| |
| |
|
Advertising Information |
|
|
|
Go Ahead Im Listening
In today's fast paced environment, interaction with family and friends is often relegated to a few left over minutes here and there, leaving many people feeling isolated. Radio fills the gap. Radio provides a one on one emotional experience. It creates a connection that is a personal and unique experience for each listener. It's just you and the voice on the radio, speaking to you. TV and print media are mass media. Eliciting an emotional response from print is almost an impossibility. TV is emotional but not personal. You know it's you and the thousands of others who are watching, besides which it's beyond the budget of many businesses. As an advertiser, you have an opportunity to speak directly to your customer, using words and phrases that have meaning for them. Radio can relate messages that have synergy with campaigns in other media, but shouldn't be written in the same style. Effective radio is a conversation with the customer. It's your chance to tell a story. How interesting would you find a story that started with the company name or, " We have friendly, knowledgeable staff. Stop in and see us. We have 20 colours of sofas in a variety of sizes and styles." Boring isn't it? So why do so many advertisers do it? It's easy to talk about your business and what you want to sell. It takes more time and effort to find out what your customer wants and talk in terms of their buying motivation, but it's worth it. It's easier to get quick results by announcing a sale, than it is to build a relationship with the consumer. Where do you think those sale shoppers will be when your competition is having a sale, not at your business I bet? Another of radio's great strengths is its ability to reach a defined market segment. When you buy newspaper advertising, you buy the whole and very general readership, all the demographics and special interest groups. Now it's not a bad thing to reach more people, but if you have a limited budget you can spend it very quickly in your daily paper, on one ad,?. one day, ?.one time. That's not great frequency and just hit and miss reach. What if your best prospects don't read the paper on the day your ad runs? Radio gives you an opportunity to target the age and interests of your segment of the market. With a budget large enough to cover the cost of a reasonable sized ad in your daily newspaper, you can buy a whole week of radio commercials. Don't get put off by commercial prices at the top stations. It is not about reaching a huge number of prospects a few times. It's about reaching a smaller number of listeners enough times for them to think they know and like you, and want to do business with you. Spend time and money creating a message that conveys a message your customers can relate to. Have you ever bought something you just had to have, and then gone home and explained logically to a family member why it was an essential? You bought on emotion and justified with logic, the same thing your customer does. Forget generic when it comes to radio. This is one time it pays to get personal. In the US the norm is 60 seconds for a radio commercial in Canada 30 seconds. If you've got a great story to tell and you're a good storyteller, then use 60 seconds otherwise the shorter commercial is better. The only thing worse than boring the listener for 30 seconds, is boring them for 60. Frequency to raise awareness for your business name and purpose in speaking to them can be achieved economically by adding a schedule of sponsorships and/or 10-15 second messages. This is an example of a 30 second radio script that connected with the customer. How do we know it was good? Sales increased. Unbeknownst to your co-workers, you are a connoisseur. Sure, you have tattoos and a problem finding your inner-self, but you crave adventure and You! Know! Food! So, in this world of new awareness, reward yourself with a world of flavours. Wrapzone. An ambrosia of foods, and devilish sauces harmoniously heaped on a tortilla. The silver gift wrap is free every day! Experience-Full-Fillment. Wrapzone. On radio, as in all your advertising, you need to keep it simple. A soliloquy well read is much more effective than something with too many words, multiple focus, lots of sound effects or a conversation between a two or more people. Points to remember: Radio is an opportunity, use it to your advantage, some of your competitors never will. Negotiate; the price isn't always the price. Don't get too hung up on the price per commercial. Ask for pre-emptable no charge commercials to augment your campaign. Find out when your commercials will run. If you choose a station based on the number of commercials included in a package make sure they are not bumping up the numbers by running them all 6pm - 5am. If you have a small budget focus on one daypart to increase the number of times a listener hears your message. Writing and production are included in the price but that doesn't mean the message they create for you will be effective. You need to be involved in the creative process. You can be too creative. Don't make listeners strain to try to figure out what you are saying. If you haven't got the budget to do a heavy enough campaign to make an impact, save your money until you do. Ask how the station schedules their commercials. If they have long commercial blocks you have to work especially hard to stand out from the 5 or 6 (or more) other messages. Keep your message simple. Nancy Fraser worked in radio for over 20 years. She owned and operated her own specialty retail store, and held Management and Sales Executive positions in media and communications. Free information and tools on effective advertising and marketing are available in Notable News at http://www.notable-marketing.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Dunkin' Donuts' New Advertising Offers Rallying Cry for 2009: 'You ... - PR Newswire (press release)
Advertising - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
