Radio Direct Response: Direct Response Radio Advertising Agency | Blog Zone

Ironically, the most important words in your radio commercial are not words. They’re numbers. Your phone number to be exact. More than brand promises and catchy slogans, if a listener can remember one thing verbatim from your radio commercial it had better be the phone number you’re using to generate a lead or and order.

That’s why phone numbers in radio commercials need to be “radio friendly” - memorable and easy to recall. A good toll-free number coupled with time-tested media properties and a well constructed spot work together to make direct response radio campaigns successful.

Not sure about how to secure “good” radio friendly phone numbers? There are companies with services that can help you. A company called CustomTollFree.com helps customers acquire vanity 800 numbers for the purposes of brand marketing and direct response advertising. They offer customization of numbers, like groups of thousands or groups of hundreds in sequence. Repeating numbers and others designed with all aspects of direct response media in mind.

Another company called Call Source works with clients to acquire their desired custom toll free numbers. They are responsible for implementing and measuring the call volume and providing reports detailing on each number’s overall performance. They monitor results on a daily or weekly basis and offer additional services including additional toll free minutes, custom greetings and recordings to enhance and help clients achieve their campaign goals.

Many marketers don’t put nearly enough thought, energy and focus into what good phone numbers are and why they are needed. Good phone numbers are memorable and can make the phone ring. Bad numbers are difficult (or impossible) to recall and probably won’t achieve the desired results.

If your goal is to make the phone ring, get a memorable phone number. Executing a campaign without one is like trying to play a game of baseball without a bat. You might somehow still win the game, but it will be by luck and not sound execution of the fundamentals.

Danny Ocean, Vice President/Director of Operations

Something happened while I was sleeping. I awoke and we now have the AAA format on BIG commercial radio stations in Los Angeles and New York.

I read about these changes in the trade publications months ago. When Bonneville purchased LA’s V100 from Radio One, the format was quickly flipped. My initial reaction was one of shock. Logic dictates that one does not spend 137.5 MILLION dollars for a radio station in the #2 radio market in America and then re-program it with a format that has been a staple of non-commercial and college radio stations for twenty years.

In New York, heritage Smooth Jazz station, WQCD-FM, had flipped to AAA WRXP-FM six months ago, after losing its luster (and ratings) over the last three years.

Then I went to sleep and forgot about it.

AAA is a great format and I’m a huge fan. In Philly, our AAA station is the University of Pennsylvania’s WXPN-FM. ‘XPN is an institution in my hometown with an extremely loyal listener base. But it’s ranked #22 overall, and has never had a BIG audience.

When Bonneville changed the format to AAA in LA, radio experts speculated that they were stunting for awhile before unveiling the “real” new format. After all, how is the #25 station in LA going to pay the debt service on $137.5 MILLION dollars?

V100 changed format on April 8, 2008. Here we are, 5 months later, and “The Sound LA” is still AAA. And it sounds damn good.

By definition, “AAA” radio stations play a lot of current music which tends to appeal more to adults than to teenagers. AAA play-lists are much broader than the limited play-lists of hit radio, and therefore depend on album tracks as well as on music released or designated as singles. Stylistically, such stations may play rock, folk-rock, country-rock, modern rock, blues, folk, and world music. Some publications refer to the adult-oriented rock music heard on AAA stations as “Progressive Rock”, not to be confused with the 70’s music of the same name.

It is not a format often found on homogenized commercial radio stations, let alone in major market commercial radio stations. However, in the last six months to a year, this format can now be found in 11 of the top 20 radio markets, with big guys like CBS, Bonneville, Clear Channel and Emmis dipping their little piggy toes into the AAA pond.

I applaud them for taking this chance.

Here’s the challenge…it could take 2-3 years (or longer) before the AAA format establishes itself in a market. According to my program director buddies, that’s the rule of thumb for introducing a new radio format.

Since the TeleCom Act of 1996 and consolidation, radio operators haven’t been a very patient lot. The corporate mindset has been that successful formats could be duplicated quickly, and ratings and revenue growth could be accelerated in six months. Corporations needed ratings and revenue to kick in quickly to cover the debt service, not in 2-3 years.

Maybe somebody at corporate woke up and realized that patience is virtue.

Vince Raimondo, Vice President of Marketing

Last week, I spent four days at the Toronto Improv Festival. Toronto’s an energetic, international city, where people of every race and nationality are happy to engage in conversation with those visiting their hometown.

