Radio Advertising

What Is Radio Advertising?
Just like advertisers pay for the commercials you see on television during your favorite show, some advertisers also choose to focus their marketing dollars on radio advertising. That is, buying commercials, frequently called spots in the radio industry, to promote their products or services. Advertisers pay commercial radio stations for airtime and, in exchange, the radio station broadcasts the advertiser's commercial to its listening audience.

In radio advertising, there are numerous types of commercials that an advertiser might employ, similar to how brands might pursue different print advertising options (newspaper vs. magazine, for example) or electronic advertising options (email vs. social media).

Let's take a look at a few of the more popular types of radio advertisements.

Types of Radio Advertising:
Depending on your brand and the type of message you're trying to convey, you'll likely lean toward one of these popular radio advertising choices.

Live read:
The ESPN Radio show Mike & Mike is a good example of a format where you can hear commercials read in real-time online by a radio announcer, a type of commercial also known as a live read. This type of advertisement is more effective with a really popular on-air host because advertisers hope that the host's voice will carry extra weight with the show's audience.

Sponsorship:
Many radio stations implement sponsorships for certain types of radio segments, such as traffic, weather, or sports scores during halftime of the big game. It will generally sound something like this: 'This hour's weather update brought to you by Beach Rentals. Call Beach Rentals for all of your vacation needs.'

Produced spot:
A produced spot can either be a straight read of your advertising message or a read that incorporates multiple voices, sound effects or a jingle. A jingle is a short, catchy song about your company. These typically tell listeners where to find your business or your products and can be funny, serious, or informative.

Advantages of advertising in Radio:

• Radio Reaches a Huge Audience:
  The latest 2015 survey results show the number of people listening to radio is continuing to increase. In Australia, over 10 million people listen to a commercial radio station for at least one hour every week of the year.
• Radio is Targeted:
  Radio allows messages to be tailored and localised to each audience. Advertisers can target their message to specific demographics and communities, geographic areas, and around events and genres in a market. Each radio station is operated with specific market segments in mind, so after a careful selection process your product or service will be advertised to your exact target market.
• Radio Cuts Through:
  Radio is the medium that people spend most time with throughout the day, providing ample opportunity for a message to reach its audience. People carry out a wide range of activities while simultaneously listening to the radio. And media surveys always show that radio listeners are far less likely to "tune out" when ads come on the radio, compared to television. Ask yourself - how often do you change channels or get up from your seat when the ads come on tv? Do you do the same while listening to the radio?
• Radio is the Anywhere, Anytime Medium:
  Given radio’s portability, advertisers have the opportunity to reach people on the go, giving them an edge over competitors. The accessibility of radio enables listening to occur in places that other media may have difficulty reaching, for example your target customers don’t read a newspaper or magazine whilst driving, nor do they watch tv whilst working in the garden. Its said that there are 50 million radio in Australia - that's an average of 5 devices per household. Today, radio even overlaps with the phenomenon of digital media via downloadable radio station apps.
• Radio Is the Pulse of the Community:
  Radio is live and local so it reflects the community. People listen to the radio to find out what is happening now in their community such as special events, news, traffic updates, weather reports, sport and entertainment. It’s more local than global….the traffic is jammed or the bridge is closed. In fact, it's very interesting to note that radio has many of the characteristics that the new digital world has in the way it acts as your constant companion, with you wherever you are.
• Radio Offers Promotional Opportunities:
  A "live broadcast" at your location, sampling your product on air, running a competition. Promotions like this can be hard to do with social media, print or television, but radio can offer this sort of target customer involvement at an affordable price. And if its done well, it can really personalize your product or service to your target customer.
• Radio is Influential:
  Radio is the medium to build top-of-mind awareness - for example, careful time placement of ads can have a real impact on your call to action. In addition, a "live read" that offers a personal endorsement by a radio personality will add credibility to your product or service. Studies show that radio content influences people, because they feel they are hearing it from a "friend" and referrals are always the best type of sales opportunity.
• Radio Reaches Your Target Customers with Frequency:
  Advertising works by repetition. Your target customer may well need to hear your commercial three or four times before they respond to your call to action. To reach this level of frequency, radio advertising is usually more cost effective than other media. People choose to listen to radio - they want to listen and be engaged and they listen on average to almost 15 hours of commercial radio each week.
• Radio is Flexible and Immediate:
  Radio commercials can be created quickly without the production and delays of other media. Copy can be produced and revised at short notice.A radio advertising campaign can be up and running within a week.
• Radio Provides a Strong Call-To-Action
  Radio commercials can be selectively scheduled by day-part and weekday, enabling messages to be delivered close to purchase. Listeners can act on an advertiser's message and participate in station competitions.