A NASA Rocket burns half its fuel to get three feet off the launch pad. It takes that much energy to overcome inertia and gravity. A few minutes later, though, the payload is in orbit.

When you launch a new radio advertising campaign, you'll burn about half your media budget to overcome the Initial Resistance of your prospects.  A few days or weeks later, though, your payload can be in orbit, too.

Initial Resistance results in higher G, i.e. extra gallons of radio per call, click, or other inquiry (1 gallon of radio  = 1,000 gross impressions).

    Example: Target G = 2.600 + 50% IR = 3.900 Test G

IR is a function of at least TEN factors, most of which you can predict using my Free Planning for ROI.xls.  This article discusses all of them.  There are links to useful articles in the right hand column.

1. FIRST-TIMER?

If you've never advertised on radio or aren't too well-known, add 25% to 50% to your Target G for the first week or so. If you hit your target MCPS at 2.600 gallons per call, add another 1.300. See the example above. 
If you are well-known in other media, such as TV, you may enjoy up to -50% IR!

2. CLUTTER

How many of your direct competitors are already using radio? How long have they been advertising? Do they run unique campaigns or copy each other's copy?  The more category clutter the less likely your prospects will lurch for the phone Day One.

Even if your executions are stellar add at least 10% to your Target G for every Other Guy on the air.
Nine competitors = G +90%. 

If you imitate the Urgent Announcer copy run by your competitors, you should add at least 15% per Other Guy.  Nine competitors = G +135%.

3. PRICE

Price Resistance can be positive or negative. You may have to add 1% to Target G for every $1.00 over $100. Max: +50%.

If prospects expect you to be expensive (new cars, tax relief, migraine surgery) Price Resistance may be nominal.

If you're offering the lowest price in your category, you might deduct 1% for every dollar under the normal category price.  This is tricky.  Low price isn't a very good motivator in radio.  People don't hear numbers very well.

4. PROCRASTINATION

Does Your Thing promise fast relief from some sort of emotional or physical pain for which there is no other remedy?  Lots of people will hem and haw and shop around or buy retail before they call or click. Ask your current customers how long they spent on that Trail of Tears.  Add 10% for every week the average prospect spends procrastinating.  (See Steam Speed, right.) 

5. FREE OFFER

Any free offer can take 20% to 50% off your breakeven response rate.  Caution: you still have to convert those Free-Seekers to paying customers!  In a cluttered category where Freebies are the norm, you won't get much upward thrust from "No Risk! No Money!"

6. MULTIPLE CTAs

Many D.R. advertisers assign a separate 1-800 number to each station or regional network or destination program.  The same spot can run three times in a row on the same station with different 1-800s.  It just confuses people.  If a person needs to hear a spot three times before calling, why should the last station get all the credit?  Add 10% for every extra 1-800 or URL you want to "test."

7. CONTROL COPY?

You've run the same Control Copy for months (or years).  Response has flat-lined.  You decide to change a few words or use a new announcer.  Don't be surprised if response crashes and burns!  

People who might have called after the 632nd exposure to your Control are confused. "Wait, is that the same brand?" It's very rare that minor tweaks will beat a long-running Control.  (See Beat Your Control, above right.)

8. TINY CUME QUOTA

The weekly Cume Quota is the number of persons in a market or in a station's cume audience who are actually in the market for Your Thing this week.  Radio works if at least 5% of the adult population shops the category each year.  Add 10% G for every 1% under 5%.  (Example: 4% of adults ever buy. 5%-4% = 1%.  Add 10% G.)

9. TINY STATION.

First-timers often try to save money by buying some cheap spots after 10pm on a tiny station nobody listens to.  They reach maybe 1% of the market Cume Quota and wonder why nothing happens.  You need at least $5,000 to test in a cluttered category.  Add 10% G for every $1,000 under $5,000.  But deduct 10% for every $1,000 over $10,000.  That's enough to power blast any cume.

10. STATION ANNOUNCER COPY.

The Host of a popular radio program can add credibility to your brand IF he or she can speak from personal experience. If the on-staff news guy just reads rep-written bullet point copy pulled from your Yellow Pages ad, add at least 100% to Target G.  Expect to wait a long, long time for G to drop.  The same guy reads everybody's spots!  Even your direct competitors'.

Here's how four different advertisers might predict Initial Resistance. We'll assume all three have the same Target G.  What response rate should they expect for the first 10 Days?  Just add up the IR factors.

(The first guy adds 150% of  2.630 to get Test G of 6.575.)

Divide Target Audience gallons (000s of GIMPS) by Test G for expected phone calls, clicks, store ups... 

You might do much better, of course.  But even stellar copy has to get Gravitationally Challenged prospects off their duffs.  Ask NASA.

Oh, you can estimate your own Initial Resistance and see how long it will last in my Free Planning for ROI.xls.  Get one.