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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

60 Seconds of Constitutional Radio


We have a book with our political platform.  We have stickers.  We have patches.  We'll be printing business cards in the next week or so.

The most popular form of mainstream media you folks chose is radio.  This is a big escalation, with potentially BIG results.

Here in the DC area WMAL Radio (FM station) hosts the conservative talkers.  The lineup is Chris Plante in the morning until noon.  Rush runs from 12-3.  Hannity is 3-6.  Mark levin is 6-9.

The mid-day ad cycle is 10am (Chris Plante) through 3pm (the end of Rush).

Chris Plante has a decent following locally, but make no mistake, the guy claims to be a Conservative but he has strong RINO and Neo-Con tendencies.  But there are many Ron Paul fans and Constitutionalists in the audience who call and give him indigestion, routinely.  This means we know our allies are listening.

The Rush audience is the power audience.  The people who take decisions on the Hill listen to Rush, whether they agree with him or not.  If we want to find our allies through a radio audience, and at the same time send up a flare to the hijacked Tea Party, the "Conservatives" and the Establishment that we are coming onto the scene and we mean business, running spots during the DC Rush show will rattle cages.

Bottom Line: Political ad buys are expensive (but far cheaper than print/TV/Cable).

One 60-second spot is $1,200.  We need to buy at least 10 spots to have any impact in a radio environment.  It's all about repetition.  20 spots is better than 10, but if we are going to do this we'll start realistically with a target of buying 10 spots.

That means we need to raise $12,000.  WMAL will produce the spot based on our script.  That means we'll need to get our heads together and develop a powerful brief message that plays well to people driving or sitting in their offices.  The best radio ads make a point, hit it several times, and drive people to a website or phone number for more information.

Since it is a political ad, the on-air talent will (probably) not want to record it, so it will probably be a professional voice, but not a known name.

So the question is simple: Do we invest our energy into raising $12k to try this, to hit the DC Conservative air with a hardcore Constitutional message to build our audience and put a shot across the bow of the Hill?  Do we put the Political Class on notice that we are here, we are pissed, and we are coming?

The poll is at the right.

Is $12K doable?  Would we be better off spending that same money somewhere else?

This is YOUR Movement, folks.  I'm just one guy trying to help implement our goals.  If we decide to go forward we'll be passing the hat for money.  We'll also build a comments thread so we can develop the message we want out there.  But the choice is yours.

FYI: 1/2 page in USA Today (one-time run) is $81K.


Kerodin
III

9 comments:

  1. Raise the 12 k it's a no brainer. I am in. I will provide some skin.

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  2. Sam: Maybe ask your local 3 community for folks with broadcast radio experience to cut/produce the spot?

    I have a little experience with radio/production, but it was eons ago and the technology has changed exponentially since then.

    The days of editing tape with a razor blade are long gone...

    Plus...I don't think I have the pipes for this project. I sound like a redneck little girl!

    How soon are you needing written copy for this?

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  3. Zoomie: I'd love to have the ads run in February, but it all depends on the rate of cashflow. I suspect we'll work on the script as a group over the next 2-3 weeks, I just created a thread for it. Feel free to post there and give people a starting point.

    If anyone out there has the technical skills to produce a professional/ready for air spot, please speak up!

    K

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  4. Excellent idea - Im in! With a small bit of radio adv. experience, I would say your basics are sound, and I reccomend either a female, sultry voice (no shrieking or wining) or a "Sam Elliott" sound alike. Fred Thompson like also comes to mind.
    Come on fellow Patriots, show some support. This is action we can all participate in.

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  5. Thanks for the support, Kayne. I'm with you on those production points, too.

    When we cut the spot I'll make sure we tag it the way you requested and get you a copy. Send me the details when you get a chance.

    I'm going to wait until we have 2/3 of the money raised before we go into the studio.

    K

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hey, don't just discard WMAL's morning show. They're also conservative: Brian Wilson, Brian Neimann and Mary Katherine Ham. That's the show I listen to on my commute. It's a mix of commentary and analysis, news, traffic and weather. I know they have a large audience, mostly former wtop listeners that could not stand their leftie spin. It is much larger now that they have an FM frequency. The show runs from before 6 am (prolly 5 or 5:30)until 10 am.

    Mile66

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  7. Mile66 - you are right about their morning show.

    My only hesitation is the "Time Listening" number for the morning show is significantly less - people listen while in the car, but very few people listen to the entire show as they do with Rush.

    But I will see if I can negotiate a few spots as freebies when we bring the full ad buy to the table. Those sales slugs will do almost anything to keep a $12K check from walking away. ;)

    Thanks for the support.

    Kerodin
    III

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  8. Has anyone checked to see if the would even sell air time for this? Might bewasting time and money if it won't be aired.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anon: 05:43 - Yep, they'll run it, and they'll do the production for us.

    K

    ReplyDelete

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