Why Advertise On Radio

Reach:  According to the Radio Advertising Bureau over 93 percent of the U.S. population listens to Radio.  Radio reaches a very large audience.  There are over 12,000 radio stations throughout the U.S.

Target Audience:  Radio advertising offers you the opportunity to deliver a simple yet powerful message to a targeted group of consumers that may be interested in your product or service.  You can choose your target audience by choosing the radio station they listen to.  For example, country, pop, rock, talk radio, etc.

Cost:  It is one of the most inexpensive medium to advertise on.

Effectiveness:  Radio is consider a intimate medium because people connect with the show host.  People connect with their favorite station or program and hence are more accepting of advertisement presented on those stations or programs.

Cost Of Advertising On Radio

It is relatively inexpensive compared to other forms of advertisement. Ad cost can be divided into two parts, the creation of the ad and placement of the ad.

creation cost depends on the elaborate you want to make the ad.  Involving multiple voices, music, etc. will increase the cost.  Expect to pay from $120 - $500 for every voice in the ad.  Script writers will also come at a fee. 

Radio stations sell time, and they sell access to markets. The price is based on the radio type (AM/FM), the show, demographics and time of day you want the ad to run.

Ad are sold in 30 and 60 second slots.  You can expect to pay $3.00 - $8,000 per spot depending on the market size of the radio station and the time of day the ad is ran.

Using a bidding service and getting station discounts will reduce your cost.

Creating Your Radio Ad

You can write and produce the ad yourself with minimal effort or you can use the ad creation services offered by some Radio stations or other agencies and then place the ads on those stations that best serve your market.

Learn how to formulate your ad by listening to other ads on the radio.

When you write your ad make sure it stays focused and in tune with your marketing strategy.

The ad must specify what action you want the listener to take; go to the website; send an email; call, etc.

Your ad should talk about the benefits of your products or services.

Your ad should demonstrate value to the listener.

To build brand recognition advertise in multiple slots with the same theme.  This helps your audience identify with your company.

Consider that it can take up to three weeks to create and place your ad.

Placing Your Radio Ad

Choose the right station in the right time slot.

Peak hours is the most effective time to reach your target audience.  Most people are in their cars listening to radio when they are commuting to and from work.  Most people listen to the same radio station every day.

To place an ad, you can contact the radio stations individually and negotiate for rates or you can utilize a radio ad placement service. 

It is highly recommended that you use the radio ad placement services.  Radio ad placement services is easy, it generates quick feedback, and gets you the best price. Click here to see a list of Radio ad placement services

Contacting radio stations individually involves more work and may not get you the best price. Use the links below to find and contact individual radio stations throughout the U.S.

Radio Locator

NewsLink

U.S. Radio live (Online Streaming Radio)

eReference Desk (Online Streaming Radio)