Radio Advertising - A visit with Dr. Greg Cynaumon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Free-Press-Release.com) July 1, 2010 -- Direct Response Radio Advertising – An Interview With Dr. Greg Cynaumon

The following excerpts are from our May 2010 interview with Dr. Greg Cynaumon in Response Online Magazine. Cynaumon is a much sought-after consultant in the world of direct response advertising with a long history of successful products dating back to Hooked on Phonics and The Phonics Game and continuing with some of the best-known direct response products on the airways today.

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Radio Advertising - A visit with Dr. Greg Cynaumon

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ROM: Dr. Cynaumon, you are one of the most recognizable commercial voices on radio today. Our readers are always interested in DR radio advertising because it seems to be such a difficult category to make-work on a large scale. Is direct response truly harder?

Dr. Greg Cynaumon: “Without question. In fact, one of the reasons so few agencies even handle direction response is because it is so difficult. But even deeper than that is that direct response advertising is extremely accountable. Within our agency we have a saying: if you can’t track it don’t place the ad dollars. Really, direct response advertising – as opposed to branding – is so difficult because of the correct expectation of profitability on the advertiser’s part. So when you couple accountability and the expectation of turning a profit on every ad dollar placed, you can see why most agencies shy away from direct response.”

ROM: How did you get your expertise in DR radio? 



Dr. Greg Cynaumon: "First and foremost, I've been a radio junkie all my life. I can recall being three years old and listening to the radio. In fact, some of my earliest childhood memories are of Vin Scully, the radio voice of the Los Angeles Dodgers, as he broadcast his games on radio. I can recall his amazing voice and timing (I still love him today) and how great he was at commercials. Each Farmer John or Union 76 commercial seemed like a family reunion to Scully. It was like he was talking to an old friend except he was talking to them on the radio instead of the telephone." 





ROM: Were you into television growing up? 




Dr. Greg Cynaumon: Pausing for a moment to give me a sarcastic grin, Dr. Cynaumon replied, "Uh, yes, we had television in the olden days. The Pony Express brought ours. It's just that I had this infatuation with radio because it was a medium of word pictures. I loved how well the craftsman of their day painted word pictures. I mean commercials ready by guys like Vin Scully, Ray Bream, Paul Harvey in the golden age of radio as well as guys like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity today qualify as entertainment – not just advertising.” 



ROM: I understand you have a radio background yourself?

Dr. Greg Cynaumon: "While I was working for the Minirth-Meier Clinic West in a business capacity and later as a doctor of psychology, I continued my interest in radio. The Clinic had a radio program (sort of a Dr. Laura type show) and whenever possible, I subbed-in for one of the doctors. That turned into a regular radio gig on a Southern California talk radio station. I learned the radio craft during that time especially how to create word pictures for advertisers on my program." 





ROM: Has your background in the field of psychology provided you with greater insights into direct response advertising and tell us about adcology – a new type of advertising psychology that you are credited with creating? 





Dr. Greg Cynaumon: "Without a doubt! I mean psychology has been a part of the advertising landscape since the beginning of advertising. But consumers are more intelligent today. They see through manipulative advertising for what it is… manipulation. A few years ago, I centered upon a more subtle and honest approach to motivating consumers to take action. Adcology was born, which is the total integration of experiential psychology and advertising for the express purpose of activating consumerism through shared experiences. Simply stated, it’s far more motivating for a consumer to associate with a product or service through shared experiences than it is to tell them to do something. For instance, if I’m trying to sell you identity theft protection, it’s one thing to scare you through statistics and it’s another – far more motivating thing – to share with you the number of everyday ways we invite identity theft into our lives.”

ROM: That’s a little confusing. Can you elaborate Dr. Cynaumon?

Dr. Greg Cynaumon: "Sure. I can tell you that there were 21 million cases of identity theft last year or I can ask you if you have music sharing or movie sharing software on your computer? I can tell you that an identity theft takes place every 2 minutes, or I can ask you if are careful to shred all your receipts and bank statements before you toss them in the trash? You see, it’s the listener’s ability to identity with a shared experience that creates the desire to take action.”

ROM: Ah! Got it. In our next issue, we’ll be discussing music and sound effects in Advertising.

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