Why Radio Advertising?
There are many advantages of radio advertising - mainly its unique combination of high reach, high targetability, and low cost.
In a single week, radio reaches more than 228 million Americans. That's 94 percent of everyone age 12 and older, according to Arbitron. So no matter what types of prospects you want to reach, radio advertising will help you do it. Plus, radio is mobile. Eighty percent of adults listen to radio in their cars, and a quarter of the population also listens while at work.
There's a lot that's new in radio. Many stations now stream their programming on the internet and reach additional local and even national audiences. What's more, if online listeners like what they hear in your streaming radio spot, they're just one click away from your website.
3 Pros of Radio Advertising
1. Advertising Costs
Cost is perhaps the most obvious and attractive feature of radio advertising. On both creative development and media costs, radio beats TV by a significant margin. In terms of media costs, you'll often pay a minimum of thousands of dollars for TV media placement. However, you can find radio spot for a few hundred dollars per spot, and you can air a full week's radio advertising test for as little as $2,500. With radio, the testing happens much faster, so it costs you less in time value of money, as well as up-front and at-risk investment.
2. Reach
Radio has a wide-scale appeal to consumers. Even with the alternatives available today, listening patterns appear to be stable, indicating that radio remains a popular consumer choice.
3. Targetability
Radio targets specific audiences. The fundamental advertising axiom of reaching the right people at the right time with the right message at the right cost is more possible with radio than with other large-scale "push" direct response advertising mediums. As a result, your dollars spent on radio advertising are more efficient, generating a greater return on investment. Here is a summary of the formats that reach corresponding demographics1:
Age Target/Format(s)
Teens 12-17: Primarily CHR, some Urban Alternative
Adults 18-24: CHR, more Alternative, Urban preference
Adults 25-34: Alternative, Rock, CHR, some Urban, AC
Adults 35-44: Rock, AC primarily
Adults 45-54: Oldies, AC
Adults 55-64: Classical, New AC
Adults 65+: Adult Standards, Classical, News Talk
CHR=Current Hit Radio
AC=Adult Contemporary
Age information is only the beginning of the targetability of radio. For any given format, we can know much more about the audience listening habits. Let's take one format, Alternative, and look at what we know based on the available data:
- 63% male, 37% female
- Over 83% are less than 44 years old
- Adults 25-34 account for almost 28% of the audience
- Listening location: 38% car, 31% home 28% work
- 18% more likely to have children in the home (49% of listeners)
- 36.5% earn more than $75k/year
- More likely than any other format to use online banking
- #1 format in movie attendance
- High fast food restaurant usage (31% have eaten at a fast food restaurant 5+ times within last 30 days)
This information assists in developing a targeted media plan that significantly enhances the efficiency of advertising by ensuring your radio ads reach the right people.
So you think radio is a match for you…now what? While radio provides an ideal advertising medium for small businesses, running an effective campaign takes a bit of know-how. Just follow these four tips for navigating the radio waves.
Know What You're Buying
The three most important elements when evaluating proposals are reach, frequency and cost-per-point. Reach is the number of times your prospects that'll hear your marketing message. Frequency isn't the number of spots you run, but the average number of times your prospects will actually hear your message. Cost-per-point is the basis for evaluating cost effectiveness. CPP is what it'll cost to reach 1 percent of your target audience population, so it's the best way to compare the value of competing stations. Buy enough frequency to ensure your message is heard at least several times.
Look for Special Sponsorships
Radio stations are promotional engines, and there are at least two ways you can get on board. First, most stations offer the opportunity to sponsor news, weather reports or other types of regular programming. As a sponsor, you'll typically get additional mentions, such as with "billboards," which are announcements of your sponsorship that lead into special programming. Often, sponsorship will guarantee your spots air first in the commercial breaks, so you'll reach more listeners before they have a chance to switch stations or tune out during long breaks.
Radio stations also get involved in the community with special events. Look for sponsorship opportunities that include on-air mentions, as well as visibility at the events themselves. And be sure to seek out events that are well attended by your target audience and put your company in the spotlight.
Entertain the Audience
Once you've evaluated the proposals from the radio stations and negotiated and finalized your buys, you'll need effective spots. Since radio spot production is rarely a do-it-yourself job, you'll most likely work with a local production company, agency or station. But you should understand a few basics to be an effective part of the team and keep them on track.
Great radio spots grab and hold attention, usually through humor. They may also use sounds, compelling music or unusual voices to grab attention. Your spots must tell stories or present situations your target audience can relate to. To keep your audience listening to your spots month after month, make them part of an ongoing campaign theme. Your audience will listen for the newest versions, helping extend your message more successfully than if you were to run unrelated spots. For maximum results, make your call to action--a URL or phone number--easy to remember and tie it in with your company name or message.
Sources:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/marketing/marketingcolumnistkimtgordon/article177002.html
http://www.strategicmediainc.com/radio-advertising.php
1Radio Today, 2006
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