The SKINNY on Radio Advertising
From meager beginnings in 1920, radio has grown
with us to be a major player in advertising. The
radio industry says they get about 8 percent of
all advertising bucks. Not bad when you consider
the many ways to hawk your service or product
They get their fair share because radio works.
With over twelve THOUSAND radio stations in the
country, the music and news they broadcast is
everywhere.
Radio is the mobile medium. Few cars have TVs up
front, and few drivers can read the New York Times
while driving (safely). The advertising on radio
targets you passively. You don’t have to be
looking at it or reading it to get the message.
Radios strength is drive time. The times of the
day when most people are in their cars driving to
and from work. You can sound like a pro when you
call em AMD and PMD.
AMD is morning (AM) drive time, typically 6 to
10am. AMD is traditionally the most expensive
radio time because thats when more people listen.
PMD is afternoon (PM) drive and is considered to
be 4 to 7pm.
Other radio slots are DAY which represents 10a to
4p period and EVE, 7 to midnight.
Most radio stations offer two ways to buy ads.
Specific placement (I want to be in the Roscoe
Billy Bob Show) and ROS (Run of Station) a
formula that spreads your announcments into all
dayparts, including late night and overnight. Of
course there are specials and sponsorships, too.
Here are my tips for buying radio ads
+ Always use 30 second ads. If you can say the
whole Lord’s Prayer in 20 seconds, 30 is enough
for your business (no matter what the media person
says)
+ Buy advertising on the stations that reach your
target customers, not the ones you like. Just
because you listen doesn’t mean everyone does
(especially if you like Classical Music)
+ Buy ads on two or more stations if possible. Few
markets have one radio station so dominant that it
reaches all the listeners.
+ Buy one week on one station, the next week on
the other, back and fourth. Limit your buy to 4
weeks in any month, two on each station. 48 weeks
per year gets thew same impact of 52 and saves 4.
+ Buy at least 12 ads a week (18 on each if you
can afford it) and advertise every other month.
+ Insist on no overnight or evening ads. Ask for a
package that puts you in AMD and PMD at a
discount. Like the newspaper inches committment,
you are talking about over 400 ads per year per
station.
For more about radio get my article “Do Your Radio
Ads Work?” Send a blank eMail to
MailTo:RadioAds@BigIdeasGroup.com
Remember the media salesperson is interested in
selling ads, not improving your business. It is up
to you to be the expert and make the informed
decisions.
?007 BIG Mike McDaniel is the Small Business Advertising Expert. Get BIG Mike’s Free Newsletter BIG Ideas for Small Business. Find hundreds advertising articles at Small Business Advertising Articles
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Written by info on March 22nd, 2008 with
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