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Value Added Part 1: Using Radio Commercials

todayMay 24, 2017 54

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Commercials … Voiceovers … Advertising … oh my! Are you utilizing all three of these tools the way you should? Are you using them for the reasons you should? In this blog, we go outside of the airwaves and look at the pieces that come before, during, and after FM, AM or XM radio. We decided to blog about both commercials and voiceovers as they are both forms of advertising. When we mention “radio advertising” the same advice can also apply to podcasting and internet radio shows.

Radio Commercials Have Their Importance

We learned an interesting fact that may seem outdated, given it is now 2017. Still, it’s worth mentioning. Perhaps in a future blog we could dive into advertising metrics. But for now, know importance comes down to timing:

Research proves that radio regularly reaches consumers within two hours of their largest purchase of the day.”

That stat is a bit controversial now. Not everyone is listening to the radio in their car or in an Uber ride to the mall. Most often than not, if they’re in the car (behind the wheel or not), people have that distinct downward head tilt because they’re on their phones…

Side note: Please don’t be one of those stupid people on your phone behind the wheel. Do the whole hands free thing with Air Pods or text only at red lights. Be smart about when your eyes are off the road. Thank you. This has been a public service announcement from the writers at Life Improvement Media Group, Inc.

…if only this were radio, that commercial would’ve been interjected without you realizing it!

For what it’s worth, radio advertising takes far less time to be heard. From loading to liftoff, it’s quicker than television or a print ad. Both those mediums have a tendency to rack up the lead times from concept to execution. Several months to a year could elapse between those two stages, but for radio, the lead time can be decreased to 1-2-3-4 weeks.

It doesn’t matter what potion, lotion, diet dust, skinny powder, voodoo juice or mummy wrap you sell. It doesn’t matter if you sell ad space to Microsoft or banking software to Google. The best sales are won with stories and emotions. Even a free crappy website could do its job if it converts with the right tone. Radio provides the tone to help emotions be heard. It’s hard to capture intimacy in words and some visuals. In our opinion, the human voice is solid.

"tell stories with podcasting" Radio commercials bypass the consumer radar. How  many people, yourself included, do the following? During a TV commercial or a break in the game, instead of watching the latest beer or local car dealership commercials, you grab your phone and jump on social media or return a text or a snap–maybe even an email if you’re a workaholic like us. For radio, there’s more of a chance listeners will listen because they’re not bombarded with commercial after commercial. Radio has far less ads during its production than a television spot.

Let’s talk money also known as cost effectiveness. Radio is inexpensive, still costly, but far less expensive to run compared to television advertising or print advertising. As it turns out, Newspaper rates are up even though circulation is down. TV ad rates are up even though viewership is down.” To get a TV spot going, you need to hire an entire staff (writers, directors, equipment, operators, studio time, editors and so on). For print, you’d need to hire a copywriter, graphic designer at least and buy your ad in the magazine. But for radio, you need yourself, a voiceover talent (which could be you) and a producer and you’re off and running. Of course, radio ads vary in price depending on FM, AM, XM radio or podcasts, but overall are the cheaper option.

They say sales are made between the 7th-12th “touch” or, in this case, 7th-12th “listen.” Radio advertising allows for multiple touches more than print and TV spots. Between radio, TV and print, multiple audio commercials are the best bang for the buck.

>> Stay tuned for part 2 to this blog where we finish discussions of radio commercials and cover radio voiceovers!

REFERENCES:

Thank you for your attention! … To share these tips with the contact who handles your advertising, click the eBook below!

Written by: #HeliumRadio

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