Question

Topic: Advertising/PR

Is Radio Advertising For Us?

Posted by Anonymous on 11/25/2009 at 4:35 PM ET 250 Points
First, some background info. We are a fire, water, and storm damage restoration company. Most of our work comes from referrals generated by our marketing dept. or direct repair assignments that from insurance companies. Our marketing currently consists of two reps on the road. One works with insurance agents and the other with property managers and plumbers.
We are considering radio advertising. However, we are unsure of how radio in general fits us. Radio advertising will not drive direct sales for us so it will be difficult to measure response. People do not need our services every day, most only need us once in a lifetime. Since we have a very limited marketing budget, we have to be confident that we are making the most of what we have to work with.
Some info on the radio station we are considering. The are 100,000 watt, generally have 60,000 listeners. They are offering a package that includes 3-60 second messages daily, during "peak" times, plus a monthly 20-25 minute guest appearance on their talk radio show.
So... is radio advertising for us? How can we measure its success?
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  • Posted on 11/25/2009 at 5:04 PM Moderator
    It's not possible to say whether radio makes sense for you or not. It depends on a lot of different things, including the market you're in, the media options, your experience with different media, your competition, etc.

    I've been involved with a similar local business, and we found that direct mail and print (newspapers) worked better for us than broadcast for both registering brand awareness (for future sales) and lead generation (for immediate projects). But that could have been a function of the media rates and local market effectiveness, and the fact that we were heavily skewed toward lead generation for immediate projects.

    You really need to try several things to see what works. In our case, we wanted people to call our toll-free number, and it was difficult to register a phone number via radio. Much easier in print.

    You might also want to look into local cable tv. In many markets cable tv advertising is actually less expensive than radio, and you then have an opportunity to register a visual message as well as an audio one.

    So to summarize: There is no single right answer to your question. It depends on too many things. You'll just have to test for yourself. The real problem will be measurement. It could take a long time to know what worked and what didn't ... unless you have a short-term offering that you can use for quick feedback. It sounds like you don't really have that.

    Maybe advertising direct to consumers/end-users isn't going to be a cost-effective approach for you. It's not a question of radio (or not), but of whether the strategy of creating consumer awareness is something you want to do.
  • Posted on 11/26/2009 at 1:07 AM Accepted
    I dont have such complete answers as the posters above, but if I read your post correctly, I think radio could be amazing for you.

    Please consider...

    In times of environmental emergency e.g. bush fire, flood, storms etc - where do people get up to date information on the situation? They cant watch TV or use the internet... NO ELECTRICITY.

    Radio has traditionally been a way for people to connect with the outside world during a natural disater - this is entirely your market.

    So in short - dont buy a package now, but make an ad and keep the radio station on speed dial. Soon as crisis hits, run those ads.

    - benny
  • Posted by Jay Hamilton-Roth on 11/26/2009 at 8:43 AM Member
    If you don't already have a website that's ranked well for your keywords, invest in that before radio. When crisis hits, people will start looking. Make sure you can be found easily, answer their major concerns online, and make it easy to contact you 24/7.
  • Posted by Gary Bloomer on 11/26/2009 at 9:56 AM Accepted
    Dear icelar,

    To paint pictures in people's minds over a sustained period,
    radio is great: it's the theatre of the mind.

    But to get your detailed, "specific message to specific client" point across, direct mail is the better way to go. And direct mail that urges direct action by sending readers to a specific website, or to a toll free number, or to return a postcard, fill in a form or to respond in some
    way, shape, or form.

    Then you can measure the response.

    Sure, you can measure response with radio ads, but each ad needs some different call to action or some different number or extension to call, so that ad A asks people to "Call 123-456-7890 and ask for Bill/ext 123", ad B asks people to "Call 123-456-7890 and ask for Mary/ext 456." and so on. This way, times and slots can be assessed as to which ones and which scripts are most effective in generating responses.

    Radio is a great blanket medium, but alone, it's not enough.

    This means for it to work well you've got to employ sustained use,
    with varying messages across varying stations and those messages
    work better when they're part of a larger, wider, integrated plan.

    Imagine listening to one pop song by one band or artist played on
    one radio station at specific times. Do you think that song will hit the Billboard Top spot from just that exposure?

    I don't.

    And your target audience is the top spot of Billboard. With them, you've got to be number one; with them, you've got to stick in their mind, and you've got to make them want to buy the album.

    That's why bands and artists appear on TV, in the press, at televised events, and in concert, and that's why they produce an album, a tour,
    a video, and so on. It's part of an integrated whole to create bigger exposure.

    I hope this helps. Happy Thanksgiving.

    Gary Bloomer
    Wilmington, DE, USA

  • Posted on 11/27/2009 at 10:28 AM Author
    Hi All,
    I really appreciate all the feedback, especially over a holiday! It has given me a lot to think about. Good point, about people have radio but not tv/internet after a disaster.
    We do some direct mail, especially after a natural disaster ie:freeze, storm, hail etc. We have good relationships with our referral sources. The problem is that, they generally refer us and a competitor, leaving the homeowner to decide. We think the homeowners call who they are more familiar with. A few more details that were requested...
    1. The radio station has an average of 60,000 listeners tuned in at any given time-so they say. What I kind of like about this station is that their target listening audience, is in our target service area. They are not reaching people that live in an area we do not want to service.
    2. They can help us with the copy, but we record the ad. We will have 2 different messages that rotate. Our ads will run 3 times total daily. We can re-record the ads anytime we want, at no add'l cost.
    3. It is M-F.
    4. The cost is $1625 per month
    5. We will sign a 12 month agreement, w/the option to opt out at 6 months if we feel it is not working.
    Thanks!
  • Posted on 11/30/2009 at 10:54 AM Author
    Thanks for the add'l suggestions. I will close this question tomorrow.... still open for any final tips or input though.
    I will give all of your input serious consideration. Some new points I am taking away include:
    -It's not a question of radio (or not), but of whether the strategy of creating consumer awareness is something you want to do.
    -Ask for 3 additional random rotation spots a day, including Sat/Sun.
    -Change your spots. Make them fresh. Participate in your advertising.
    -Radio is a great blanket medium, but alone, it's not enough.
    -Dont buy a package now, but make an ad and keep the radio station on speed dial. Soon as crisis hits, run those ads.
    -Radio is normally great for image building, and since you want to be top-of-mind when people need your services, radio could be a great way to go. But the package you're being offered doesn't seem all that good.
    thanks again everyone!
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