BROADCAST WINNERS HIGHLIGHT SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY.BEST OF NAMA Na·ma n. pl. Nama or Na·mas 1. A member of a people of southwest Africa. 2. The Khoikhoin language of the Nama. WINNER TWINKLES WITH ABSURD HUMOR humor, according to ancient theory, any of four bodily fluids that determined man's health and temperament. Hippocrates postulated that an imbalance among the humors (blood, phlegm, black bile, and yellow bile) resulted in pain and disease, and that good health was WINNING RADIO SERIES RELIES ON COWS FOR COMIC SUCCESS The night sky certainly won't offer many secrets to the success of radio advertising, but reaching for the stars seems to have worked for Novartis Crop Protection's NorthStar advertising campaign. Playing off the legendary romance offered by constellations Constellations Constellation English name Position R.A. (hours) DEC. (degrees) Andromeda Andromeda (Chained Lady) 1 +43 Antlia Air Pump 10 −33 Apus Bird of Paradise 16 −75 Aquarius1 on a clear evening, Novartis and Martin/Williams Advertising teamed up to create a shining example of effective radio that was named the 2000 Best of NAMA top single radio spot. The 60-second spot was part of Novartis' campaign to introduce to farmers their new NorthStar post-emergence corn herbicide herbicide (hr`bəsīd'), chemical compound that kills plants or inhibits their normal growth. A herbicide in a particular formulation and application can be described as selective or nonselective. . The spot is titled "Star Gazers."
Woman: (Dreamily) The sky is so clear tonight. The stars are so bright.
Man: See that constellation ?
Woman: It's the Little Dipper.
Man: Right. And that bright star -- right there -- is the North Star. You
know what it reminds me of?
Woman: What?
Man: It reminds me of ... outstanding broadleaf and grass control.
Woman: (As if she's just found her soul mate). Really?
Man: Mm-hmm. When I think of the North Star, I think of how well new
NorthStar corn herbicide works in the northern corn belt on
lambsquarters, velvetleaf, waterhemp, cocklebur ...
Woman: Oh, yes! Not to mention ragweeds, Canadian thistle, a total of 38
broadleaf weeds and grasses.
Man: That's amazing. We both see the same thing. Do you see anything in the
stars about ... us?
Woman: No, but I do have something very important to tell you.
Man: (Hopefully) Yes?
Woman: Always read and follow label instructions before buying or using
NorthStar.
Man: You always know just what to say.
Announcer: Introducing NorthStar. Broadleaf weeds and more.
"We wanted to do something fun and chose to use humor so the spots could cut through all of the radio advertising clutter," says Kim Dawson, communications manager for the Greensboro, N.C.-based Novartis. "We find radio works well when you are advertising post-emergence herbicides, because you can `get in the tractor cab with the farmer' and gain some brand recognition for your product." The radio spot was just one small segment of Novartis' launch of the NorthStar brand into the marketplace following full product registration in late 1998. The campaign also included print advertising that was designed to draw attention to the NorthStar name and also played on the constellation Constellation, ship Constellation (kŏnstĭlā`shən), U.S. frigate, launched in 1797. It was named by President Washington for the constellation of 15 stars in the U.S. flag of that time. theme. For example, print acts had a picture of an "observatory observatory, scientific facility especially equipped to detect and record naturally occurring scientific phenomena. Although geological and meteorological observatories exist, the term is generally applied to astronomical observatories. " that looked like a silo with a telescope telescope, traditionally, a system of lenses, mirrors, or both, used to gather light from a distant object and form an image of it. Traditional optical telescopes, which are the subject of this article, also are used to magnify objects on earth and in astronomy; so farmers could presumably pre·sum·a·ble adj. That can be presumed or taken for granted; reasonable as a supposition: presumable causes of the disaster. focus on the stars. "Growers look to new products like NorthStar to gain an edge, and name recognition is very important," stresses Lee Schmidt, the writer at Martin/Williams in Minneapolis who put together the award-winning radio spot. To make NorthStar stick with growers, Schmidt focused on the unexpected. "Those are ideas that work," he says. "Humor and drama are good tools to use in radio because it is an entertainment medium. It's kind of funny and absurd that the love of a herbicide brings this couple together." "This was an out-of-the-box spot, not a typical farm spot," Dawson agrees. "But it worked so well that we stuck with the theme and same voices in subsequent radio spots." Novartis chose not to do any measurement of the effectiveness of the radio ads, although Dawson says the company did sell out of NorthStar the first year, which was the objective. "We did not do any pre- or post-awareness," she says. "The spot went from us, the client, to casting without any testing, and has proven to be very successful." If audience reaction at the Best of NAMA awards presentation is any indication of the ad's success, the spot was most likely well received by growers. "The NorthStar spot is a relatively quiet spot. The whisper See WISPr. technique works as well as a spot that grabs the listener by the lapels. It has real pulling power Pulling Power is a regional motoring programme shown only in the Central Television region on ITV1 since 1996. However it has been shown on the ITV1 network on a series trial basis and also as a filler programme at times. ," says Schmidt. "The secret to any good spot is for agency writers to work closely with their client to define what needs to be communicated and then work together to find the most effective way to reach the audience." Cows may not headline at your local nightclub, but bovine bovine /bo·vine/ (bo´vin) pertaining to, characteristic of, or derived from cattle. bovine pertaining to, characteristic of, or derived from the ox or cattle, members of the family Bovidae. See also cattle. antics antics Noun, pl absurd acts or postures [Italian antico something grotesque (from fantastic carvings found in ruins of ancient Rome)] antics plural noun make for great radio advertising. At least that's what Indianapolis-based Dow AgroSciences Dow AgroSciences LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dow Chemical Company specializing in not only agricultural chemicals such as pesticides, but also seeds and biotechnology solutions. The company is based in Indianapolis, Indiana, in the United States. found with their two-spot radio series touting touting the making of personal representations by a veterinarian to persons who are not clients in an attempt to solicit their business. the benefits of Tordon 22K herbicide in controlling musk thistle thistle, popular name for many spiny and usually weedy plants, but especially applied to members of the family Asteraceae (aster family) that have spiny leaves and often showy heads of purple, rose, white, or yellow flowers followed by thistledown seeds (a favorite in pastures PASTURES, pastures. The land on which beasts are fed; and by a grant of pastures the land itself passes. 1 Thorn. Co, Litt. 202. . The two spots, which were chosen the top radio series during Best of NAMA competition this year, are titled, "We Demand to See the Chef" and "Your Table is Ready." The script for the chef spot below can be heard at www.agrimarketing.com.