How to Know if Direct Mail Will Work for Your Business Here's a great lesson that applies to direct mail. Ready? Some people say one thing and do the opposite. How to Write Ads that Increase Your Business I caught myself wracking my brain over what kind of article I should write for newspapers that would be useful to business people. It struck me that I was making a solid effort to get into the mind of my target market. Three Keys to Crafting Successful Print Ads Want to create print ads that get results? Below are three keys to get you started.1. How to Save Money by Making Your Own Sign In the sign industry we commonly refer to the material that the sign is made out of as the substrate. Examples include, wood, vinyl banners, aluminum, coroplast, etc. Your Eye Catching Publicity Flyer Your website is done, your business cards have been delivered, and your brochure has received accolades. In the promoting department you have everything you need, right? Well, there is one item you lack and by having this item in your arsenal it can be a dealmaker for you. The Ultimate, "Must-Have" Home-Based Business for YOU The Ultimate, "Must-Have" Home-Based Business for YOU a Underemployed, Unemployed, or Industrial Age IndividualAllow me to educate you on the issue of job security and paint you a picture of what the aftermath can be if you remain comfortable at your regular job. Job security is an old-fashioned term that claims the longer an employee worked for a particular company, the more precious that person became. Promotional Vehicles It is difficult to miss a Hummer, but how many companies could afford to run one to promote their business? The answer is, of course, very few and it is doubtful whether GM's overgrown offspring would be the most suitable promotional vehicle for many of them. What then are the alternatives and how could businesses benefit from using a vehicle as an advertising medium?What is a promotional vehicle?A promotional vehicle is a car, truck or SUV with purpose-designed adhesive vinyl graphics applied to its exterior, promoting a business or one of its products or services. The Man With The Grasshopper Mind The title of this article also happens to be one of the "20 Greatest Headlines Ever Written."Did you know, just changing the headline has been known to dramatically improve the effectiveness of an ad or sales letter by up to 1700 percent? Yes, headlines are that powerful--and that important!However, over the last few years, I've noticed a proliferation of badly written--or just plain weak headlines--both online and off!Particularly disturbing is the copycat syndrome. Cinema Advertising is Big Business, So Mergers are a Natural Cinema advertising has always been an effective marketing tool for some advertisers, while for others they have yet to see the benefit of this unique form of media. When an advertiser hears the term "Cinema Advertising" automatically they think the slide that is shown on the big screen with the soothing music played in the background. How to Use the 3 Most Common Direct Marketing Measurements to Increase Your Profits! John Wanamaker, a 19th century entrepreneur, once famously made the statement, "I know that half of my advertising is wasted, I just don't know which half." Fortunately for today's marketers, there are scientific ways to determine which half is wasted, and which half is not, through the use of common direct marketing measurements. Why Most Advertisements Stink! Question: What do you think the most important part of any ad is? Your company name? Your telephone number? Your offer? Look at your own advertising. What stands out? What is in the largest print? If it's your company name or logo hold out your wrist so I can whack it with a stick. The Online Equivalent of an Effective Newspaper Advertisement is FREE Ask anybody who has been in business for a long enough and they will tell you how newspaper advertisements have for decades helped to build countless small businesses.The advantages of a newspaper advertisement are many, but what has attracted small business entrepreneurs for decades is the speed at which a struggling entrepreneur (short of funds as many starting small businesses always are, and looking for customers fast) is able to get a very quick response. Why People Fail in Mail Order Mail order is a very complicated business. Every phase must beplanned, analyzed and tested. How To Tell If An Advertisement Costs Too Much People say it all the time: "This advertising costs too much!" They practically go into cardiac arrest when they see how much the advertising for certain media in certain markets is going to cost them. It is pretty easy to get sticker shock when you see that a sixty-second radio commercial on a popular Los Angeles station could cost you a thousand bucks. 7 Essential Elements for Profit-Pulling Ads Advertising will make or break your business. It is crucial to your success that you learn to write great ad copy. How To Write More Powerful Brochures, Leaflets, And Catalogues Probably the most interesting thing about brochures and leaflets is that they're seldom read in what we've come to know as the right order - as you would read a book. Rather in the same way that many people read magazines in dentists' waiting rooms, they will flick through brochures and leaflets and stop to take a longer look at bits that grab their attention. The Benefits of Specific Advertising The great Claude Hopkins (Author of Scientific Advertising) once said, "Platitudes and generalities roll off the human understanding like water from a duck. They leave no impression whatever. How To Make A Fortune With FREE Advertising! How To Gain FREE Advertising That Will Make You Rich!Okay-Just What Exactly Is "Free Advertising"???Before I get into the specifics of actually HOW to get free advertising - it's important for you to completely understand exactly what free advertising is."Free Advertising" is any mention, listing or "blurb" about your product in a magazine, newsletter, book, manual, directory etc. Unlock The Power Of Online Groups Yahoo Groups: I see countless marketers on shoestring budges turn to traffic exchanges for free traffic. If they would spend the time creating online groups rather than clicking for traffic they would see much more quality traffic. Good Design Makes Good Sense Organized your pencils and pens lately? Sorted your clothes into a logical system in your drawers? Then you already understand the basic elements of good design: it's practical, it's systematic, and it makes life easier.In the same way, marketing materials that use good design make business easier for your customers.
|
| home | index |site map |
| © 2006 |
