A few years ago one of my seasonal clients asked for some help creating a jingle for the family landscaping and nursery business.
At the time there were other advertisers in the market using jingles, more than a few having come from the same jingle producer. Even though the tunes and messages, and even the singers were different, after awhile, one begins to notice similarities in style.
We wanted something different, new and fresh.
My search led me to Ralph Plank in Springfield, MO (near Branson - an enclave for finding musical talent). Impressed with his demos and friendly, collaborative attitude, we decided to hire him.
We wanted it all - a catchy tune, lyrics that painted vivid mental pictures, a powerful hook with a call to action, all wrapped in a style that would wear well over time (as the Myers Auto Rebuild jingle, for example, has done for over 12 years).
The hook we'd settled on before engaging Ralph's services was "Get Growing." (My company produces a syndicated series of gardening features for radio by the same name, so the phrase was already top-of-mind; applying it to the jingle project seemed reasonable.) It combined the whole idea of growing things with an exhortation to act: Get growing!
Donna, my client, provided examples of the kinds of pictures she wanted listeners to imagine: thriving plants, attractive landscaping, water features.
I got hung up on her insistence that the full name of the business be used, S Y G Nursery and Landscaping. "S-Y-G, Nur-ser-y" had rhyme and rhythm; the "and Landscaping" was just cumbersome. I lobbied for leaving it out, but was outvoted by the client, who in the end pays the bill.
Surprisingly, Ralph didn't seem to think that singing the full name of the business would be a problem at all. He was right. I was wrong. When I heard the jingle for the first time, I immediately fell in love with it, no qualifications. It was perfect.
The jingle hit the airwaves and almost immediately the client started getting positive feedback. Awareness went up, followed by increases in traffic and sales. Everything that's supposed to happen with a good ad campaign.
Today, after six years of steady airplay from spring to fall, this perky jingle still sounds fresh and inviting, in perfect harmony with the nature of the client's business.
When it comes to painting vivid, enduring images on the canvas of human imagination, a catchy jingle on local radio is unsurpassed.
That's the powerful advantage of intrusive media. Unlike passive forms of advertising such as newspaper, magazine, even bloging and social media, all of which depend upon prospects finding you, auditory advertising reaches people where they are, engaging and influencing them in your direction, without requiring any effort on their part.
What does this have to do with selling real estate, and growing your own brand and business?
Imagine.
Imagine getting people to remember your name, and to associate it with your unique selling proposition or whatever your points of distinction happen to be, the things that differentiate you from all the other agents/agencies in the market.
It's all about creating a preference for a brand. Your brand.
Imagine getting the people in your community to do this naturally. Effortlessly. Subconciously.
And in a relatively short period of time.
You can! You can do all that with a good jingle.
How did you learn the alphabet? You sang Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star with different words.
Same way you may have learned the ingredients of a Big Mac, by singing them.
Thos of us who were around before 1970 can still remember which brand of cigarette: "________ tastes good, like a cigarette should."
It's a powerful combination: the intrusiveness of audio media* + the memorability of music. Think of all the hundreds, even thousands of songs that swirl around in your subconscious, the songs of your youth, of your high school days. You never intended or attempted to memorize them, but there they are. All it takes is a recall cue and you're singing them.
*God's gift to radio is that human beings are born without ear lids." - Tony Schwartz, The Responsive Chord.
IMAGINE being the only Realtor® in town with a jingle, playing on your local radio station every day.
IMAGINE the people in your city SINGING about you!
Might that not give you a competitive advantage?
Sing it with me: "com-pe-ti-tive ad-van-tage." Has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?
P.S. Drop me a line if you'd like to learn more about jingles and jingle writers/producers. I know of a few...
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