10 Rules of Sports Radio Advertising

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10 Rules of Sports Radio Advertising

  1. IN-GAME BROADCASTS ARE GREAT FOR BRANDING, LOUSY FOR DIRECT RESPONSE – Who wants to stop listening to the game to make a phone call for more information?  Save your DR buys for out-of-game placements if you’re measuring ROI.
  2. SPORTS TALK HOSTS CAN BE GREAT SPOKESPERSONS – To listeners, these guys are their buddies who just happen to know everything about sports.  There’s no one better to pitch your product.
  3. SPORTS RADIO IS A GREAT PLACE TO REACH MEN – A typical Sports Radio station has a 75%-95% male audience base.  It’s the best AM/FM format to reach Men 18+ with little waste outside of the demo.
  4. PROMOTIONS ABOUND – Whether it’s personality appearances at your retail location, online website exposure or a chance to tie-in to a wing eating contest, Sports Radio stations have ways to promote your brand above-and-beyond conventional advertising.  Challenge your sales rep to get creative with something that fits your needs.
  5. KEEP YOUR COPY FRESH – Sports fanatics are typically focused on two things; the last game and the next game.  Find ways to keep your copy topical and timely to tap into their “in the moment” mindset.
  6. FINAL SCORES ARE YOUR FRIEND – You may not buy time during the actual games, but you can offer 10% off for every touchdown scored on Sunday by the “silver and blue.”  Generic wording and clever offers can drive your weekly sales.
  7. YOU CAN SLAP YOUR NAME ON ANYTHING – For the right price, your brand can sponsor the Your Brand Scoreboard or the Your Brand Traffic Report or the Your Brand Weekly Picks, live from the Your Brand Studios.  It’ll cost you, but you can marry your brand to daily programming.
  8. LOCAL HEROES SELL – Sure you can pay 50 grand to have the big home run hitter promote your brand, but the underdog second-string catcher who hit the double that put you in the playoffs in ’07 will probably pack the same punch at a fraction of the cost.  Look for people like Vince Papale, the 30-year old walk-on who landed a job with the Philadelphia Eagles and had a film (“Invincible”) made about his story.
  9. EVERYONE’S A WINNER– Let on-air Hosts or two brand spokespeople argue about who will have the bigger game.  Then, set the stakes.  If Person A is right, everyone gets 25% off on Monday.  If  Person B is right, everyone gets a free “X” when they buy “Y.”  Everyone’s got a rooting interest and listeners win big!
  10. IN-STORE APPEARANCES CAN DRAW TRAFFIC – Take a Sports Talk Host and add a local sports celeb.  Bring them to your retail location and call crowd control.  Sports heroes have long shelf lives.  If you’re targeting men, athletes can be a traffic magnet

Mark Lipsky is the President and CEO of The Radio Agency. Please follow The Radio Agency’s Blog “Sounding Board” by subscribing to the email or RSS links above.Visit our website TheRadioAgency.com