The Benefits and Strategies of Successful Radio Advertisements

The 13,000 AM, FM and HD radio stations broadcasted in the United States reach 93.1% of the population over 12 years old every week, according to Arbitron's American Radio Listening Trends report (data from 2009 and 2010). Therefore, with radio there is rarely a doubt about whether you will be able to reach your target audience. 

Since it reaches so many people, it is easy for radio to advertise a large variety and a growing number of products ranging from vitamins and nutritional supplements to CD's, music, and health and beauty items. Additionally, radio advertising includes categories such as household cleaning products, kitchen/cooking products, and travel offerings. Basically, almost all types of products have a target audience somewhere listening to the radio.


Another benefit of radio advertising is the low cost of a commercial. Where the most simple and inexpensive TV spot advertisements will easily cost well over $50,000 and take months to produce, you can get a radio spot for less than $1,500 in a matter of days according to http://www.strategicmediainc.com/radio-advertising.php.

http://www.gaebler.com/Radio-Ad-Rates.htm is a website that will give potential advertisers the going rates to play a radio advertisement in every state and it goes into detail about how much it would typically cost for each station in specific areas. From there you can pick a radio station, for example, 94.7 FM in the Silver Spring area, and it provides you with information about what kind of music is played/ what is being discussed on the station, the company that owns the station and finally, it goes into cost. For a 30 second spot on 94.7 Fresh FM, the average rate is about $396.00, however, seasonal factors, time slots and volume discounts should be considered.

Radio is a valuable option for advertisers because it is an affordable ad medium that can reach a mass audience, yet there are properties of radio advertising that must be included for a radio ad to be successful. The frequency of ads is very important in selling a product. Based on the "five keys to radio advertising success," "a radio commercial needs to air multiple times before it sinks in with the listener." Everyone knows the little jingles from radio ads that they have heard multiple times. Most people wouldn't remember the Empire Today tune if they only heard it played once. Since it is repeatedly played on the radio, people are going to remember it and the idea of the product will sink in. 

Just like with every ad you create, whether it is an advertisement on tv, in a magazine, newspaper, etc., you must know the audience you are targeting. Advertising children's toys on Nickelodeon would make sense, however an advertisement for the same toys on Spike TV would not. That is why it is important to find out what type of people would be listening to different stations. The specific radio station frequency and the type of station it is are provided on http://www.gaebler.com/Radio-Ad-Rates.htm and the audience/age group for each type of station is provided on http://www.strategicmediainc.com/radio-advertising.php. Together, these websites are a tool for potential advertisers to figure out what stations to try to buy an advertising spot.