The ANA - Audience Needs Analysis

We're all familiar with the Client Needs Analysis - the conduit for vital information from the client to the creative team, even if you're that team. Is there anything wrong with this?

It often leaves out the most important part of the radio success equation - the audience. Without including what they need, we may be defeating ourselves and shortchanging the client. Why not an Audience needs Analysis?

What does your audience need?

The audience for every advertiser will have specific needs, but in general, they need help, information, entertainment and emotional support. They need to find meaning in a sea of information, simplicity and order out of the chaos and information overload of their lives. They need care, respect and comfort.

They'd rather have invitations than demands. They'd like to come to their own conclusions, make their own choices, be led, and not pushed into making a buying decision. They'd like to be talked to, not at. They need to have secrets shared with them. They need to be treated as individuals.

Ask your client, "How does your audience feel now?" "How would you like them to feel?" Create a commercial that addresses where they are now and takes them to a better place.

Talk to customers. Ask them why they purchased at the advertiser. The reasons may be quite different from what the client thinks. What needs did they bring to the advertiser?

Listen for the unique, the emotional connections. When they come up, go deeper. Get enough information to create a story - about their needs and how the advertiser can help them satisfy them.