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And now, on to radio. Or, as Elvis Costello sang, "Radio,
Radio".
-- by Lisa
Ann Schreier
As with every other medium we've discussed so far, radio is not for every resort out there.
And, as with other media, content is of utmost importance. And most important of all is follow up after the ad.
Today we're dealing with the pros of radio advertising. Next time, we'll look at the cons and in the scintillating
Part 3-- a suggested strategy.
PROS
- Availability Of The Medium
- Ability To Target-geographically and psychographically
- Relative Low Cost
- Value Added Opportunities
To whet your appetite, the cons are:
CONS
- Time constraint
- Lack of visual appeal
- The alarming trend towards more corporate micromanagment
AVAILABILITY OF THE MEDIUM
Radio is everywhere. It is an intrusive medium, but one that people invite in, an important point to remember.
People listen to the radio because they want to, the same cannot be said of direct mail. The most recent studies
show that 98% of all Americans listen to radio at least once per day and 99% of them have more than one radio.
Couple that with the astonishing number of available radio stations nationwide and its clear that getting your
message out is NOT a problem when using radio.
ABILITY TO TARGET
The real advantage of radio, and something that is all too often overlooked, is the ability to target. I'll give
you an example. Last week I heard a 30-second radio spot advertising a prostate research center (honestly) on a
radio station whose target audience is 18-25 year old males. WHY? My guess is that some novice media buyer noticed
that this station could be purchased at a relatively low CPP and snapped it up thinking that more people would
hear it and respond. A bargain? No. A waste of money. Just because you can buy it inexpensively does
not mean that you should. Getting back to the point-- radio allows you to pinpoint your audience. Want
to reach people between the ages of 35-54 with a household income of $65,000+ who have taken at least one domestic
vacation in the last 12 months and who reside in Columbus Ohio, Portland Oregon, Chicago Illinois and Battle Creek
Michigan? CALL ME! I'll get you exact stations and prices.
RELATIVELY LOW COST
Key word here is "relatively". Key unspoken caveat-- you need a professional to do your radio buying
for you. Often times, the price quoted by the station is far from the real price, based on a schedule or flight
that would not suit your best needs and depends on more spots than you really need. Sound suspiciously like some
other line of work you may be familiar with?
VALUE ADDED OPPORTUNITIES
OK, a quick note to Roz, Beckie, Steve and everyone else in this business… I am NOT going to give away all of your
secrets, I promise. I will however say this: cross-promotions, value added "perks" and more valuable
exposure are all out there. You, the advertiser must know how to play the game. As an example, let's say that you
ran a schedule or flight on a station that is sponsoring a home show in a local mall over the weekend. Can you
say, "negotiate for a booth" or "negotiate for a list of attendees"? If you look around, you
will notice that radio is involved in tons of these cross-promotions all the time. Again, I reiterate-- you need
a media professional in this matter. Oh yeah, I just remembered that I have 10 years of radio buying experience.
Shameless, aren't I? Yes, and successful. And I can help you be successful as well.
Next time…the cons of radio advertising (and I'm not talking about con-artists although THAT
would be interesting to write about!)
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Lisa Ann Schreier
is a dynamic, outspoken, devout believer in the power of advertising done correctly. Lisa brings a wealth of advertising,
marketing and promotional knowledge to her many business interests. She is the director of her own marketing/advertising
agency, a full-time timeshare salesperson, a contributing writer and a part time Cast Member of the Walt Disney
World Resort. After one too many long cold winters in Chicago, she now happily lives in the Orlando area where
she is known for her consumer insights and "back to basics" style of business. When she is not working,
sharing insights with the best bartender on Disney property (you'll be famous soon!) or learning the hard way that
the sun really is much stronger in Orlando than it ever was up north, she occasionally runs back to Chicago to
catch up on the best radio station in the world and see some incredible concerts. Lisa can be reached at GRQ1@aol.com. Check out her business ad here. |