Maitre d': (Pretentious/male/slightly hushed) Francois, the Angus table is
demanding to see the chef.
Francois: Zey want to see me?
SFX: (Low of cattle/disgruntled)
Maitre d': (Pretentious/male/slightly hushed/concerned) They claim to have
found musk thistle in their pasture pate.
SFX: (Low of cattle/disgruntled)
Head Chef: (Agitated/male/French accent) Musk thistle in my pate?
Impossible! How could this happen?
Announcer: (Down-to-earth/friendly/male) It's not easy preparin' pasture
for cattle. They can be quite particular about what ends up on their
plate. And musk thistle is not what they're lookin' for.
SFX: (Low of cattle/disgruntled)
Announcer: (Down-to-earth/ friendly/male) And with wet weather, musk
thistle will show up just where you don't want it. So apply Tordon 22K
herbicide this fall. Then, come spring, your work's done. But Tordon is
still working. Takin' care of musk thistle. So your cattle get the
pasture they ordered. Just pasture. Thanks to Tordon.
Maitre d': (male/gracious air/growing concern) I can assure you, this will
never happen again. Please wait ...
Announcer: (Friendly/air of caution/ male) 'Cause even regular customers
will head for the door when they see mask thistle.
Head Chef: (Angry/male/French accent) Musk thistle in my pasture, what will
become of me?
Announcer: (Down-to-earth/friendly/ male) So it's Tordon this fall, or
things could get ugly come spring.
SFX: (Low of cattle/agitated/clatter of hooves/smashing of plates)
Announcer: (Matter-of-fact attitude/ faster) Tordon 22K is a federally
Restricted Use pesticide. Always follow label directions.
"Placing Tordon in an upscale setting like a nice restaurant reinforces the key benefit that cattle will find a clean pasture clean pasture pasture that has been rested from grazing by the same, or parasitologically similar, species for a long, but variable period, the time depending on the parasite concerned and the climate. desirable," says Margie Graber, account executive at Bader Rutter & Associates, Brookfield, Wisc., who coordinated the effort. "We chose characters for the spots that producers could identify with. This is not the first time the agency has wrapped humor around Tordon for effect. Two previous spots had cows on strike due to poor pasture pasture, land used for grazing livestock. Land unsuited for cultivation, e.g., hilly or stony land, may be used as pasture. Tilled land and meadow may be pastured after the crops are removed. conditions and cows skywriting skywriting, advertising medium in which aircraft spell out trade names and sales slogans in the sky by means of the controlled emission of thick smoke. The technique was first developed (1922) by J. C. Savage, a pioneer English aviator. to tell producers to treat pastures with Tordon. "The humor was well received, so we decided to take that approach again," she explains. "Radio works well because Tordon 22K is a mature brand with high awareness." Dow AgroSciences product communications manager Jane MacMillan agrees humor gets the point across effectively. "Cows are particular about what they eat," she says. "The novelty Novelty is the quality of being new. Although it may be said to have an objective dimension (e.g. a new style of art coming into being, such as abstract art or impressionism) it essentially exists in the subjective perceptions of individuals. of the radio ads is what gets producer attention. Then we can stress the financial and aesthetic benefits of using Tordon 22K and having clean pastures." Paramount to successful advertising, says MacMillan, is to use the right media and the right timing. "You can have a great ad, but if you don't use it in the right market at the right time, it doesn't work. We timed the ads to when producers think about buying Tordon 22K." "Radio advertising was a cost effective way to reach and reinforce the Tordon message to cow-calf ranchers in specific markets," says Loren Henry, associate media director at the agency. Although no formal measurement was done, Graber says feedback from the field was positive. "The best thing to do when deciding how to use radio is to look at your brand personality," she says. "That reveals the best approach." Barb Baylor Anderson is a freelance writer from Edwardsville, Ill., who covers a wide variety of ag issues. |
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