A radio advertising campaign is very expensive. But beside the price are small and medium size business getting a good bang for you buck in regards to mainstream radio advertising.
The vast majority of people under 25 don’t listen to radio on a regular basis. When they do they are in a car.
The under 25 demographic is getting their music through iTunes and online service such as Pandora. I don’t think satellite radio is making a dent in this demo.
What does this mean to the future of mainstream radio? Well the news is not good. First the average age of listeners is (which is now around 43 and is going to sky rocket). The number one demo in radio is Women (25-35). Over time main stream radio will not be able to reach this market.
Modern day radio stations are built from market demos up. Each station’s music is geared to reach a particular demographic. “Soft Rock” is geared to women 25-35. “Classic Rock” is male and female 35 plus. “Country” is women 25-35 and men 35-50.
The morning drive time is the most import slot because it sets the tone for the day. Some stations (such as Soft Rock and Classic Rock stations) are hoping that you will listen to the station at work and thus the rest of the day.
The radio industry is jumping all over the “talk” format (sports or politics) as the demo is mostly male (about 80% which is bad) but very high household income (which is OK).
The major problem is the 25 and under set now has iTunes and Pandora to satisfy their music needs. The bond between the listener and the station (that was common all the way up to the 90’s) is no longer there.
What does this all mean to small and medium size businesses? Well radio is no longer an advertising option. The price of radio is still very expensive. The cost of one 60 second spot runs between $300 to $1,200 (in a top ten market such as Boston). A starter program runs about $15,000.
Radio, like most advertising, works by repetition. So you need a lot of spots to enter the top of mind awareness of the listener. A starter package of $15,000 does not have enought spots rise above the clutter. But even if you do run a campaign to rise above the clutter you will not be hitting the most important demo.
A $15,000 budget buys you a lot of inbound internet marketing.
One of the most common mistakes small and medium size business make in regards to advertising is that they chose a media outlet that they like but is not their demographic. Small and medium size business owners must remember that they (most of the time) not their demographic.
Newpapers are bleeding to death and there is no hope in site. Radio is not far behind and small and medium size businesses need to be asking a lot of questions before they move forward with a Radio buy. The most important questions are: Who is my demographic? Is the cost to reach my demographic far to high with radio advertising? Will any amount of advertising on radio reach my demographic?
