Radio Advertising

My eyes heavy with sleep, I hear the radio alarm start, a peppy jazz number playing on my favorite radio station. I feel myself drifting away again, but then suddenly a radio jingle about Tide detergent plays and I almost jump out of my skin. As I get ready for work, and drive to work all that plays in my head is that Tide detergent jingle. It’s stuck in my head and I can’t seem to get rid of it!

That’s what Radio advertising is all about, making an impact on its target audience, whether it is to get them thinking or singing the jingle, an impact has been made. Some may say that radio advertising is the strongest medium of advertising, and some may say it’s the Television. This debate has gone on for years, but has had no conclusion. The simplest thing to be said here is that to each his own. Radio advertising is suitable for some and Television advertising for others. Lets find out why radio advertising is good in its own right.

Everybody listens to the radio, some like me wake up to it, others have it on at home all day and the others use it while driving. But whatever its use, the point is everybody listens to the radio. This is why people consider radio advertising so powerful, its because it reaches the masses. More and more companies are choosing radio advertising because of this and also because it is cost effective and you have the choice of advertising locally or nation wide.

Pros and Cons of Radio Advertising

No one is saying the world of the radio is perfect. Like all things, it also had its advantages and disadvantages. The radio is perfect for small business operations, but most won’t realize, here are the advantages of radio advertising:

• Cheap – radio ads are cheaper to produce and can reach millions of people at the same time. The relative cost effectiveness is as compared to television ads, which are so much more expensive than any other form of advertising.
• Impact – the impact made by a radio ad is greater than the impact made by any other medium of advertising. This is because radio ads are played at a time that can target a particular section of society or the masses. And also because they are repeated every hour or half an hour, so the impact is maximum.
• Entertaining – leaving television ads aside, radio ads are the most entertaining way of advertising. The print media can get dull and boring, where as the radio allows for creativity in advertisements.
• Cost effective – for those on a budget, radio advertising is very cost effective. It is cheaper than television ads and more attractive than print. It is the most preferred medium of advertising for local small businesses.

Now that we have spoken about the pros of radio advertising, it is only fair to talk about the flip side or the cons. Radio advertising does have certain disadvantage, these are:

• Short life span – unless it is a very catchy jingle on the radio, most people forget about radio ads in a day. This is because most are jingles that last for 30 seconds and are heard a few times a day and then they go off the air. The life span of that ad is over and done with and people will just as soon forget about the ad and the product or service it was for.
• Cost fluctuation – the problem with radio advertising is that the cost can fluctuate depending on the time slot selected.