Radio Commercial Production: An Agency Workflow

In radio commercial production for clients, time is rarely lost in the writing. It is lost in versions, approval rounds and files delivered under the wrong name. A fixed workflow solves most of that: a closed brief, an approved master script, versions built from the master, sign-off in two stages and a tidy delivery. Below are the stages, a sample job sheet and how to run them with Fynqcast. The rules for writing the script itself are covered in a separate article on this blog.

What are the stages of radio ad production?

1. A closed brief. One page: client, product, single message, offer, call to action, contact to read out, stations and regions, lengths, languages, mandatory lines, legal disclaimers and air dates.
2. The master script. Write the longest version first, for example the 30-second spot, and get it approved in writing. No audio before this step.
3. Derived versions. The 15-second cut-down, variants by offer or region, other languages. Each one starts from the approved master and changes only what has to change.
4. Sign-off in two stages. First the text of every version, then the audio.
5. Delivery. Audio files with clear names, the final scripts and a sheet that says which file goes to which station, from which date.

How do you keep versions and languages under control?

The brand name, the mandatory lines and the legal disclaimer never change in any version. Translations are adapted, because a word-for-word translation usually overruns the length and sounds unnatural, so have a native speaker review it. Every version gets a code that appears in the file name, on the job sheet and in emails with the client.

Example: a campaign job sheet

The client and the campaign are invented: Lunari Opticians, three shops, a sale campaign in two regions.

Fixed across all versions: the name "Lunari Opticians" is never translated; mandatory line "Lunari Opticians. See it clearly."; legal disclaimer read at the end; call to action pointing to the nearest shop.

How to do it with Fynqcast

In Fynqcast, spots are produced with FYNQ Studio, in the Studio tab of your dashboard.

1. Choose "Spot & Ads" and the Advanced level. Copy the brief into the fields: brand name, product, main message, offer, call to action, contact, the Radio channel, tone, creative format, words and phrases that must appear, words to avoid and the legal disclaimer. The AI is instructed to write the brand name exactly as you enter it, in other languages too, and you can say how it is pronounced: that is a hint for the stock voices only and never ends up in the text. The legal disclaimer is meant to come word for word at the end: check it before you approve.
2. Start from the right script. "Create with AI" gives you a first draft from the brief. If the client has already approved a script, choose "Your text": paste it or load it from a PDF, DOCX or TXT file and it is read exactly as written.
3. Create one production per version. Each has its own length, its own language and one or two voices. For other languages, tick "Translate before reading" in "Your text", with a mandatory glossary, proper names to keep unchanged, words not to translate and a formal or informal register.
4. Review and approve. With an AI-written script you can rewrite a single part and say how it should change; check that the mandatory phrases are still word for word. Nothing is generated until you approve the text.
5. Use the version code as the production title. The title becomes the name of the downloaded file, so stick to plain letters without accents, numbers and hyphens, as in the job sheet above. You download the MP3 and the SRT subtitles.

A cloned voice is personal: only the person who created it can use it, after identity verification and consent, and it is open only to adults with an identity document issued by an EU Member State. Every audio with a cloned voice opens with the spoken notice "Voice cloned with AI.", which takes up real time in a 15-second spot. For client campaigns, consider the stock voices.

How do you cut down approval rounds?

• One contact on the client side, who collects internal comments and sends them together.
• Time the full spot exactly as it will air.
• Station rules. Ask early whether the station has its own rules on AI-generated content.

The plans that include FYNQ Studio are on the pricing page.

Further reading:

• How to Write a Radio Ad Script: 15- and 30-Second Examples
• Multilingual voice over services: an agency workflow
• AI Voice Clone: How to Clone Your Own Voice Safely

Want to hear how it sounds? Listen to the examples in the Tutorial.