Understanding Radio Advertising

How does it work?

Well, it's quite simple really... The average adult 18+ spends over 3 hours per day listening to the radio. Most people have their favorite radio stations. They listen to these stations more often than others and they do this in their homes, cars and offices. This allows radio advertisers to be heard more often by more people. Many advertisers will use radio because of its ability to be in many places at any given time. This allows them to reach a broader number of listeners in any given demographic.

Remember that Radio Advertising doesn't work over night!

Fist let's take a look at the difference between the two. A "Call to Action" ad campaign is just that, a "Call to Action." You're calling everyone that hears the ad to act on whatever it is that they've heard. Most of the time this type of ad campaign is run in short bursts or "blitzes."

"50% off storewide for one day only!"

Does that sound familiar? Have you heard that ad and made a trip down to the department store to buy yourself those new shoes, golf clubs, power tools or anything else for that matter? The department store called on you to act! And you did! That's just one way to reach your customers and get results, however your message needs to be truly compelling.

Have you ever told a Radio Salesperson that you don't need to advertise or that it doesn't work? If you have, your wrong. Think about this for a moment.

They're there to help you get the word out about your business. Your customers could be hearing a lot of things about you. Don't you want them to hear the good things that'll make them want to buy?

What would happen if someone ran an ad on the radio saying that you're "GOING OUT OF BUSINESS and everything must go, for FREE! Do you think that would work? Sure it would, and everyone would suddenly hear it. Now that's a compelling message. Just not one that any business wants to send.

Now, the next type of Advertising is Branding. That's right you, your company, products/services can all become as familiar as household names, If you Brand properly.

How do you do this?

Well, a Branding or Imaging Campaign takes a little longer and in most cases will take a little more effort. You'll need a nice catchy slogan to be attached to your name. You'll need to run the ads at specific times to ensure that the right listeners are listening.

Most advertisers who use this type of advertising will choose to sponsor programs or elements. You must be sure that the program or element that you sponsor matches your business or product. This type of campaign is designed to build awareness of your business. An Imaging Campaign should run for no less than thirteen weeks or three months. This is the amount of time it will take for the campaign to begin creating "Top of Mind Awareness."

The longer the campaign and the more often they hear your message the greater the chances are of them remembering it for a longer period of time.

1. When writing radio copy don't catalog your inventory. Many advertisers make the mistake of doing this in their radio ads. Instead write copy that will grab your customers' attention and be sure that it's consistent with your business' image and the products or services you're advertising.

2. Don't make it too long. In many cases a :15 second commercial is long enough. In some, a :30 second commercial is fine. It's rare that a :60 second commercial is good. If the ad is too long then you'll just tune your customers out. They won't listen anymore.

3. Don't make it too wordy. Many businesses try to fit too much information into their radio ad. This will create that tune-out response from your customers. Instead, create copy that includes sound effects and music.

4. Use the right talent for your commercial. Depending on your message you might want to voice it yourself or have an employee voice the commercial. This makes the message more personal. If you can get a celebrity to voice the commercial for you then you might be able to create an image that connects your business to the celebrity. This is "third party recognition" and helps to lend your business more credibility.

5. Be creative! You want to grab the listeners' attention and give them information they can use. By advertising with a creative message you can accomplish creating that "top of mind" awareness when they think of products or services your message mentions.

6. Put your phone number or location at the end of the commercial if you want them to call you or stop by. If this part of the message is interrupted by word clutter then it will reduce the chances of them remembering it.

It's important that you know when your customers are listening and what they're listening to. You can ask you local radio stations for a demographic breakdown of their listeners by "Day-part." When you get this information you will have the ability to better decide when to run your ads. It doesn't matter what station you listen to, what does matter is what stations your customers listen. They may not be the same.

There are two basic types of schedules.

The first is at the Run Of the Station or ROS. This is a schedule that allows the station to place your commercials where ever they may fit. Usually within a specified time frame. The stations that I used to work for would run these ROS spots between 6pm and 6am. Not the most desirable airtimes.

The second is the Optimum Effective Schedule or OES. With this you would schedule to run between eight and twelve commercials a day, within a twelve hour period. This ensures that your message is heard hourly, by someone. In most cases it's takes an average of three exposures to a commercial for someone to remember it and act on it. If you're going to pay for OES then it's important that you know what period of time is best for your customers to hear your message.

When possible, you would schedule your commercials to run during the peak listening hours. Most stations have this broken down into "Day-Parts." 6AM to 10AM, 10AM to 2PM, 2PM to 6PM, 6PM to 10PM and overnights. You would place a majority of your commercials in the day-part that reaches your customers most.

Do some research on your local radio stations before deciding where to buy your airtime.

In order to choose the right station or format for you, you must first have defined who your customers are and who you want them to be. Know your target market and what demographic they fit into. After you've figured this out, you will then be ready to choose your radio stations/formats to advertise on. The following are a few different formats. (This is not a list of all radio formats.)

CHR - Contemporary Hit Radio

If your business targets a younger more hip and savvy demographic then this is the station format you want to be advertising on. In most cases a CHR station will target individual between the ages of 18-35 years. They may also be reaching a younger demographic later in the afternoons and evening.

AOR - Album Oriented Radio

These types of stations are usually less talk and more music. The music that they play are many times from albums that not all people have heard of. This many times is a station with a specific genre of music and listeners.

NT - Newstalk

This is your business and affluent demographic. Most people who listen to an NT radio station have higher levels of education and more expendable incomes. They are many times business owners and young professionals. Many of them may be news junkies%u2026 The age group that this type of station may target is usually between the ages of 45 and older.

AC - Adult Contemporary

This radio format is for the most part a more mature audience. A demographic that fits between the CHR and NT listeners. These radio stations are more typically played in professional offices as the music played on them are less 'disruptive.'