The array of marketing & advertising options available to businesses can be overwhelming.
Following are 8 compelling reasons to explore or re-consider Radio and Digital.
In short, these 2 popular mediums provide excellent creativity, flexibility, influence, relevance and affordability.
1. Affordability:
What are the costs of radio advertising? Weekly budgets are easily scalable. For example, Vancouver has 16 English language, commercial radio stations to choose from. Advertisers can buy weekly campaigns with message frequency for anywhere in the range of $500 – $3,000 per week.
Digital includes many options, is very versatile and your weekly budget can easily correlate to the size of the business, campaign objectives and ROI needs.
It’s legitimate to generalize that mainly larger companies and budgets can afford Television, whereas small, medium and large companies can all afford and succeed with radio and / or online.
2. Best of Both Worlds – Old and New – Use “one of each”:
In Canada, Radio is a very strong, traditional medium. In 2004, Radio’s share of all advertising from Ad Agencies and Clients combined, was 10%, in Canada. In 2013, it was 11%.
Meantime, in the U.S., Radio’s share in 2013 was 8.9%. Australia: 8.0% Britain: 6.0%
Online is obviously the newest and most impactful new medium of this generation. The number of options and market buzz can be overwhelming. Start with the basics and go from there.
E.G.’s Insure your website is optimized for Mobile – which is now 50% of online activity. Leverage social media and content marketing to aid your rankings in organic search. Invest in Paid Search.
3. Impact consumers before and during their research & purchase decisions:
Radio provides an on-going message and relationship with consumers. They may hear your message one week, month or year before they need your product or service.
Digital tends to be most effective later in the “buying funnel”, as consumers are researching their purchase.
For many companies and business categories, it’s too late if the consumer has not heard of you before they see you online.
When I researched life insurance on a powerful website that consolidates 40-50 offers based on your needs, I skipped the first 4, cheapest offers because I had no brand affinity or knowledge of those 4 company names. I knew the 5th ranked company name and regard them as trustworthy. Only then did I proceed to click and buy.
This correlation and reality is in action every minute of every day!
4. Words, Rhythm & Melody Impact the Heart & Mind!
Radio. The word-of-mouth medium and the original social media.
The “Wizard of Ads” author, Roy H. Williams has written his “Laws of the Advertising Universe”. Number 7 is: “Engage the imagination, then take it where you will. Where the mind has repeatedly journeyed, the body will surely follow. People go only to places they have already been in their minds”.
Effective radio advertisements are persuasive and memorable. Musical signatures and jingles are very effective and can be surprisingly affordable.
Options include:
(1) A unique, 1 – 2 second sound effect or signature “stinger” e.g. “Capital Direct. Dot. C. A.”
(2) Your own 4-6 second musical piece. E.g. “Destination Auto Group. Your journey begins here”
(3) A more complete “Jingle Package” – including the 2 above examples, plus a longer singing version of your message and exclusive 30 second music / sound bed.
5. Loads of Data – for Left Brain analysis!
The digital era has brought with it great insights and an explosion of data. Advertising and marketing have traditionally been right-brain dominant.
All of the digital data available now allows companies to assess the best options and audience measurements. Once the campaign has been chosen and started, marketers can easily monitor, manage, course-correct, invest more and to become more effective overall marketers.
6. Radio delivers much more than Radio!
Radio managers and personalities are creative & community-minded and stations have adapted very well in the digital era.
Typically, stations can effectively deliver multi-faceted campaign components:
- Station website (e.g.’s display ads and digital video ads, as lead-ins to live streaming)
- Lister Club database (e.g. newsletters)
- Station Facebook
- Station Twitter
- On-ground (e.g.’s concerts, sporting events, remote broadcasts and community cruiser)
7. Terrific Targeting:
Online advertising gives marketers the ability to both target and retarget their best prospects.
Targeting can be a segment of the population (e.g. 35-54 year old females) or geo-targeting (e.g. North and West Vancouver consumers). Retargeting will serve ads based on prior engagement and the user’s search and surfing parameters.
8. A Cross-Promotional Marriage made in Heaven!
Use your radio commercials and call-to-action to drive customers and prospects to your website, Facebook, Twitter, etc
The cross-promotion works both ways. One of our clients does a very good job of promoting their Vancouver radio campaign on their website, Facebook and Twitter. Post your radio ads on your website and make them accessible anytime.
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This article highlights Radio and Digital. Each Medium of course has its role in Marketing and Advertising.
Defining factors include: business category, target audience, creative capabilities and campaign objectives (branding v.s. call-to-action, etc.)
- Television: TV remains the big, go-to medium for many companies and brands. One strategy is to target live sports, news & special events – where the PVR and ad break-skipping are less prevalent. But, not all can afford to compete with impact on the TV stage and produce the necessary quality of commercials.
- Out-Of-Home (Outdoor): In some ways, OOH has become more vibrant and important. Commute times and the use of transit are both up in many urban centres. New technology includes digital video, which stands out for audiences and is enticing for advertisers.
- Newspaper / Magazines: While there’s been consolidation of local papers in many communities, and a decrease in overall advertising dollars, print remains an important medium in Canada. There’s a large industry of mass and quality publications, with their distinct audiences and advertisers.
Robert and Brimacombe Media live and work at the intersection of Canadian Media, Marketing and Business.
To book a business consult meeting to assess your marketing options and learn the weekly costs, rates and options for Radio & Digital advertising in Vancouver and BC, contact Robert at 778 388 0105
Learn more at: RadioAdvertisingVancouver.com and @RunningYourBiz
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