Your DRTV campaign is a success, and now you looking to the next marketing. As long as you’re looking, keep in mind that radio lets you:
Make creative adjustments on one day’s notice.
Target an audience by precise demographics.
Integrate your offer seamlessly into the creative content that the audience enjoys.
Have your offer endorsed by the medium’s top-drawing celebrities.
Here’s the number one reason to test RADIO — it generates THE MOST QUALIFIED CALLS of ANY medium. Think about it – people are calling from a program they tune into EVERY DAY. Listeners have trusted this content for years, just like they do on news or educational TV channels. When a listener dials a number they heard only two or three times – WITHOUT a visual impression – then THEY ARE INTERESTED! Accordingly,
Upsell conversions can be staggering. Radio may not get you the volume of listeners that TV does, but the people who call are apt to be closed, and spend A LOT more money.
Your first way to determine your test media is to review how have you tested your campaigns in the past? Did you target a local region, several regions, or nationwide? How much do you know about your customers’ demographics?
You CAN find the stations, markets and times best suited for your offer. There are about 35 established radio formats designed to attract a unique audience. Stations are rated by audience size, gender and age – plus, there are also secondary studies on listener income and consumer spending habits (for example, if you need to know which station’s listeners most often use computers in Dallas).
Here a guide for matching your target to it’s proven radio test formats:
Adults 25-54: News; News Talk
Men 25-54: Sports; FM Talk (i.e. Howard Stern); Modern Rock
Women 25-54: Adult Contemporary/Mix Music; Country; Christian Music
Men 35+: Classic Rock; Conservative NewsTalk; Christian Talk
Women 35+: Oldies; Classic Country; Christian Talk
Adults 45+: Big Band/Middle of the Road music; NewsTalk
Has your offer worked best on national cable? Many syndicated Network shows deliver CPMs as little as one dollar! The loyalty of their audiences are staggering – Rush Limbaugh’s weekly audience (ideal for Conservative Adults, Male Skew 35+) is larger than most weekly network primetime TV shows (for about 10% of the cost). Dr. Laura’s weeklong ratings exceed virtually all Cable shows geared toward Women 35+.
Don’t waste money buying the entire run of a schedule – you’re spots will run inconsistently at off-peak times. Instead, remember that most people listen to programs by Dayparts: Morning Drive (6AM-10AM), Middays (10AM-3PM), Afternoon Drive (3PM-7PM). You can achieve more success by blitzing at least 3 spots per day, in the daypart you feel best reaches your target buyer.
When your budget allows, buy your target demo’s top two or three rated (and cost-efficient) stations in your test market. Keep in mind that people are mostly committed to two or three of their 12 preset car radio buttons. Buying spots during the same dayparts will guarantee that, no matter if your listener flips the dial, they are FORCED to hear your message.
Radio listeners trust their stations as invited friends, and make regular appointments to hear what those “friends” have to say. With some “Heritage” stations, this loyalty even dates back four generations. Most local TV stations do not have such viewer trust. Buying into this trust is a natural transition from DRTV campaigns, and can generate a new customer database more loyal than any you’ve ever had.
Joe Rashbaum is president of The Radio Solution Company, a radio direct response agency and consulting firm celebrating 11 years of success. Reach him at (805) 279-3391 or inquire below.