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Television & Radio Advertising

Many small business owners believe that television & radio advertising is beyond their means. Advertising on local stations can be surprisingly affordable. Armed with the right information, the small-business owner may find that television & radio advertising can, in fact, deliver more customers than any other type of ad campaign. The key is to have a clear understanding of the market so the money spent on broadcast advertising isn’t wasted.

Planning is especially essential for the businessperson approaching broadcast advertising for the first time. When you’re first starting out, it’s important to educate yourself about the media, and the only way you can do that is to talk to a lot of people. This includes advertising representatives from radio stations, other business owners, and your customers

Experts suggest an entrepreneur take the following steps before diving into broadcast advertising:

• Establish your target market by asking yourself who your customers are and, therefore, who you want to reach with your advertising. This may seem obvious, but many advertisers don’t have any idea who they’re selling to.
• Set a rough budget for broadcast advertising. Come up with an amount that won’t strain your business but will allow you to give broadcast advertising a good try. Many stations suggest running ads for at least three months. Rates vary widely depending on the size of the market, the station’s penetration, and the audience of the show on which you want to advertise.
• Contact sales managers at radio stations in your area and arrange to have a salesperson visit you. Ask salespeople for a list of available spots on shows during hours that reach your target audience.
• Talk to other businesspeople in your area about their experiences with broadcast advertising. While salespeople from radio stations can be very helpful, they are, after all, trying to sell you something. It’s your responsibility to be a smart consumer.
• Ask about the “audience delivery” of the available spots. Using published guides (Arbitron or Nielsen), ask the salesperson to help you calculate the cost per thousand (CPM) of reaching your target audience. Remember, you are buying an audience, not just time on a show, and you can calculate pretty exactly how much it’s going to cost you to reach every single member of that audience.
• Inquire about the production of your commercial. As a general rule, radio stations will put your ad together for free. Some radio stations with 3 month or longer will provide a well-known personality to be the “voice” of your business at no extra cost.

Compare the various proposals. Look at the CPMs and negotiate the most attractive deal based on which outlet offers the most cost-effective way of reaching your audience. Buying time well in advance can help lower the cost. Keep in mind that the published rates offered by radio stations are often negotiable. Generally, rates vary widely during the first quarter of the year, and sometimes during the third quarter or late in the fourth quarter, traditionally slow seasons for many businesses. But expect to pay full rates during the rest of the year or during popular shows or prime time.

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