I promised myself a visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame and found myself in childlike wonder when I learned I could pose for a picture with the Stanley Cup. THE Stanley Cup. I traced my (white glove covered) index finger across its engravings and found the names of the players on the 1974 and 1975 Flyers teams that had brought me such joy as a teenager.

Later that night, I watched Michael Phelps swim into Olympic history with his eighth gold medal at the Beijing Games.

And I wondered…how could these or other symbols of excellence help our clients better market their products and services? Short of creating dead-on-arrival clichés like “gold medal service,” could we create new symbols of excellence that would resonate with the public?

The automotive industry revs its engine at the chance to tout its selection by J.D. Power and Associates. Insurance companies boast of their accreditation and ratings by A.M. Best.

Short of creating symbols and icons that no one had ever heard of on an industry-by-industry basis, I pondered an alternative that might carry more weight. Customer satisfaction awards.

“98.5% of all Dunkel Insurance customers trust us with their health insurance policies for at least 20 years.”

“9 out of 10 people who dine at The Happy Shrimp said they would recommend it to a friend. (The 10^th must still be eating.)”

In a marketplace cluttered with new and old brands fighting for share of mind, a relatable pedigree goes a long way towards distinguishing your name. And short of Stanley Cups and Olympic gold medals, the word of confidence from people “just like you” can carry a powerful message of endorsement.

How can you turn your past customer success stories into future business?

Mark Lipsky, President & CEO

Format Description:
The All News radio format is dedicated to broadcasting information, 24 hours a day. Content consists of local and national news updates, traffic reports, sports and business/financial updates. There is no talk programming, per se, on an All News station. Normally, programming is presented in a tight half-hour clock format. Each 30-minute segment opens with headlines, traffic reports at fixed times throughout the half-hour (e.g. “Traffic and Transit on the :02’s”), sports on the quarter-hour and business reports at 25 minutes into the half-hour. Cume (total weekly listenership) runs high and often ranks first in the marketplace. However, listening spans tend to run low due to repetition of content. Many listeners “get in and get out,” retrieving the information they need (e.g. a traffic report) and then returning to another station. In general, an All News radio station is the first medium of choice in times of crisis when listeners need news and information fast.

Audience:
Adults 25+ (Sweet Spot Adults 45-64)

Key Radio Stations:
WTOP/Washington, DC
WWJ/Detroit
WINS-AM/New York
KYW-AM/Philadelphia

DR Factor:
All News is an excellent radio format for direct response
marketers. Its listeners are “active listeners,” focused on the spoken word content. This puts them in the right mindset to hear, process and make a decision on the offer in your radio commercial. And while most All News stations program 15-20 minutes of commercial messages per hour, they generally separate commercial into one or two minute segments, meaning that your message gets woven into the programming content, rather than lost in a four or five minute commercial break.

For more information, visit Wikipedia.

Lather…rinse…repeat.  Really?  Repeat?  Directions on a shampoo bottle are ridiculous to begin with, but the “repeat” part has always been like nails on a chalkboard to me.  While some things in life are just too painful to repeat — like sixth grade or your driver’s test, repetition does have its benefits, especially if you are marketing on radio.

Put your consumer hat on for a second.  You are listening to the radio while showering, driving, sunning on the beach or jogging.  You’re probably not going to towel down or pull over to grab a pen and write down that difficult-to-remember 800 number (there’s a finite number of good ones out there, but that’s for another blog) or URL for that product or service you just heard advertised.  You’ll file it away in your head with the million other things you mean to do.  Repetition is key.

People are usually doing something else when they are listening to the radio.  They’ll call or log on when it is convenient for them to do so or when that desire becomes a necessity.  That is why your message has to rise to the Top Five of that “million things to do list.” How do you accomplish this?  Let me repeat myself — repetition.

When direct marketers give up on radio a week or two into the campaign, they are guilty of not understanding repetition, or in radio terms, “frequency.”  Listeners generally need to hear a radio spot a minimum of three times before they take action.  If the phone doesn’t ring on day one or the web site isn’t flooded, panic sets in.  This happens not only with start-ups, but also with household names that dip their toe in the water but don’t dive in even though their competition is on radio all year long.  Why did it work for their competitors?  Let me repeat myself — they were on the air all year long.

I recently leased a new car and while renewing my insurance, my carrier’s rates rose $60 dollars a month.  Leasing a car requires that you carry the maximum coverage, so I either had to renew or find a new carrier.  Three years ago when I last leased a car it never entered my mind to shop for a better rate.  Now I needed to.  I could think of no other name to call but Progressive Direct.  Why?  They are dominating the airwaves — three years ago they weren’t.  And they offer the unique service of showing you comparable rates from competitors.  A one-stop-shop.

