Recession Marketing Part 4: Radio Marketing

Tips for the clever business person on maximizing your marketing investment during a recession.

Jonathan Daniel Cox

February 19, 2008


	3.0/5.0 (3 votes total)
	Rate:

Last time, we talked about the emotional appeal of advertising on TV. This time, we'll talk about a great way to educate your customers on your products or services: Radio Marketing.

In the recent SIMM 11 study conducted by BIGresearch, it was shown that 44.2 percent of consumers who hear information that interests them on the radio go online to look into the product or service further. Further studies showed that 22 percent to 28 percent (depending on the industry) of consumers go on to buy the product that caught their attention.

A recent recession marketing survey by BtoB Magazine shows that companies who normally invest in radio advertising are estimated to cut back in 2008 by 10 percent. So what does that mean for the clever business owner?

It means you can acquire one of the most powerful marketing tools for influencing buying decisions at a significant discount this year.

When radio stations experience a 10 percent loss in revenue, slots that are normally extremely competitive or pricey become available at discounted rates. So how do you take advantage of this?

Negotiate with your radio stations. Radio stations may claim that their prices are fixed, but any good salesperson will adjust their pricing in order to close the deal, especially when their revenues are down.

One of the best ways to increase your buying power is to offer to increase the duration of your marketing campaign in exchange for a lower rate. For example, rather than buying a 13 week campaign at $1,500 a week, offer to commit to a 26 week campaign at $1,200 a week. You'll save $7,800, which is like getting five weeks of valuable advertising for free, and the station gets the extra revenue they need.

Another powerful buying method is to negotiate to buy filler inventory. Radio stations often have 10 to 15 seconds where they have to push filler in order to start a show on time. Those 10 to 15 seconds could easily be your ad at a significant discount.

Try AM radio. News, sports, and talk radio have amazing followings, and unlike FM or music radio stations, their listeners are much less likely to surf stations and are much more likely to be attentive to ads they hear.

So now that you've landed a sweet deal for your marketing campaign, how do you maximize returns on your investment?

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Keep your ads simple. Don't try to cram too much information into your ad space. I say that for two reasons. First, you don't want to confuse your listeners. Second, curiosity is one of the most powerful tools in marketing. You want to grab their attention. Pique their curiosity to the point that they'll call the number or visit the website you mention in your ad.

For example, if you sell pizza, you might structure the last few seconds of your ad like this: "Free BOBBY'S Pizza today! Find out more at 918-555-1212. Call now! Tulsa's best pizza…guaranteed. That's 918-555-1212." Now, don't you want to find out how to get a free pizza?

If you sell a service or information, hook their attention by offering a free report or a free "how to" article on your website. If you sell retail, offer free coupons or a sales calendar online.

And remember to mention your contact information twice. They won't be ready to take it down the first time, and odds are, they'll be scrambling for a pen. The second time you mention your contact information, they'll be ready.

Most importantly, avoid confusing domain names or names that are difficult to spell. It's better to buy an expensive domain name than to spend $15,000 on radio advertising for a website no one can spell. Be creative with your domain names and avoid domains with the word "and," confusing symbols like dashes or underscores, and the number 4.

At Xeal every commercial ends with "Visit Xeal online at X E A L dot com…that's Zeal with an X, and X E A L dot com." In this case we actually spell it out for the listeners.

Also, a great way to track your ad response is ask your radio station for permission to use their name in your tracking URLs. Using our pizza example earlier, you could use "KFAQ LOVES PIZZA dot com." Saying that in a commercial would be much easier than saying "BOBBY'S Italian Eatery dot com."

If they say no, then try something like "TULSA LOVES PIZZA dot com," or make it campaign specific: "TULSA FREE PIZZA dot com" or "5 BUCK PIZZA NOW dot com." Notice I say "buck" instead of "dollar" so that people won't confuse the word for the dollar symbol when entering the address.

That's it for today. Keep an eye out for our next article. We'll talk about the state of the market, projected spending, and how to come out of the recession stronger than ever before. You're going to love it.