Make Your Radio Advertising Work (Because it Will!)

MTM AdminRadio

Anyone who has ever worked in radio advertising has heard the dreaded phrase: “I tried radio and it didn’t work.” We hate that for you! As radio professionals, we want our services to work for everyone, and we’re here to make sure they do. If you tried radio advertising and it “didn’t work,” we want to work with you until it does. And we know it does.

How do we know? Because research tells us so! In a 2020 study published by Forbes, GM Motors paired with Taco Bell to research the effectiveness of radio. In the study, GM motorists were tracked to look for ties between Taco Bell radio commercials and trips to local Taco Bell locations. The study found that there were direct ties between Taco Bell’s :30 second commercials and trips to the nearest Taco Bell.

Still not convinced? Let’s look at who listens to radio! Nielsen, AM/FM radio’s lead reporting agency, stated that 91% of adults listen to AM/FM radio every single week – more than any other medium (television, newspaper, etc.)! And, despite the rising popularity of podcasts and streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora, AM/FM still dominates in-car listening at a whopping 87%. Your target demographic is listening – now you just need to figure out how to reach them.

Perhaps radio didn’t work for you because you didn’t give it enough time to. The not-so-secret hacks to a great radio campaign are frequency and consistency. If you try radio for one to two months and don’t see significant results, be patient. We have found that it takes about three to six months for a brand, slogan, message, or jingle to stick.

If you weren’t happy with the message or schedule of your last go at radio, we recommend working with our professionals to develop a personalized strategy. The beauty of a radio campaign is that production is cost-effective and offers quick turn-around! We can create, produce, and schedule a campaign for you in less than a day at literally no cost! No camera crews, no actors, no outside editing – just an in-house expert crew ready to get your message out. And if you need to add or change your message suddenly, we can work with that too (though we don’t necessarily recommend a sudden rebranding. Remember – consistency).

What went wrong with your last radio campaign? Honestly, I don’t know. But I do know how to make everything go right with your next one:

Schedule: We know that 91% of adults listen to radio every week. But with more flexible work hours than ever, listening times vary greatly. Those who listen in their cars are traveling to the office throughout the day (or not at all, thanks to the surge in remote work), and those who listen in the office are being interrupted often for online meetings. Instead of playing your ads at the same time every day, and risk hitting the same audience every time, choose a couple days per week to play your ads all day. Our Dominate the Day program is proven and effective!

Message: Try not to change your message too often. With a consistent message, consumers will know you as the brand who does, says, or thinks this specific way. Too many mixed messages leads to brand and service confusion. Try a jingle to really get stuck in consumers’ heads!

Station: Think about the type of consumer you want to reach, then choose a radio station accordingly. We offer 7 different formats, across 17 radio stations, which reach 60% of the state of Kansas and parts of Missouri and Oklahoma. Whoever your target demographic is, odds are, we reach them.

Budget: Though radio is cost-effective, don’t be afraid to allocate a significant percentage of your budget to radio advertising. We always say, when it comes to how many commercials you should air per day, “8 is good, 10 is better, 12 is best, but do 15 if you can afford it!”

The bottom line? If you believe that radio didn’t work for you in the past, it’s likely that you put too much effort into tracking it too soon. To be honest, it’s not easy to track whether your radio campaign is working. Often, a commercial heard on the radio leads to web research and a phone call. It will appear as though your lead came from online, when really – it began with radio!

So, you say you tried radio and it didn’t work? We say: try again and let our team of experts work out the perfect campaign and schedule!