Sing Commercials For A Living
Ever wonder why some get to sing commercials and some don’t? Have you ever thought about singing jingles? What makes some more apt and able then others to break into this business with other individuals with incredible talent never getting the break? These are great questions and the truth is, most anyone can break into the jingle singing and session singing world provided that these next few concepts are in place.
Unique is a quality that prevails. Jingle houses and ad agencies are always on the lookout for new talent – Unique talent. Having a unique tone, singing style, a different approach is key. Notice I didn’t say absolutely the best singer is the key, not that having talent to back up your unique singing quality isn’t important, but I said unique, but not necessarily the best. You’re scratching your head, but it’s the truth. Really, how many singers and actors or actresses are that special that a gazillion other people couldn’t do it if given the opportunity. As a booking agent with the William Morris Agency, booking many household name stars, I saw this phenomenon every day. Unique is paramount in this business from a purely contextual outlook. There are other elements that play an important role, but being unique will definitely land you work.
For those of you who, being honest, don’t believe they have the most unique voice out there, all is not lost. Your role of obtaining work will differ somewhat, but you can break into the session singing market and earn a significant living doing it. Your role will most likely revolve around blending and group singing. Now there is definitely more competition revolving around this type of singing work and so your diligence, attitude and go get it nature must remain consistent. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with not being the latest and greatest, admitting it, and yet still going after your singing dream and accomplishing it. You can do it. It’s difficult within the writing constraints of an article such as this to hit every angle here, but if you will read to the bottom and go to the website reelmusician.com there is a Free “Jingle Singer’s Guide” that you may download.
It’s not uncommon for singers, who are certainly not considered to be on the A list for session work, but admittedly choose to go after session work and not only obtain it, but make a significant living doing it. These singers possess a great attitude. As previously mentioned in other articles, your attitude must be that of getting along with anyone, while having good creative ideas and not afraid to speak them, also tempered in such a way as to know when to back off, when to nod your head and say “that sounds good,” when you’re sure your idea is in fact better. Your attitude of being gracious and kind and generous with people will go along ways in this business and may be the single reason you get called back time after time when there might be better singers out there. Never underestimate a good attitude.
The next element in your marketing campaign must include creativity. Great singers invariably inhibit a creative let’s get the job done and make it sound great even when they’re not dealing with the best of tracks, lead singer or producer – They just get it done! You might consider getting involved with musical groups or ensembles that will give you the practice creativity outlet if you feel creatively impaired or unready. Musical creativity is learned, but is also practiced and honed and those with some musical input can over time become real creative forces within a group session.
From the practical side, the big difference when it comes to breaking into the music industry is going to be your determination or the lack there of. Be sure to create a 5 year, 1 year, 1 month and each day set of goals and go after them. Keep track of all the producers and music contacts and mention conversation, last spoken, and follow up information. Make sure you have the absolute best jingle demo reel – not the “my buddy can do this for me for free” demo reel, but a really pro and polished jingle demo reel like you’ve already arrived. At ReelMusician.com we specialize in just that – Jingle Reels! Your jingle demo reel must sound like major national spots. Good and even pretty good will not work here. Your jingle demo reel must turn the heads of your listeners and knock their socks off. There’s too much competition out there to be wasting not only your time, but a jingle producer’s time as well. You may want to consider multiple reels, one that highlights your voice over abilities and one or two that emphasis your singing abililities ad that can be rotated to producers so that your name is crossing their desk a number of times. If finances are a factor in producing your demos, then start with one reel with 5 -7 jingles that absolutely sing no questions asked.
Follow up will be key. You must have a way to file contact info, conversation gist and any additional information that is vital to your career path. Go after this like it’s a job offer – Because it is a job offer and can be very lucrative if you do it right. Find a way to say hello whether by a card, email or phone call after your initial contact. That’s when a second jingle reel would be handy, but again, not absolutely necessary. You need to find a way to get your name out there to whom you’ve contacted. You might want to consider small snippets from time to time that you can mp3 and email to these same folks – Again just make sure that whatever you are sending out is 1st class.