Like millions of others who heard their spots on the radio I didn’t act the first time I heard it, or the 10^th time, or maybe even the 75^th.  But I did call when I needed it.  If I hadn’t heard it 75 times would they be my new carrier?  Probably not.

So again let me repeat myself — repetition is key to a direct marketers success.

Monica Caraffa, Senior Account Manager

From 1993 to 1999, Radio Direct Response placed countless radio commercials on thousands of radio stations on a pay-per-performance basis. Stations and networks agreed to run our clients’ commercials – uniquely sourced by their own phone numbers or web URLs – in return for a fixed payment from every lead or sale generated.

It was a whole lot of squeeze for a little bit of juice.

The truth is, radio stations hate per inquiry advertising. It’s the lowest form of radio advertising and the last to be placed on the schedule. It runs “whenever” which means you’re much more likely to be on the air at 3 AM in Grand Rapids than at 8 AM in New York City.

Stations begrudgingly accept PI advertising as a last ditch measure to squeeze every possible dollar from their available inventory. They know that, sometimes, they won’t ever see a dollar for their efforts. So they’d much rather accept a low, remnant advertiser’s rate – guaranteed – than roll the dice on a pay-per-performance campaign.

Recently, we had a prominent national brand approach us to execute a per inquiry radio campaign. They explained that they hadn’t been able to get radio to “work” and wanted to guarantee a fixed lead cost through PI radio advertising. When pressed for more details, we learned that their prior radio tests had consisted of one-and-two-week flashes that never gave the consumer a chance to truly hear the message, process the offer, make a buying decision and take action.

And now, they wanted to test new creative using PI radio. We politely said, “No.” The problem is, a PI schedule will vary from week to week. One week, you may get five spots in prime time. The next week, you might have eight spots overnight. The following week, you may not air at all. This is not the way to manage a radio test.

The way I see it, there’s only one good thing about a PI radio campaign: assuring a fixed marketing cost. But for marketers who want a 12-month-a-year campaign, guaranteed leads and sales every week and the ability to manage their results (as they do in other media) PI is not the magic key that unlocks the treasures of radio.

We understand why radio stations loathe pay-per-performance advertising. So we take a different approach. We hold radio stations accountable. If we place a buy on their station (or network), we expect a certain level of performance if they’re going to earn a second buy. Those who deliver – or take steps to make up our clients’ shortfall – earn year round advertising buys from RDR and gladly slot our clients in their prime time commercial avails. And those commercials, by the way, are the ones that bump PI advertisers to the 3 AM slot in Grand Rapids.

Mark Lipsky, President & CEO

Format Description:
Active Rock is a format that blends current rock music with songs from the classic rock era. While Modern Rock focuses only on today’s popular rock music, Active Rock will also include most standout artists of the prior decade.

Audience:
Male 18-34

Core Artists:
Incubus, Red Hot Chili Peppers, AC/DC, Aerosmith

Key Radio Stations:
WIYY-FM/Baltimore
WAAF-FM/Boston
KISS-FM/San Antonio
KEGL-FM/Dallas

DR Factor:
This is a music intensive format with a hard edge. For a DR campaign to succeed on this format, the message must rise to the intensity level of the music. Bold offers. Urgent calls to action. If possible, tie the product’s core benefit to the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. DJ testimonials, especially from prominent, dominant air personalities, can make the difference in breaking through the clutter for attention.

For more information, visit Wikipedia.

October has so many wonderful opportunities to promote your brand and drive retail/web traffic. Virtually any anniversary can be cleverly spun into a great promotion. If you need some ideas other than the obvious (Halloween) here they are.

Celebrate the anniversary of the Internet, created on October 29, 1969, by giving away the hottest, new phone with email capabilities - or a laptop that can fit into a file folder! Or, drive people online to write about what life might be like without the Internet to win a shopping spree, a day at a spa or a trip to an island with NO Internet access. We could all use that sometimes, couldn’t we?

October 15^th is National Grouch Day. Have radio stations hit the streets to find the grouchiest looking people and turn their frowns upside down by giving them your product or cash on behalf of your brand! Can you smell the PR buzz?

You’ve got the arrival of fall, the new TV season and many more opportunities, anniversaries and events your brand can celebrate, with a little creativity or help from RDR Promotions (shameless plug). Drop me an e-mail for a quick brainstorm!

Barbra Tabnick, Senior Account Manager