Radio is my favorite advertising medium. This has to do with my 10 years in radio and having been an avid listener for more than 40 years. It also has something to do with my direct experience with this medium.
As with any advertising medium, radio features some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that in most markets there are so many radio stations it becomes difficult to cover your customer’s listening options. It’s also not a great branding medium because the visual factor is absent. The good news is that when you identify who your customer is, you can zero in on him or her better than with other media. The other good news is that radio gives you more creative options and more flexibility than other media. And radio can be less expensive while giving the same market reach as television.
WHO RADIO ATTRACTS. Radio stations are "formatted" to target specific demographic cells. There are few stations anymore that appeal "across the board" to all ages, genders and income levels. Here are some examples. Stations playing "all hits, all the time" generally target a younger (12- to 24-year-old) audience than we as PCOs might be interested in. Traditional news-talk radio stations historically track older listeners, perhaps 50+. And while some news-talk stations are attracting younger audiences, the majority still draw older audiences. Hard rock ’n’ roll stations tend to draw more men than women, usually younger than 35. Sports-oriented stations draw almost exclusively male audiences and seldom are among the high-rated stations in a market. The contemporary country music audience has changed significantly in recent years and now attracts a nice mix of men and women ages 25-54. This is the prime demographic of most products and services. "Light rock" stations also draw nice numbers in both men and women.
The flip side of all of this is that the highest-rated stations and those with the largest numbers of prime demographics are also the most expensive and their advertising time is in the most demand. So, armed with this information, how do you sort through the clutter and pick a couple of stations?
Call your sales people together and get a handle on the following information about who is calling you and why.
You want to know who calls because that’s the person you want to target with your ad. If you find out more of the calls came from women, that probably means that women are making the pest control decisions. You want to know why they call because that might help you craft your message. For example, if they called because of problems with ants, maybe you produce a commercial that focuses on ants. You want to know why they call YOU because they probably had a large number of options, so why did they select you? Maybe it was because of a referral. Maybe it was because they responded to your ad in the Yellow Pages. Maybe it was because they saw your truck. This could help you craft your message.
Is the person who calls usually the same person who buys? With pest services, maybe yes. With termite services, maybe not. It’s good to know who buys because that might help in deciding which station or station(s) you select. Finally, it’s really great to know why they bought from you as opposed to others. This will help you understand how you differ from others. Maybe it’s price. Maybe it’s the terrific customer service you provide. Any or all of these factors could influence how you craft your message.
CREATING ADS. Let’s say you discover that most of your incoming leads are from women with ant problems. Let’s say they picked your ad out of the Yellow Pages, that they made the ultimate purchasing decision and that they selected you because you responded quickly.
If this scenario plays out, then you’ll select a radio station that targets women in the age range of those who are already calling you. You might select a second station that targets equal numbers of men for some additional reach. Then, you might craft your commercial in a way that talks about your fast response to customer concerns. You might tie that fast response to problems with ants and you might point out that not all ants are prevented in the same way (thus cementing the idea of using a professional service). You might direct customers to your ad in the Yellow Pages because many of your listeners are driving at the time and won’t be able to write your phone number down. These "copy points" will help you craft an ad that speaks directly to your customer and his/her wants and needs.
Another great feature of radio is that you can change your commercial relatively easily and inexpensively. And, you can run some highly creative, "theater of the mind" commercials that take advantage of the customer’s imagination.
Today’s customer, whether a man or a woman, whether he or she works, usually isn’t chained to his or her desk or home. They’re out and about…driving to and from work, shopping, dinner, social events, etc. And if they’re driving, chances are the radio is on. And if the radio is on, they might as well be hearing something about your business.
The author is vice president of marketing/public relations for Massey Services Inc., Maitland, Fla. He can be reached via e-mail at bbrewer@pctonline.com or at 407/645-2500.