Above all else, keep at it. Those with the staying power are usually those with the keep at it drive which in all reality, most people don’t have. If you can maintain a professional jingle reel, with goals firmly established and a concrete way to catalogue your conversations, you will be well on your way. Please feel free to contact Mr Gauger at 615-300-5030 or tgauger@reelmusician.com or visit www.reelmusician.com.
Mr. Gauger is a former talent booking agent with the William Morris Agency and has been heard on numerous TV and radio spots including Fox TV, UPN Station ID, O’Charley’s and many others. In addition, he co-wrote “Who To Love” slotted for upcoming telecast on the soap The Guiding Light. Mr. Gauger is the founder of http://www.reelmusician.com and can be contacted through this organization at tgauger@reelmusician.com or 615-300-5030.
Finding and Motivating Your Target Audience Niche Marketing At Its Best
As an entrepreneur, one of your greatest challenges is the
choice of where to put your advertising and marketing
bucks. Who/what/where is my market? How do I reach
them? What do I say to excite them? The wrong answers
can cost a lot of useless expense and time as you learn this
critical field. Many companies have gone under for lack of
mastering these efforts.
TV COMMERCIALS
Have you ever watched a TV commercial and thought to
yourself, “Who on earth would buy that?” If so, you’ve seen
an ad carefully targeted at a group which has different
needs and desires than you do. If your response was, “Boy!
I’d sure enjoy that” or “I’m going to call them tomorrow,” the
ad had YOU squarely in its sights.
SELLING VIA PAIN
Advertising agencies discovered long ago that the fastest
way to move someone into action (buying) is to discover
something that is very painful to them, then disturb that
person about it. If they stirred up emotions about a wound
(i.e., a deep desire going unfilled or an unaddressed fear)
and then showed the prospective customer how to heal that
wound or fulfill that need through a product or service, the
person felt COMPELLED to buy … buying became a MUST!
This discovery has been refined over the last fifty years into
a fine art. The purpose of the following is to introduce you to
this system so that you can discover people’s deepest
needs, wants and wounds and heal or satisfy them with
your product/service.
IT WORKS
Advertisers understand this. It helped AT&T increase their
long distance calls over 500% in certain areas. This is what
helped Dr. Pepper move from the #9 soft drink to #5. Levis
501 Jeans used this information to double their sales in a
six month period of time.
As a result of this information, you will:
1. Be able to determine the distinctions used by advertisers
to motivate our entire nation. You’ll never see a commercial
again without determining its target market(s) virtually
instantly.
2. Be able to create power levels of rapport by
knowing a person’s deepest emotional needs.
3. Be
able to determine who is your actual target market.
4.
Use this information in your direct mail, face to face
negotiations, in and outbound telemarketing, advertising
and marketing campaigns, strategic alliances…and in your
personal life.
FOUR MAJOR LIFESTYLES
There are four distinct lifestyles, the last broken into two
slightly differing types.
1. BELONGERS – 38% of the country.
LIFESTYLE: Hard working, 9-5 types. Midwest values,
traditional, blue collar workers. They DO NOT LIKE
CHANGE. You’ll find no Mercedes in this group, no use of
crystals. These people are NOT out to change the world.
They belong to social clubs, play softball, shop at K-Mart
and Sears. Their primary automobiles are – you guessed it –
Ford, Chevrolet and Chrysler.
HIGHEST VALUE: FAMILY (Is it any wonder the major
political parties constantly push “family values,” though they
carefully *never* define what those values are?)
PSYCHIC WOUND: Traditional values are not happening
any more.
KEY WORDS: Picnic, time together, patriotic, family.
Typical commercial appealing to this group: AT&T’s “Reach
Out and Touch Someone” series. They’re warm and fuzzy,
*very* family and friend oriented and appeal to the desire for
connectedness. Family scenes tend to be country and/or
small town oriented with lots of children and grandparents.
Also recall the Kodak Moments series. Can you see how
these ads appeal to this large group? The political ads,
conversely, are aimed at how these things are under attack
or no longer valued. They appeal primarily to fear.
