Radio Ads Drive Internet Traffic
Over the past several years the radio industry has experienced hard times, as have many traditional forms of media. Radio has been hard hit by big agency accounts, like automotive and others, shifting money to other "new" media or just cutting their budgets. The local direct advertiser has also shifted money to other "new media" as Internet marketing companies develop aggressive sales staffs and begin to hit business owners with their "new and exciting" products.
I was in radio sales and management for 20 years before embarking on my own advertising company. Now that I'm on "the other side" as a buyer/planner/consultant, ironically I see more clearly than ever that radio is incredibly powerful. I know this only because we tie internet strategies into all our radio campaigns and we can therefore track or "see" our radio ads working. Radio spots work extremely well at quickly driving Internet activity. I have documented proof of the impact radio spots have in driving qualified consumers to a clients offering. So radio is still really rockin' and it's clearly rocking the Internet. But why hasn't radio jumped on this opportunity?
Back to Their Roots: Local Business
Radio is going to have to rebuild their client base one local advertiser at a time. But they can't go in there with the same old playbook..."We're #1!" or "We're having a one day sale and we're giving it away!". Cheap Cheap Cheap! All these send the wrong signal to a business owner. He or she doesn't care about these things. Business owners care about how they can get the maximum return for their limited marketing budget. They are always thinking, "What's the best advertising combination for getting new customers or repeat customers to spend more at my store?" "What can I do to make the next ad campaign work better?" It's a Radio Sales 101 opportunity, but the 2009 version needs to be much different than the 2005 version.
Radio Marketing Systems
Radio works and the Internet provides the proof that's been lacking since Tesla. We know radio can attract new advertisers and retain existing clients for long term contracts by changing the offering from "We have the number one station" to "We can offer you a complete marketing system with tracking to show you how many customers we are attracting for you"; an integrated radio/Internet marketing system. When you talk to an owner in terms of complete marketing systems, the conversation and interest level are much different. Now you are talking their talk and getting them excited.
This "Marketing System" approach to advertisers will give radio sellers a new and unique tool that is much more compelling than the old song and dance. Most importantly, it gives radio a new method to prove to each client, one by one, that radio is highly effective, highly efficient and foundational to a great local marketing strategy.
Tracking Tools
One of the biggest hurdles for radio is tangible evidence of effectiveness. Well, they have it now. Radio drives Internet, Internet tracks unique visitors. Simple proof that radio is attracting lots of potential buyers. Now the focus turns to converting these potential buyers into action, not your ratings or your rates or "we'll give you more spots!" Now the pressure is on the business owner, not the station, to make a really exciting offer to convert all these prospects into business...ironically, that may be the hardest sell of all.
Posts
