuff.

Keep all tapes and recorders away from metal and magnets (this includes speakers, amplifiers, electrical equipment, power cords, etc.) Keep them out of the heat, humidity and direct sun. Protect them in a clean, dry, dust-free place. Be good to them.Remember you can always use your recorder like a dictating machine, either for on-location narration or for note-taking. Don’t forget to look as well as listen. Note specifics about what you see and feel. Immediately after an interview, make some notes about what you remember… what mattered.

Don’t be afraid to ask the same thing in different ways until you get an answer you’re satisfied with. Remember you can edit the beginning and ending of two answers together, but be sure to get the ingredients. If a noise interferes with a good bit of tape, try to get it again. You can blame it on the machine, but it might be better just to wrap the conversation back to the same place so you don’t get the quality of someone repeating himself.
For repeat answers or more enthusiasm, try: “What?!” or “You’re kidding!” or “Really??” Remember the question: “Why?”, especially following a yes or no response. Don’t forget the preface: “Tell me about…” Let people talk. Allow silence. Don’t always jump in with questions. Often, some truth will follow a silence. Let people know they can repeat things– that you’re not on the air– it’s ok to screw up. And remember to offer something of yourself. Don’t just take. Think of the listener’s innocence; ask the obvious, along with the subtle.
If you’re recording more than one person at a time, get them to gather around you and follow the conversation with your microphone. In general, it’s risky to let the interviewee hold the microphone. Sometimes lavaliere mics can be helpful, but they attract noise and eliminate your control. Try to interview away from hard surfaces — walls etc. For example, don’t record across a desk because you can get phase cancellation from the reflected sound.
If you want a quiet interview, try to get on a couch in a room with curtains and a rug. Set everything up the way you like it before you start. Be sure to check for interfering noise, like air conditioners, florescent lights, refrigerators, traffic, radios, noisy crumpling of candy wrappers in front of the microphone, etc. Get away from noise or have it turned off. A musical background is very difficult to edit. Loud hums are annoying, because they add nothing and don’t make sense. Often a noisy environment is exactly what you want. And be sure also to get the noise by itself without any talking over it.
I often like to move around during interviews. Get people up and walking– “Show me”. This can relax people and take their minds off the recording. Have the person describe where you are and what you’re doing. Refer to objects and sights around you. But try to keep the mic close to them. All this will reinforce a sense of place, action and immediacy for the listener. Moving around also gives you a variety of acoustical environments as structuring options in your final piece… possibilities for movement in time and space.

If you interrupt or overlap your voice with your interviewee’s, you won’t be able to edit yourself out. This will eliminate that sense of the interviewee communicating directly with the listener; instead the listener will be an eavesdropper on your conversation. It commits you to a production decision. If you want to leave your production options open, don’t laugh out loud, or stick in “uh-huh” or other vocal affirmations. You must let your subjects know you’re with them, but use head nods, eye contact and develop a silent knee-slap and guffaw.
If you do want your presence in the interview, think about perspective. Do you want your voice to be very on-mic? If so, then you should move the mic up to your own mouth for your questions. Do you want to defer the primary focus to the interviewee, but have your questions legible? Then, pull the mic back half-way to yourself or speak up loudly.
Close-mic…about six inches from the speaker’s mouth and a bit off to one side to avoid P-pops. Go closer if they speak very quietly, or further away if they are loud.
Use micing distance as a volume control, i.e. move in for whispering and out for loud laughter. Don’t change the volume at the machine for this kind of quick change. You can use the built-in limiter or automatic gain control (AGC or ARL) in very changeable level situations. If you are in a very noisy background that you want to reduce, mic your subject even more closely (2-4 inches) and re-set your record levels.
If you use your own recorder, have it set-up by a technician for the type of tape you’ll be using, and use the highest quality tape (Maxell XLl-S or XLll-S or similar) in 60 or 90 minute cassettes, nothing longer. In general, use noise reduction if you have it.
Wind, handling, and cable noise are some of the most common recording problems. Use windscreens/pop-filters and try to get out of the wind. With the body of the microphone, as with so many things, learn to have a light touch. Don’t let the mic cable bang around or rustle on your clothes. Check that all your cables have good, noise-free connections at both ends. Monitor with headphones to check for these problems.

