Attention
A lead such as “Now you can lose weight while
sleeping!” is almost an automatic attention-getter for a
large segment of your listening audience. This type of
lead draws the listeners into your message by provoking
their interest and attention. Copy directed toward
emotional and motivational drives is copy that sells and
should be slanted toward a particular group that needs a
particular product.
Spots selling baby food, for example, are directed
at mothers who are concerned with the health of their
babies. These spots emphasize the healthful ingredients
of the baby food. In the same way, the slant toward a
particular group is used by the Navy in recruiting. Such
spots are aimed at young people in the age group
between 17 to 25, and words, such as security, travel,
education, missiles and electronics, are used as
attention-getters.
When the attention portion is directed toward the
listener’s desires, aspirations, dreams and ambitions,
you will take the first step toward getting that individual
to listen to the appeal and the action portions of your
spot.
Appeal
“Why don’t you begin to enjoy the finer things in
life?” You have probably heard that appeal in one form
or another. In the appeal portion, you present the selling
material — the message you want to convey to the
audience. One thing for you to remember is to avoid
cramming too many points into a short announcement.
Keep it simple and stay with the subject.
For example, if you start off talking about travel as
the attention-getter in a recruiting spot, do not drift off
into education or some other subject in the same
announcement. Another word of caution — do not
PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE
TELEPHONE: (904) 456-5070
NAVAL AIR STATION SAMARA
456-5071
POINT KENT, FLORIDA 32505-5484
DSN: 922-5070
FAX: 456-5072
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, CONTACT:
LCDR LEE MAZZILLI (PAO)
JO1(AW) JUAN AGUSTO (APAO)
O F F I C I A L N E W S R E L E A SE
(FOR RADIO)
PAGE 1 OF 1
PROGRAM 76 WORDS
RELEASE NO. 54-94
RADIO SPOT FORMAT
September 4, 1994
30 SECONDS
FOR GENERAL RELEASE
AMERICANS HAVE GROWN UP WITH COMMERCIALS AND SPOT
ANNOUNCEMENTS. THE “SELLING” SPOT INFORMS THE LISTENER, THEN TELLS
HIM TO DO SOMETHING. THE “INFORMATION” SPOT SIMPLY INFORMS. THE
SELLING SPOT HAS THREE STEPS...ATTENTION, APPEAL AND ACTION. THE
INFORMATION SPOT USES ONLY ATTENTION AND APPEAL. THE ACTION STEP IS
WHERE YOU TELL THE LISTENER TO DO SOMETHING. IT CONTAINS SIX WORDS
OR LESS. NONE OF THE OTHER SENTENCES...IN EITHER SPOT...SHOULD BE MORE
THAN 15 WORDS.
# # #
Figure 13-3.—Spot announcement format.
13-14
