Has your product run its course in direct mail and print advertising? Well, radio may be just the place to sound off.

By David Lustig

You've just started marketing your killer, "must have" product. The direct-mail campaign is doing pretty well and the newspaper advertising numbers are credible. So now you're thinking, "Hey, my product is a natural for the airwaves! Why, I can hear it now, 'If you're one of the first 4,000 callers in the next five minutes...'"

It sounds good, but slow down. Just like anything else you have little or no experience in, it's best to consult experts. You know, those people who are well-versed in their profession and make a living at guiding you to the best decisions. That doesn't mean they're always right on target, mind you, but listening to them is a better bet than just picking up the telephone and listening to the "sales guy" at the local station who just may start off with, "Hey, you called at just the right time. We got a great rate on the 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. time slot..."

All of sudden, you're realizing you are biting off more than you can chew. Television is way out of your financial league, but maybe radio and its broader overall appeal--which you can tune into almost anywhere--just may be the ticket. But it's something to look at only with professional advice.

TV VERSUS RADIO
What are the benefits, or potholes, of buying airtime and more specifically, what are the facts? And most importantly, how does radio buying differ from television media buying?

"Probably the biggest difference between TV and radio media buying is the size of the playing field," says Mark Lipsky, president and CEO of Radio Direct Response Inc. of Media, Pa.

"Both radio and TV boast a few dozen 'national players,'" he continues. "But on the local level, there are 20-30 radio stations for every six local TV affiliates. With more than 13,000 commercial radio stations, it takes an experienced buyer to know which stations and networks get results versus those that just 'look good on paper.' Beyond that, many of the same rules apply to both radio and TV. Create a controlled testing matrix that allows you to measure and manage your results."

Laura Banks of KOBroadcasting in Ridgefield, Conn., has similar thoughts about the comparison between radio and TV buyers.

"Radio is much less expensive, so often you can test better with radio to build your message than you can by going directly to TV," Banks says.

"Radio can hit more cities for less, give you a broader demographic and can enable a small business owner who doesn't have millions to spend on TV media buying to expand into his or her local market for much less. You reach more people with TV, but research says that radio buyers are better, more educated, less impulsive buyers."

WHAT'S THE BEST TIME LENGTH?
What media time lengths are available and what would be the best for a direct marketer?

"Radio will sell you anything," says Ken Michelini of BTW Associates in Farmington Hills, Mich., a suburb of Detroit. "Sixty seconds, 30 seconds, 15's, 10's, 5's and mentions are all available. And if they're not, a simple call with the program director can make it happen. But more interestingly, is to ask for 'floating spots' and shaping them so they don't sound like spots." Michelini explains that this type of packing--he calls it reality radio--and the ability to buy an endorsement separate radio from TV.

So then, what are peak months of the year when one would want to buy airtime?

Here, the experts have similar answers with slight differences.

Bill Sullivan, president of William Sullivan Advertising in Millburn, N.J., says the peak buying months are in the first and third quarters, because that's when the stations don't sell out.

"January and February," says Mark Lipsky. "Demand for airtime is low, creating excellent opportunities for low rates and last-minute remnant buys."

"The second and fourth quarters tend to be the best times for us," says Linnae Young, vice president and general manager at Salem Radio Representatives in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. "Historically," they say March has always been a robust month as well."

"Whenever the ROI [return on investment] is coming in high is the best time to run," says Michelini, adding that could also be the most expensive time of the year, giving as an example Christmas trees. "Selling Christmas trees works even when you pay top dollar in December. It's all about timing as it relates to the customer," he says.

KOBroadcasting's Banks says January is the biggest quarter share for buying airtime, while October, November and December are also generally good, with sales success tapering down into the summer.

IS ONE TIME OF DAY BETTER THAN ANOTHER?
Okay, the best months kind of agree, and kind of don't, how about the time of the day to buy airtime? Is there consensus?

"In broad terms," says Lipsky, "let's say if there are 100 people listening to AM Drive, there are 90 listening Midday and 93 during PM Drive. Yet, advertiser demand for 'drive time' artificially inflates drive-time rates. So, instead of following that same $100, $90, $93 pattern, the rates might be $100, $70 and $85. So the bargain in primetime might be Midday, not AM or PM Drive. Any daypart, including nights, overnights and weekends can ring the register. Smart direct marketers test and test again to maximize their ROI."

Salem Radio's Young says that her company's sales reps get "under the hood" of their clients' business to learn everything they can about the customer. "Once we know all we can about who they are trying to reach, the daypart question takes care of itself."

"Weekdays from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and evenings from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.," says Banks. "These are drive times. Weekdays, to create a show (30 minutes to one hour) are good times and available for brokered purchase from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Weekends can be good for long form, if the other shows (the program line-up) are strong with local and national programming from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Evenings, in general, most people turn to TV."

"Again," says Michelini, the best times of the day really have more to do with what works.

"I recently recommended a national buy inside Monday Night Football. I chose an East Coast team, which hits a huge audience on Monday night, but it also hits Afternoon Drive on the West Coast. With general stations, my advice would be to focus on primetime--6 a.m. to 7 p.m.--so you can actually reach someone."

Okay, as all things subjective, there are a variety of answers, any one of which may be correct.

FIGURING OUT A RADIO BUDGET
How about budgeting for radio media?

"That's a difficult question to answer because every client is different," says Banks. Some can afford large campaigns, others cannot. However, she says, a great rule of thumb is: "Never buy a radio station or network that is so big that you can't afford to dominate it."

Banks believes that a company should spend 80 percent of its time on marketing and 20 percent on administrative concerns.

"Most of your time and money should be going toward fishing for new clients as well as maintaining them for sales, continuity programs and new product offerings," says Banks. "Radio is one of the least expensive and cost-effective means to stay in touch with both local and national communities."