For recording most sounds or voices you want the meter peaking a little above zero, never pegging at the limit. Some machines are more forgiving than others. In general, shoot for a record level between 5 and 8 on the mic input knob. Recording levels are critical. You are trying to keep your levels as high as possible without distortion — by recording at a nice hot level you rise above tape hiss and electronic noise. Setting levels is a balancing act between distortion at the top and noise at the bottom. Don’t use the pause button. It uses up the batteries, and if you’re listening through headphones, it can fool you into thinking you’re recording when the tape isn’t moving.Once in while, during recording, look to see that the reels are turning. If you have a three-head machine, put it in tape mode occasionally to make sure it’s recording properly. If you have a two-head machine, wind your tape back at some point and listen to make sure everything is ok. Omnidirectional, dynamic mics are the best choice for all-purpose interviewing and basic sound-gathering. Unidirectionals are good for noise rejection from the sides and rear and for stereo in pairs, but they are sensitive to wind and handling. Powered mics (electrets and condensers) have good response and high output, but they are sensitive to wind, handling, humidity and dead batteries.
Try recording with headphones. They are almost essential for stereo recording. And they’re always helpful for catching wind noise, handling noise, cable rustle, RF interference, P-pops, hums you didn’t notice, nervous scratching, and other hazards like forgetting to turn on the tape recorder. If for some reason you must conserve batteries, unplug the headphones.
Make idle conversation when you must turn over or change the cassette, so you don’t break your flow or re-attract attention to the recording gear. But don’t take that moment to inspire a wonderful response. Sometimes I make a list of questions before an interview and half-memorize it. I don’t follow it during the interview, but keep it handy to check before the end to pick up anything I forgot.

Get all the sundry sounds, like phones ringing, dogs barking, clocks ticking, etc. — they can be useful for editing. Leave the machine running for stuff that seems irrelevant…it might not be. Yes, leave the recorder running. If you turn it off, they’ll say the most perfect thing you ever heard. Don’t pack up your stuff until you are gone. Allow people the chance to say things in conclusion. Ask them who else you should talk to. You might want to record them saying their names and what they do. Record sounds from various distances and perspectives. Experiment. For example, a toilet flush is very different recorded from five feet away than it is with the mic resting on the plumbing.
You can’t record too much. Tape is cheap. Collect and catalog sound effects and ambiences. Save everything, including your notes. Don’t erase. Take plenty of extras — spares of everything, depending on how long you’ll be on location — tape recorders, assorted microphones, cables, tape recorder batteries, microphone batteries, tapes, AC cord/adaptors, extension cords, windscreens, headphones, lots of plug/jack adaptors, patch cords, mic stands, shock mounts, Rowi clamp, gooseneck, duct tape, electrical tape, cleaning and de-magnetizing gear, pens, paper, labels…. Label everything. Pop out the safety tabs in your cassettes after you’ve recorded, so you can’t accidentally erase them. Never throw away a master. Make safety copies of precious stuff.
Keep all tapes and recorders away from metal and magnets (this includes speakers, amplifiers, electrical equipment, power cords, etc.) Keep them out of the heat, humidity and direct sun. Protect them in a clean, dry, dust-free place. Be good to them.
Remember you can always use your recorder like a dictating machine, either for on-location narration or for note-taking. Don’t forget to look as well as listen. Note specifics about what you see and feel. Immediately after an interview, make some notes about what you remember… what mattered.

Secrets Revealed - Great Membership Testimonials Pt 2

INTERVIEWING TECHNIQUES
By Peter Iglinski
from PRNDI newsletter

I was asked by the local Press Club to hold a professional workshop on ” Interviewing techniques. ” Having made the effort to analyze the topic, I decide to pass along my through to PRNDI members. An interview is a situation where both parties are “using” each other. We, as journalists are trying to get pertinent information (the truth) and pass it along to the public. There are a variety of reasons why interview subjects agree to work with: they’re out for publicity; they’re trying to put their own “spin” on the story or, they’re really nice people willing to lend a hand.
As I see it, there are three types of interviews; (1)   informational. (2) feature, and (3) confrontational. The subjects are generally more agreeable during informational and feature (or soft news) interviews.

The following is my own list of personal do’s and don’ts.

