Radio Advertising Analysis

Q:Is radio worth the dollars spent? And should it be in my media mix? Here's my line of business, please give me your thoughts. It's retail seafood company, with several locations in the city area. Established, almost as a brand of seafood. However, have lost customers due to aging store & new competition. We are having complete facelift done by summer.

A:Do you sell fresh fish to be cooked at home, meals, or both. Is there a take-out (HMR) component? In other words, at what point in the day would the market defined by your offering be most receptive to an appeal? All of these contribute, the billboard is great for commerce pattern access retention, your role in the community supports customer loyalty, print is good to build awareness and promote a call to action. You say you are almost a brand. What I am not seeing, however, is any mention of either brand building tactics or co-branding if applicable. Do you have a transferrable identity or image promotion in place? Do you take adavantage of tie-ins? I believe it is worth it depending on your market and the listenership. If your town is dominated by signals from bigger cities and the local station struggles to get an audience, then no, it's not worth it. You may want to call around to several of the local recording studios that handle radio spot production for advice on ad agencies that specialize in radio. The studios work with them and would be familiar with them. Using an agency shouldn't increase your costs too much since they receive commissions on the placement from the radio stations. If your print ads haven't been bringing in the customers, then radio may be the way to go. Unless you have an excellent voice, don't do the spots yourself. Also, spend a few bucks to hire an announcer that isn't on the radio stations to make your spot stand out. There's nothing worse than a radio spot recorded by a DJ at the end of his air shift when he has to do his "production shift" and record 10 spots. A professional announcer's rates will vary depending on the market and the announcer, but it's worth the extra expense. Again, a good local recording studio can help you with picking an announcer. Most maintain an audition library. While the radio station will produce your spot for free, you get what you pay for.