Radio Advertising Facts

Tag: radio

  • Radio Advertising Facts & Figures

    Radio Advertising Facts & Figures

    Even though competitors like to portray radio as an aging technology, the reality is radio advertising remains an effective tool for reaching consumers in today’s fragmented media landscape. Extensive research by the Radio Advertising Bureau reveals a robust weekly audience of radio listeners.

    Who’s Listening?
    Over 92 percent of Americans age 12 and up listen to radio each week, creating an audience of over 235 million listeners. Among 12- to 17-year-olds, who are perceived as not listening to the radio, nearly 90 percent listen weekly.

    Where Do They Listen?
    The majority of radio listening occurs in cars, with 73 percent of adults age 18 and up listening while driving on a typical weekday. The second most popular location for listening is at home. The number of people listening to commercial radio online now includes nearly 20 percent of the people who listen each week.

    What Are They Listening To?
    There are over 10,000 commercial radio stations in the United States. There are more country music stations in America than any other type with over 2,000 outlets. News/talk is second with 1,375 stations.

    Who’s Advertising?
    Major brands such as Verizon, Home Depot, Walt Disney and Burger King are among the top 20 largest radio advertisers. The largest advertising categories for radio include retail, automotive, insurance, restaurants and financial institutions.

    How Much Do They Spend?
    Radio advertising revenue exceeded $19 billion in 2008, and over $13 billion came from local businesses.

    Article written by Mike Stern.

  • Radio Advertising Tips

    Radio Advertising Tips

    Here are some concepts to keep in mind as you plan your Radio advertising:

    • Feature one item, or a limited number, per commercial to insure listener remembrance. You can’t sell ten items in thirty seconds.
    • If you must use price, use one or a few only. This way you won’t confuse the listener.
    • Is a phone number necessary? If it can’t get an order or sell a customer, and if you can’t make it the centerpiece of the ad, don’t use it.
    • Spend a reasonable amount of money. Don’t expect good results unless you invest appropriately.
    • Use saturation for hard-hitting impact. You can’t get the job done with one spot. Repetition – frequency – is one of radio’s biggest persuaders.
    • Distinction is an effective tool for attracting people. That sound effect, theme music or “sound signature” will help your ads make an impression.
    • Don’t select radio programs or formats for your own personal likes or dislikes, but rather for the audience you want to reach.
    • The best use of radio advertising is day in, day out, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. The results from radio advertising build over time, and they are lasting results.
    • Don’t try to reach too many people all at once. It is better to reach 10% of your prospects 100% of the way than to reach 100% of your prospects only 10% of the way.
  • Reasons NOT to Advertise

    Reasons NOT to Advertise

    There are plenty of reasons to not advertise. Here are some of our “favorite” excuses for not engaging in an effective, consistent marketing campaign. If you’ve ever found yourself using any of these excuses to avoid promoting your business, you’re missing out on the opportunity for increased traffic, increased sales and increased profits.

    Everybody knows me. I don’t need to advertise.
    Really? There are new people moving to town every week, plus plenty of visitors. Just because you’ve been on the same corner since 1972 is meaningless to newcomers. A successful business reaches out to new customers on an ongoing basis. Without new customers, even long-established businesses eventually die.

    I don’t advertise. Word-of-mouth is all I need.
    Word-of-mouth is one of the most ineffective forms of advertising there is. First of all, you can’t control it. You don’t know what’s being said and to whom. Plus, word-of-mouth is usually negative. People who have an acceptable business transaction with you likely tell few, if any, other people. Those who have a bad experience tell everyone they know. Relying solely on word-of-mouth is a serious marketing mistake!

    Business is great. I don’t need to advertise.
    That’s great, for now. But why wait until things slow down to seek out new customers. Effective advertising keeps potential new customers “in the pipeline.”

    Business is too slow. I can’t afford to advertise.
    And business will stay slow if you don’t. Advertising is nothing more than inviting people to do business with you. If things are slow, you need to be inviting more people to your store.

    I tried Radio before and it didn’t work.
    If your offer was weak, chances are your results were too. People respond to the need, not the ad. Or perhaps you advertised on a station that didn’t reach your target demographic or you didn’t have enough frequency to be effective. Radio works!

    I don’t listen to your station.
    But many of your customers and potential customers do. Advertising is like going fishing – do you bait your hook with what you like, or with what the fish like?

    I don’t do Radio advertising.
    It’s foolish to overlook an entire medium because of some silly preconceived notion. Radio works! And with the right offer and enough frequency, Radio can produce results unmatchedby any other media. If you exclude Radio from your marketing plans, you’re missing out.

    Nobody ever tells me they hear my Radio ads.
    Because people respond to the need, not the ad. If they need a new refrigerator and they hear an ad for an appliance store, they respond by checking out your refrigerator selection. They DON’T come in and say “hey, I heard your ad for refrigerators.”

    Your rates are too high.
    Radio stations charge different rates, based on many factors. But a 30-second ad on Station A is not equivalent to a 30-second Station B. You can buy a $1 hamburger at Burger King or an $8.00 hamburger at an expensive restaurant. Both hamburgers, but there is a difference.

    I have to talk it over with my wife/partner/CPA/psychic/grandmother.
    Every day you’re not advertising is a missed opportunity for more business. While you procrastinate, your competitors are going after your customers.

    I don’t have any competition.
    Wrong! No matter what you’re selling, you’re competing with every cash register in town, plus online competitors and competitors in nearby towns. Effective advertising motivates customers to come to your store.

