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Spotlight on... Radio
Today, radio is one of the most flexible of media. It offers
advertisers narrowly segmented audiences, relatively low cost
per spot, and high daily listenership among many prime prospect
groups.
Depending on its format and time period, radio advertising
has the potential to reach people of all ages in many different
locations. In fact, radio is often called the “mobile
medium” because of its ability to reach consumers out
in the marketplace. Here's a review of its general strengths
and limitations:
Advantages
Frequency. Because of the large number of stations
and the intense competition within the industry, cost to purchase
radio time has remained relatively low. This makes radio ideal
for building frequency of message.
Broadly Selective. Each station tries to develop programming
that appeals to specific audience types. As a result, radio
allows advertisers to focus on narrow target audiences with
a minimum of waste.
Proximity to Purchase. Radio goes where the listener
goes. For advertisers, that means a chance to reach listeners
on their way to shop. And since messages can be changed quickly,
radio can help stimulate impulse purchases.
Engaging. With a wide range of sound effects to create
“theater of the mind,” good radio commercials can involve
the listener's imagination... a powerful creative edge.
Disadvantages
Audience Fragmentation. Since each station reaches
a fairly small audience, a media buy must include multiple
stations to reach a larger, mass audience.
Aural Medium. With no visual element, radio cannot
show new styles or models and demonstrations are extremely
difficult. Taking down a phone number or address while driving
down the highway is impractical to say the least.
Clutter. Some stations cluster many commercials back-to-back
in order to offer longer segments of uninterrupted music.
This adds to listening fatigue and lowers the attention span
for all commercial messages.
Audience Preoccupation. For most people, the radio
serves as background to some other activity (i.e. driving,
studying, working, getting dressed, etc.). As such, listeners
are often distracted and attention to commercial messages
can be low.
Radio's Best Uses:
• Building cost-effective frequency as part of a total advertising
effort.
• Creating quick awareness and exposure of a message.
• Reaching a younger and more active audience.
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