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We asked legendary copywriter Geoff Bickerton to break down what really matters when writing effective radio ads – what to do, what to avoid, and how to improve immediately. Bicko has decades of experience writing for ARN and shared some valuable insights gained during his career.

1. What’s your go-to trick for grabbing a listener’s attention?

I’ll keep on coming back to one thing throughout this. Profile the customer (not your client, their client). Understand what the customer wants/needs and lead your ad with that problem/desire. Far better than a silly sound effect (drum crash or fanfare), leading with the client’s name, or saying a word three times. e.g. ‘Tools, tools, tools.’

2. What’s something you often see in others’ writing that makes you think, “Oh no, don’t do that”?

Oh boy, where do I start?

Firstly, in terms of construction:

• Advertising the wrong thing – (i.e. the category, not the business (usually because of a shit brief))

• Saying too many things. My rule of thumb is one ad should talk to one person about one thing. Make it count, make it powerful.

• Talking to too many markets. My guiding tenet is ‘If you talk to too many people, no one listens; talk to one person, everyone else eavesdrops.’

• Don’t make it about the client, make it about the customer. (Usually, the customer doesn’t care about what the client cares about) My guiding tenet? ‘If you talk about yourself, you may as well talk to yourself.’

Secondly, in terms of execution:

• Unless you’re really good at it, avoid conversations. A terribly written ad where two people talk sounds dreadful, so avoid convos unless you can write convincing, real dialogue. If you are to do a convo, don’t confuse the convo with the sell. Establish the customer problem with the convo, then solve it with a third VO to talk about the business.
  
  
• Try to write in first person (we, us) as if the ad is written and voiced by the client. It’s so much more direct and intimate if it’s comms between the client and the customer. The moment it goes into third person (they, them), it sounds like you’re writing as part of the radio station on behalf of someone else – it sounds like an ad, it loses its personality and potency.
  
  
• Walk away from the well-worn cliches. Find another way of saying it. ‘Covered,’ ‘for all your (insert category type) needs, ‘…and more, ‘located at,’ ‘X years in business,’ ‘locally owned and operated.’ ‘We’ve got you’, ‘conveniently’ etc.
  
  
• No doubt you’ve got your pet hates as well. Review your writing and be hard on yourself, look for sameness in verbiage and syntax.
  
  
• Write as you speak. Contract, be colloquial. Don’t be scared to use ‘got’ instead of ‘receive.’ Remember, listeners listen as real people, not as English teachers. A radio ad written and spoken in everyday language will be easier to engage with.
  
  
• STOP SHOUTING. It’s a turn-off moment for most people. Clients think it attracts attention. It doesn’t.
  
  
• No, it doesn’t have to be funny. A radio ad is like a first date with someone, so it needs to be real, sincere, and a ‘getting to know you’ vibe. I’m not saying never be funny, but pick and choose wisely.

3. Having said that, what’s the funniest script you’ve written?

A few. An award winner for Ducks Nuts. A finalist for Savings and Loans Credit Union, a nice little spot for a BBQ shop in the Adelaide Hills, and quite a few of the Crimsafe spots have been pretty memorable.

Caveat. I don’t really rate an ad’s success on whether it’s funny or not (see above) – it’s more about whether it generates good R.O.I. for the client.

Here are a few ads that have cut through and gotten results for clients.

Crimsafe – ‘Poem’

Furniture Liquidation Sale – “Low Wages’

Bluekey Properties – ‘F Word’

ACT Policing – ‘It Will Cost You’

4. When you have only 30 seconds and a VERY detailed client brief, how do you decide what really matters?

Overall, know the battles you can win and those you can’t. Sometimes it’s just not worth the time, so best to do what you can with what you have.

However, if you can, don’t be scared to challenge the AE and the client. Explain it’s critical to concentrate on the bullseye customer. A shopping list or talking to multiple markets will do the client no favours. Ask them which market is the one that will generate the most profit, and concentrate on what the client can do to satisfy that market. Suggest that if they have lots to say, split it up into multiple ads.

Here’s an example. Real estate agents talk to multiple markets in one spot (i.e. Buyers, sellers, tenants, landlords, and commercial property). Many fail to realise that each of those markets has dramatically different problems/desires, and you can’t talk to them all. So, it’s best to choose the one market that will generate the biggest profit (it’s usually the sellers) and tell them how you’ll do it in a better or different way than the opposition.

Yes, you may get pushback, a) from the rep who doesn’t want to challenge the client, and b) from a client, but many times it’s worth it. You can single-handedly change a client from seeing you as a utility into something much more valuable.

5. What’s one simple thing someone could start doing today to instantly improve their writing?

Broken record time, but I’m going back to this.

Concentrate on the customer (of the client). What do they want? What do they need? Talk to them first, engage with them by talking about their problem, then show how the client can solve that problem, and how ONLY the client can solve the problem (i.e. differentiation).

Work on the structure of the commercial first before you start on the execution.

Our Takeaways

If there’s a theme here, it’s focus – on the customer, on one message, and on clarity over cleverness.

Great copywriting isn’t about cramming everything in or trying to impress. It’s about making someone feel understood, showing them you have the answer, and doing it in a way that sounds real.

Strip away the noise, avoid the clichés, and speak like a human.