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Here are four steps to take when buying time for your radio
campaign.
1. Identify a narrow demographic target audience and their
important characteristics or habits. For example: women, 25 to
54, with children under age 6, who reside in a specific
geographic market area.
2. Contact the stations you believe reach your target audience,
and ask them to provide you with proposals that include a
ratings breakdown for your target group and a signal coverage
map.
3. Evaluate each station's proposal, looking for reach,
frequency and cost per point. The "reach" is the number of
individuals in your target group who will hear your marketing
message. "Frequency" isn't the number of times that you run your
spot; it's the number of times a member of your target audience
will actually hear your message. And the "cost per rating point"
(CPP) is the cost to reach 1 percent of your target audience
population. Also, the bulk of your spots should run in dayparts
that draw the largest percentage of your prospects, not
run-of-station (ROS), which may include multiple, lower-cost
spots that air in the middle of the night, when fewer of your
prospects will be listening.
4. Select the best stations for your campaign, and negotiate
your media buys. Make frequency your top priority, and then include as
much reach as you can afford. In other words, it takes multiple
exposures for your message to be effective, so make sure a core
prospect group will hear your spot multiple times, then buy as
many additional prospect contacts as possible. |
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Consider buying sponsorships--such as news, weather or
traffic--because you'll receive the first spot in the commercial
break and often a five- to 10-second "billboard" to say
something about your company. Participating in contests will
also get you lots of on-air mentions. So contact each station's
promotions director for upcoming events. |
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