2. EMULATORS – About 10-15% of the country
LIFESTYLE: Young, the 16-38 age range. They model
themselves after successful people. They are money and
business motivated, materialistic and “wannabes.” They
tend to move quickly, feel driven towards success and have
strong sex motivated desires. In cars, their choices include
Camaros, Mustangs, Firebirds and maybe leased late
model Beemers.
HIGH VALUE: Desire to be confident.
PSYCHIC WOUND: Lack confidence (and know it).
KEY WORDS: Someday, I’m going to… I want… Be like…
Typical commercials appealing to this group: Coors Lite.
It’s action driven, sexy, young. ZIMA Malt Drink follows this
pattern. Nike ads, too, featuring Michael Jordan. Cool.
Action driven, often young people in the series doing cool
things. Especially watch for ads which have young, beautiful
and sexy people. Calvin Klein’s ads are targeted to this
group. And just watch Melanie Griffith in her Revlon series
about “Don’t lie about your age…defy it.” Almost all cosmetic
ads are in this group. Notice, too, the driving music behind
these ads.
3. ACHIEVERS – Again, about 10-15% of the country
LIFESTYLE: #1 in their fields, know they’re the BEST.
Economically top performers, $100K+ annually. This group
tends to be 40-55 years of age. Their auto choices? Top of
the line Mercedes, Jaguar, Rolls Royce. And guess what
brand of mustard they prefer?
HIGH VALUE: Being unique, standing out, king of the hill.
PSYCHIC WOUND: Don’t want to be one of the pack, part of
the herd.
KEY WORDS: Unique, decision maker, leader,
international, CEO, prestige, quality, different, take it to the
next level, being in the vanguard.
Typical commercial appealing to this group: Lincoln
Continental. Note its tag line: “Make Your Mark.” Cadillac
also targets this group, as do the DeBeers diamond ads
which often speak of 25th wedding anniversaries. See how
they go straight at this age and financial range?
4. SOCIETALLY CONSCIOUS – (Two types)
10-15% of the market, fastest growing segment in the US.
LIFESTYLE: Not money oriented, tend to be college grads,
grew up in the 60s, don’t trust government programs.
Type A: Never left the 60s, long hair, not into career,
sandals, Tie-dyed T-Shirts, Grateful Dead concerts. They
often prefer used cars, VW vans.
Type B: Got into the system, cut their hair (not always) or
trimmed their beards neatly, some wear suits, believe in
“change-the-system-from-within.” Their car choices are
Volvos, Saabs and Subarus. (From direct observation, it
would seem that Berkeley, CA, is the Volvo Capital of the
US!)
HIGH VALUE: Intelligence, Integrity
PSYCHIC WOUND: Being seduced or manipulated by the
system in any way.
KEY WORDS: Mission, change the world for the better,
natural, balance, nuturing, good person, outdoors,
environmental, poor, homeless, global warming, recycling,
pollution, etc.
Typical commercial appealing to this group: Chevron
“People Do” ads showing scenes of environmental purity
next to refineries. Coors Regular with cool, clean flowing
streams. Ads which are low key and which stress “You
Already Know What’s Right,” or “You Can’t Be Fooled.” So
even though this group detests being manipulated, they, like
everyone else in the world, can be approached
psychologically.
GENERAL CATEGORIES
Note that these are all general categories. People are not
totally one thing or another, so individuals can be part of
more than one grouping. Often you’ll see commercials or
ads which are targeted toward more than one group using
mixed words and images. The viewer simply picks out
those which appeal directly and rejects the others…or
doesn’t even see or respond to them.
So observe the advertising going on for awhile, see how it is
put together and then go forth and do likewise. Find YOUR
target market and aim all your advertising, marketing and
promotional energies and dollars specifically at them.
You’re bound to have success!
Mr. Eric Barnes is President & General Manager of Capital
Funds Group Ltd., a Canadian based consulting firm
specializing in Putting Companies and Money
Together. They also work with non-US companies
to take them public rapidly and inexpensively, then getting
them funded. Visit our
Web Site