So what we're seeing here is there is no foolproof set of answers, no sure-fire way to make radio, or any advertising for that matter, work successfully. It all depends on knowing the market, knowing what's in the budget and perhaps, a little bit of an educated nose from the people you're talking to.

"Ask 10 people and you'll get 11 different answers," says Lipsky on something like media budget.

And as we've seen before in other marketing areas, it is all about budget.

"We like to work with a $50,000-$100,000 test budget to effectively test a variety of creative plus media valuables and find the ones that are profitable," says Lipsky. "The smallest test we'll touch is $25,000; although I'm sure there is a station in Des Moines [that] will give the world for a $2,000 budget.

DON'T BE NERVOUS
"There are many pitfalls," says Sullivan. "It's best to test several radio stations so you can see trends. "Every radio station is different. If you have money and just one product to offer, there is a lot of work to be done before you jump into radio."

There is, we are learning, no straight line to success. It takes a lot of homework, an understanding of what kind of budget is necessary for a specific market and a little faith.

"Give the campaign time to take hold," says Lhamon and Young of Salem Radio. "Do not pull the plug too quickly. If you've purchased good frequency but the campaign is struggling, look at your copy."

One of the biggest misconceptions about buying media on the radio says Lipsky is, "that any buyer can do the job well. Unless your radio buyers have deep experience and success in DR radio, it's incredibly easy to buy a 'great looking' radio station that will deliver horrific results."

"It's a fact that DR radio works," he concludes. "Having an experienced DR radio buyer place your ads takes the guesswork out of the media selection process."

Radio Media Buying for Beginners

I always find it amusing when veteran cable TV buyers ask me, "How many households does this radio station reach?" I then wearily explain that, if they think about it, what they have actually asked me is, "How many functioning radios exist in every home, car, classroom, office, retail store and lifeguard stand in the market where this station is located?" Fortunately, radio is a much more precise medium to buy, and once you understand the basics of direct response radio buying, you'll realize why it's such a practical medium to test. Radio is the opposite of TV in that its "primetime"--when it has the most listeners--is from 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. During this time period, you can buy any of three dayparts: Morning Drive (6 a.m. to 10 a.m., often the largest audience but not always one who is apt to respond), Midday Drive (10 a.m. to 3 p.m., frequently the largest audience on music formats and the smallest on talk formats, but often the most cost-efficient and where the audience is sitting near a phone or computer at work), and Afternoon Drive (3 p.m. to 7 p.m., for many, the most responsive time of day, especially since we are done with work and thinking about our own needs on the drive home). As a side tip: stay away from testing Friday afternoons--listeners are already thinking ahead to their weekends. You may also find cheaper rates in Evenings (7 p.m. to midnight) and Overnights (12 a.m. to 5 a.m.), but don't overpay--that's when listenership and responsiveness decrease sharply. Each station is programmed by one of over 30 current formats. Some of the most popular include Country, NewsTalk, Oldies, Adult Contemporary Music, Classic Rock and Smooth Jazz. Each format is designed to skew toward a specific demographic (Adults 25-49; Women 35+, etc.). Below is a helpful chart to show you which formats best reach the demographics you target. Arbitron, the foremost radio ratings service, measures audience two ways: Average Quarter Hour/AQH (the average estimated listeners during any given 15-minute interval of a daypart) and Cumulative Number of Listeners/CUME (the total number of individuals who tune in during an average week). These are both good indicators: AQH is a measure of audience loyalty, while CUME is a measure of mass appeal. For example, not everyone likes Rush Limbaugh, so his CUME may not be as high; however, with the listeners who do like him, his AQH will be strong. Meanwhile, most people don't listen to All News for more than three to 20 minutes at a time, but almost everyone tunes to an All News station at some point for traffic, weather, sports scores, etc. Therefore, an All News station might not be No. 1 in AQH, but usually will dominate in CUME. Adults 25-54 News; News Talk Women 18-34: Hot Country; Dance; Urban Adult Contemporary Men 25-54: Sports; FM Talk (i.e., Howard Stern); Modern Rock Women 25-54: Adult Contemporary (A/C)/Mix Music; Country; Christian Music Men 35+: Classic Rock; Conservative NewsTalk; Christian Talk Women 35+: Smooth Jazz; Classic Country; Christian Talk; Soft A/C Music Adults 45+: Big Band/Middle of the Road Music; NewsTalk; Oldies Finally, here's how to apply what you just learned--unlike TV, which offers 1,000 channels to flip through, radio offers a more restricted choice--10 to 12 preset buttons in your car. Now to the biggest secret you always knew--of those 12 buttons, we all spend the vast majority of our time listening to only two or three of them! So, if you choose one daypart, research which stations in your target demo cost-efficiently reach the largest audience (Cost-Per-Thousand/CPT is an important tool for this), and you only buy the top two or three stations in a market during that daypart, then you have officially blitzed the majority of radio listeners you are targeting. Best of all, you are forcing them to your spots, even when they switch stations, and creating the illusion that they are hearing you more often and in more places than they actually are. Radio is nearly 100 years old, but it's still the most innovative technology in electronic retailing. Joe Rashbaum is president of The Radio Solution Company, a 10-year-old full-service radio direct response agency and consulting firm based in Ventura, Calif. He can be reached at (805) 641-9300, or via e-mail at trscompany@aol.com.

Do you want to read more articles about direct response radio? Check out the September 2004 and June 2005 issues by visiting www.electronicretailermag.com.

David Lustig is a contributing writer to Electronic Retailer magazine. We would appreciate your feedback. To submit comments, point browser to radiojan06.marketing-era.com.