In a tough economy, this ‘dinosaur’ still has teeth
Ever since I’ve been working in advertising, people have been declaring that radio is practically extinct.
Some other form of media is always more popular. It used to be TV that hogged the limelight. Now it’s social media. Meanwhile, radio continues to quietly chug along in the background just doing its job.
Three years ago, as the economy began to sour, I noticed a strange phenomenon. I was producing more radio spots than ever before. When the economy contracted even further, the radio assignments on my desk only piled up even higher.
The reason why was obvious. When their marketing budgets got cut back, some of our clients took a good hard look at the numbers. They couldn’t afford to saturate the airwaves on TV anymore. But they could afford to do it on radio.
Even though radio advertising doesn’t get a lot of press, as an advertising medium it really has a lot of advantages. Let’s review.
It’s affordable. Compared to TV and print, radio is usually a better value. A good radio media schedule will often cost less and reach more people.
Your audience is already segmented for you. The different programming formats at radio stations appeal to vastly different audiences. This makes it easier to cherry pick the people you want to receive your advertising message. You simply buy the stations that reach your target’s demographics and psychographics.
Production costs are low. Because both TV and print are visual media, you have to show the reader/viewer what you want them to picture. Because of this, setting up a print or TV shoot can be expensive. In a radio spot, however, you can paint a picture in the listener’s mind. You don’t have to show them anything. Through the magic of sound effects and music you can make it sound like someone is hopping all around the world on a pogo stick. The truth is it’s just an actor in a recording studio and some CDs with sound effects on them.
Radio gets results. Here’s one example. Recently, I did a series of radio spots for Kentucky Vehicle Enforcement. The spots were designed to increase awareness among motorists of the danger of crowding commercial vehicles on Kentucky’s highways. In other words, “Don’t get too close to the truckers.” After the campaign ran, surveys revealed that the number of people who said they had heard a message about driving more safely around trucks jumped from 15% to 45%. The surveys also revealed that 5% had changed their driving behavior because of the commercials.
The next time you need to design an affordable advertising campaign, you should really consider radio. Even in a down economy, this “dinosaur” really can help your company make a giant roar.
Super Bowl Advertising ROI
The publication Advertising Age recently published a fascinating article that shows how some companies were able to quantify their investment in Super Bowl ads.
The publication asked some companies to provide their Return on Investment (ROI) for 2008 Super Bowl ads. Remember… these ads cost around $3 million for a 30 second spot. Here are some examples of their results.
- Audi realized a 200% increase in web traffic in the month after the game;
- E-Trade increased by 12%– in one week– its number of new funded accounts;
- CareerBuilder had a 60% increase in job applications;
- Hyundai drew 300,000 Web site visitors who stayed an average of 5.5 minutes and resulted in 25,000 new leads;
- Cars.com had a 12% increase in brand awareness;
- Anheuser Busch had 21 million online ad views in the week after the game;
We’re not suggesting you should spend $3 million on a Super Bowl ad. However, we are saying you can find ways to quantify the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. This also is a reminder that you should think twice before making your marketing budget your first “cut.” The results could be devastating for your company.