  • 10 Good Reasons to Advertise on Radio

    10 Good Reasons to Advertise on Radio

    If you’re going to advertise (and you should), it makes sense to spend your advertising money where you get the most results… Radio!

    Here are ten reasons why radio is your best choice (courtesy of the Radio Advertising Bureau).

    1) Radio sells with immediacy.

    Research proves that radio regularly reaches consumers within two hours of their largest purchase of the day.Can there be a better time to reach customers than on their car radio while they are driving to do today’s shopping?

    2) Radio sells everywhere.

    Radio is the only true mobile medium. In the car, at work, and at play, radio is there…the companion and the advertising force your customers take with them wherever they go.

    3) Radio sells with intimacy.

    In your personal life, when you have something very important to communicate to someone, which would you prefer – to show them a picture, to write to them, or to talk with the intimacy and emotion of the human voice?Radio sells with intimacy.

    4) Radio stars in the theater of the mind.

    Want a 100-piece symphony orchestra in your ad, an elephant, a chorus, a laughing child, a love song?With word pictures and emotion-evoking sounds, radio’s theatre of the mind stimulates the most emotion-filled pictures the mind can comprehend.

    5) Radio escapes advertising’s clutter.

    Today’s newspapers average 2/3 ad copy to 1/3 editorial copy. TV spends about 1/3 of its time on advertising. Today’s radio, at about 10 minutes of advertising per hour, devotes less than 1/5 of its time to ads.Radio is the uncluttered medium.

    6) Radio is the cost effective medium.

    Newspaper rates are up (even though circulation is down). TV ad rates are up (even though viewership is down).Radio advertising costs grew less than any other major form of advertising.

    7) Reach is nice, but frequency sells.

    Newspaper and TV are reach media – they reach varying numbers of people. Psychologists tell us that consumers need to be exposed to an advertising message at least three times before it begins to penetrate. Most local businesses cannot afford the necessary three-times-plus frequency that effective advertising demands – except on radio. Radio is the reach and frequency medium you can afford.

    8) Radio’s targeted advertising sells.

    Radio’s variety of formats allows you to pinpoint your advertising on the station or stations that best match your customer’s interests. You cannot pinpoint advertising in the broad-reach, scattershot newspaper and TV media forms. Radio’s unique targeting ability saves you money.

    9) You’re always on the front page with radio.

    With radio advertising you are front and center in the listener’s attention span when your ad is on the air. You’re never buried on page 42 and you’re never surrounded by your competitor’s ads. With radio, you are always on the front page.

    10) Radio is an active medium in an active society.

    Passive forms of advertising simply list merchandise or tell you where a product is available. Radio is an active medium capable of stirring emotion, creating demand, and selling your product or service. Today’s hotly competitive marketplace demands an active medium. That’s radio!

  • 10 Reasons to Advertise

    10 Reasons to Advertise

    Why Should You Advertise? Here are 10 Good Reasons…

    My store has been here forever…  Everybody knows about us…  We’re doing just fine without advertising…  I have such a great location, I don’t need to advertise…  Don’t kid yourself.  It’s virtually impossible to build a successful businesses without advertising.  There are many good reasons to advertise, including attracting new customers, increasing sales and business growth.  Below we present 10 of the best (courtesy of the Radio Advertising Bureau).

    1)  You must advertise to reach new customers.

     The market changes constantly.  New families moving into the area mean new potential customers for you, or for your competition.  Customer’s income levels are constantly changing, which means changes in lifestyles, needs and buying habits.

    2)  You must advertise continuously.

    Shoppers don’t have the same store loyalty they once had.  Automobiles give shoppers mobility and freedom.  The National Retail Merchants Association says “mobility and non-loyalty are rampant.  Stores must promote to get former customers to return and to attract new ones.”

    3)  You must advertise to influence shoppers throughout the buying cycle.

    People often go from store to store comparing prices, quality and service.  Advertising must reach them consistently through the entire decision-making process.  For example, the average new car purchase is a 13-week cycle.  Your name must be fresh in their ears and minds when they ultimately decide to buy.

    4)  You must advertise because it pays off over a long period.

    Your advertising today is selling customers whose buying decision may be weeks away.  Advertising gives you a long-term advantage over competitors who cut back or cancel advertising.  A 5-year study of more than 3,000 companies found that advertisers who maintained or expanded advertising over the five years saw their sales increase an average of 100%.

    5)  You must advertise to generate more store traffic.

    Continuous store traffic is the first step toward sales increases and expanding your base of shoppers.  For every 100 items shoppers plan to buy, they make at least 30 unanticipated “in-store” purchases.

    6)  You must advertise to make more sales.

    Advertising works!  Businesses that succeed are almost always strong, steady advertisers.  Look around – you’ll find the most aggressive and consistent advertisers are almost always the most successful.

    7)  You must advertise because there is always business to generate.

    As long as you’re open for business, you’re got overhead to meet and new people to reach.  Advertising will generate customers now, and in the future.  Your doors are open.  Even the slowest days produce some sales.

    8)  You must advertise to keep a healthy positive image.

    In today’s competitive marketplace, rumors and bad news travel fast.  Advertising corrects misleading gossip and punctures “overstated” bad news.  Advertising that is vigorous and positive can bring shoppers into your store regardless of the economy.

    9)  You must advertise to maintain store morale.

    When advertising and promotion budgets are suddenly cut or cancelled, salespeople may become alarmed or demoralized.  Positive advertising boots morale.  It gives your staff strong, positive, motivational support.

    10)  You must advertise because your competition is advertising.

    There are only so many consumers in the market ready to buy at one time.  You must advertise to keep your share of customers or you will lose them to the more aggressive competitors.