1. Don ‘t be impressed by the use of your name. This includes a variety of other techniques including compliments Many of our interview subjects are professional. They learned ways of drawing people into the their sphere and creating a friendly atmosphere in which an interviewer might find it difficult to “go for the jugular.” Ignore the niceties We already have all the friends we need! Resist the attempts at manipulation and never be afraid of losing a source simply because we’re doing our jobs.
2. Don’t   be tentative. Some of our interview subjects can smell blood and can capitalize on a reporter’s lack of confidence , putting the reporter on the defensive. Another element of tentativeness is the apology. We should never be sorry for asking a touch question.
3. Don’t   be afraid of pauses. There is often a human tendency to help out an interview subject by filling in the pauses.
   We want their words, their explanations.
   They may agree with our wording, if It makes more sense or sound better. but it does nothing in helping us arrive at the truth.
4. Do listen and trust yourself. This becomes more of an issue during talk programs where the listener gets to hear us ask the questions. We go into the program with notes or a list of questions.
   Plus, we have to watch the clock and perhaps follow a program log. We have distractions. We are often smarter than we think and should rely less on our notes and simply talk to the subject. I remember missing a wonderful follow-up opportunity once because I was so concerned with program flow that I was consulting my notes and missed part of a subject’s remarks. As a result, I didn’t know if she answered the question fully.
   By listening to a tape of the interview I realized I missed out on a follow-up.
5. Make sure you understand the explanation.  This is especially true in technical and complicated stories. An economist may answer the question, but if we don’t understand, our listeners won’t understand.  Some reporters feel they are doing their job if they simply parrot the subject’s words.  But if the story is complicated, the listener won’t be able to understand the subject’s verbatim explanation.  We should hesitate to go over a subject’s answer step-by-step and ask to have it put in layman’s terms.  The risk of embarrassment has kept more than one reporter from reviewing an explanation.  We should be more concerned about embarrassing ourselves with our listeners.
6. Don’t put too much information in the question.  Too much information also serves to put words into the subject’s mouth.  A problem occurs when the premise to our question is plausible, sound politically acceptable, but is not what the subject intended to say.  As a result, we come no closer to the truth.
7. Be prepared.  Read all the relevant materials before going into the interview.  Understand your subject and the issue at hand.
8. Be prepared for the “Cuomo-esque”  interview. There are two elements to the Cuomo interview:  intimidation and specificity.  Governor Cuomo is eager to draw reporters into debate.  Not all questions deserve a direct response, especially when they’re asked of a reporter during an interview.  This is often a subtle attempt to draw the reporter into the fray or to intimidate him/her.  Also, Cuomo will not let reporters get away with generalizations, such as “ Some people say”; or “there are signs of discontent.”  Cuomo will demand to know “who says” or “what signs.”  While I may hate to admit it, Cuomo has a point regarding specificity.  If “some people say,” then we should be able to identify whom those people are.  We need to do our homework.
9. Understand the rules of logic.  This is too involved a topic to review here, but there are two major rules of logic that are routinely broken: the ad hominem argument, and the cause/effect argument.  Ad hominem arguments address a person and not the issue.  Keep in mind that discrediting a person does not automatically discredit that person’s reasoning.  People misusing the cause/effect argument try to convince you that one event caused another to occur simply because it came first.  Chances are that many events occurred first.  There must be adequate evidence in order to link two or more events. 

The above are my personal thoughts and observations regarding interviewing.  I assume there are many more elements that many of you can add.  It’s my hope that this article can be the basis for some reflection and some intra-departmental discussion.

Secrets Revealed - Great Membership Testimonials Pt 1

More follow-up from the PRDMC.  In advance of the “Advanced Writing and Production for Pledge” session, the DEI/PRPD Fundraising Partnership asked Jeff St. Clair at WKSU to collect all his secrets for great membership testimonials.  As usual, he was nice enough to share.

Lots of stuff here - all worth reading through as you prep for the fall drive.  Jeff offers nuts and bolts tips, then read Peter Iglinski and Jay Alison on the art of the interview.
Thanks - Izzi Smith, Manager of the Partnership

Kissing Frogs -  Hints For Finding Gold In Testimonials
From Jeff St. Clair, WKSU & DEI/PRPD On-Air Fundraising Partnership

Conducting Listener Testimonials is something like Kissing Frogs in hopes that you’ll find a Prince or Princess -  you have to kiss a lot of frogs to hit the jackpot.

There are a few things you can do to improve your odds:

Interview station Volunteers -  these people are hard core, they come to you!
Call on major donors and advisory board members for a good word too.

Sift through all the e-pledges you receive each drive and read the comments attached to the pledge form ( if you don’t have a comment section, you should). Reply to these people via e-mail, it beats cold-calling any day.  Mention that you read their comments and you’d like to ask them more about such & such AND ask them a couple of questions:  i.e.  Why they listen, and why they give.

Oddly enough the cranks and nutcases you hear from when you mispronounce a composer’s name, or air a story that ‘doesn’t meet NPR standards’ sometimes make for good testimonials.  These people obviously listen closely, have strong opinions, and if they’re members, care about the station.  Often they just want someone to pay attention to them and turn 180 degrees from a passionate critic to passionate advocate when given the chance.

Make sure you have a ‘Live Wire’ file available during the fund-drive and instruct the volunteers and staff to keep an ear out for passionate and articulate pledgers and put a copy of their pledge form in the file.  Call them during the drive for quick turnaround, or after the drive for next time.

Assign one or two people the job of collecting and editing interviews on an on-going basis so that you have a constant supply of fresh testimonials each drive.

The INTERVIEW:  Getting good tape

Good interviewing takes practice, and great interviewing is an art.  ( see the hints from some of the pros.)  But it’s not rocket science either.  A personable approach and knowing what you want out of the interview are the essential elements.  Remember -  The goal of the interview is to answer two questions:  Why do you listen?  And why do you give?  The Case and Close of the final spot.

Begin with whatever prompted you to call this person -  have them tell the story of their pledge, or the rabbit that loves to listen, or the news piece that made them cry…  and then break it down into the separate components.

What was it about the piece that touched you?  How did you feel after hearing that piece?  What is it about WXYZ that makes your rabbit so relaxed?  Etc.

Stories are good. Details are better.  Good stories are difficult to edit into 30 seconds, but the details of specific feelings and reactions can be pieced together to create a compelling case statement.

Find one key topic to focus on and gather detail around that subject.  Now that you know they love Morning Edition, Fresh Air, Car Talk, and A Prairie Home Companion -  choose which path to follow.  Do you need more news spots?  Then ask about NPR news.  Ask why it’s helpful to have news in the morning.  How NPR stories make you feel first thing in the morning.  Is important to have ‘good news’ in the morning in addition to the headlines…etc.

• LET SILENCES HAPPEN.  Don’t step on the interview.  The best, most heartfelt comments often come during awkward silences, or after the interview is over.
• So LET THE TAPE ROLL.  After they think it’s over, they’ll relax and say what they really feel.
• And don’t for get to ask:Would you mind introducing yourself?  Just give your name and where you’re from.  Thank you!

NOTES on editing the spots:

The final spot should sound entirely natural and spontaneous without any discernible edits, even though in fact the spot may be highly produced.

• The spot should make one case point.  And close with a funding message.
• Focusing on one point will guide the editing process -  all the elements of the spot should support and clarify this one idea or theme.   e.g. -  “NPR is an independent voice…”
• Start with the introduction…” I’m David from Dover…”

The initial edit may be 2 or 3 minutes long, keep cutting until you can’t cut anymore.  The average length is usually around 40 seconds, some are shorter, some longer.  Longer spots receive less airplay, but sometimes you need the time, so variety of lengths is good.

Don’t add music to phoners.  Maybe add to in-studio interviews, but music tends to reduce the shelf life of production pieces -  listeners tire of the music long before they tire of the content.  Dry testimonials are best.

KISSING FROGS -  Conversation starters:

In general terms you ask the Listener two questions:

Why do you listen to WXYZ? 

And Why do you support it? In other words…CASE/CLOSE. The final spot should include these two elements.

Building the case:  Why do you listen?

• What do you like about WXYZ?
• What is the difference you hear listening to WXYZ / NPR compared to other stations?
• Why is important… to have an independent source of news?
• Why is important to have in-depth news available?  …classical music on the radio?
• Do you remember a news story that really grabbed you?  Why?   …piece of music…?
• What is different about the way NPR approaches a story compared to commercial news?
• Do you think the fact that NPR / WXYZ is non-commercial has anything to do with the type of reporting you hear?  The type of stories covered?   …the type of music you hear?

Closing the spot:  Why do you give?

• You not only listen to WXYZ, you support it.  Why?
• WXYZ is listener funded.  What do you think about the idea of having listeners pay for the programming instead of say…advertisers?  The Government?
• How does listener funding help keep NPR / WXYZ independent?
• Do you think it’s fair that the people who use the programming should help pay for it?
• Do you remember the first time you made a pledge?  What made you decide to do it?  How did it make you feel?
• What would you say to someone listening right now who has never made a pledge?