Your First Successful Radio Campaign
You can always do it Cheaper.
You can always do it Over.
Which would you Prefer?
Your first radio campaign ever should make you stand out among all the amateurs as well as the old pros. You want it to pay out your investment, attract new customers, and make your second radio campaign much easier to contemplate.Here's a simple Two-Step Process that shows you how to do it, and roughly what it will cost in the context of your Overall Budget.
STEP I. Click one of the following four options.
A. NEW BRAND. You have no customers yet. You may not have done any advertising at all. You wish to attract calls to inbound telemarketers or clicks to a web page.
B. ESTABLISHED BRAND. You have lots of happy customers. Perhaps you've already used newspaper, TV or magazines. You wish to attract calls or clicks to inbound telemarketers or a web page.
C. DISTRIBUTION CHAIN. You sell your new or established brand through retail outlets, franchisees, direct salesmanship or other distribution chain.
D. INFOMERCIAL BRAND. You now run late night, early-morning, or weekend infomercials and wish to attract AM Radio listeners, too.
NEW DIRECT RESPONSE BRAND.
You've never done this before. You have no current customers willing to gush on your behalf. You may be brand new to advertising. No problem. We'll use one or two straight VO announcer commercials to state your case and ask listeners to call or click. Can you answer the phone*?
YOUR SPOT MIGHT SOUND LIKE
ONE OF THESE:National Home Buyers
Grundig Radios
National Dynamics Speed Tapes
Verbal Advantage
Dice Job DelugeYou will test the commercial(s) on one solid AM News/Talk or Sports/Talk station in a midsize to large market.
The test will run 4-6 days. You will track calls or clicks and sales by the hour. (Later on we'll match up response volume to specific airings.)
If the test pays out, be financially prepared to continue to run on that station and others like it in the same market, then other markets. Plan for success.
You'll need a decent Strategy and brand promise, and probably a themeline or "hook" that boils everything down to just a few words. A simple 1-800 phone number helps.
Total Time from Start-Work to On-Air: 3-4 Weeks.
Total Cost for creative, copy, VO talent, studio production and basic media: $6,500 - $7,500.
(*Telemarketing services require a set-up fee and some sort of per call or per minute charge. Minimum fees will be $350 to $450 to gear up for and handle a test. We know several firms who can help you out.)
STEP II. Do what you want your own prospects to do. Pick up the phone.
Call Peter Burkhard at (407) 895-3092.
ESTABLISHED BRAND.
You have happy customers who are willing to testify on your behalf. You have a reasonable strategy, brand promise, and fairly clear competitive selling proposition.
Your ideal test campaign will run for 10-12 days on an AM News/Talk or Sports/Talk station in a mid-size to major market. The campaign will include a set-up intro :60, three or four testimonial spots, and a wrap up act-now closer. You might run a gif on the station's homepage that links back to your homepage or some other landing page.
YOUR CAMPAIGN MIGHT SOUND LIKE
ONE OF THESE:AFFLUX
Intro
Sherrie
Andy
Jessica
Thomas
Finale
WHITNEY EDUCATION GROUP
DICE.COM
If the test pays out, be financially prepared to continue to run on that station and others like it in the same market then other markets.
Total Time from Start-Work to On-Air: 3-5 Weeks.
Total Cost for creative, customer interviews & editing, VO copy, studio production and basic media: $8,500 - $10,500.
STEP II. Do what you want your own prospects to do. Pick up the phone.
Call Peter Burkhard at (407) 895-3092.
DISTRIBUTED BRAND.
You want radio to dramatize what your brand does so when people see it somewhere they'll say, "Oh, I heard of that. I'll try it." Or, you might want to run a national promotion, or get people to go somewhere on, say, Tuesday.
The length and cost of the media buy will vary with the consumer purchase cycle in your category, target audience demographics, competitive pressure, the time limit on your offer or deal, and several other factors too numerous to itemize here.
Your creative options include straight VO announcer, talent-reading-scripts, testimonials, jingles, humor, bathos, etc.
YOUR SPOT MIGHT SOUND LIKE
ONE OF THESE:Citrus Miracle
Budget Rent A Car
Budget Rent A Truck
Nu-Zymes
Cash Flow Generator
There are lots more examples on the Radio Show page. Creative, copy, talent, studio production costs vary with the scope of project. Plan to spend from $1,200 to $3,000 per commercial. Original jingle music adds $5,000 to $15,000 to the project cost. (Singers gotta eat, too.)
STEP II. Do what you want your own prospects to do. Pick up the phone.
Call Peter Burkhard at (407) 895-3092.
INFOMERCIAL BRAND.
Current sales follow the Eicoff Curve: you do best late at night, early in the morning, and on weekends when sales resistance is lowest. You want to reach AM news talk or sports talk listeners who are often asleep or busy when your TV runs.
You can test either of two approaches, or both simultaneously.
1. Run in the same market at the same time as your infomercial.
2. Run in a non-TV market, or several weeks after you have run TV in that market.
Compare costs per call, click, sale, seminar show, etc. to those in similar sized TV-only markets.
YOUR CAMPAIGN MIGHT SOUND LIKE
ONE OF THESE:WHITNEY EDUCATION GROUP
CASH FLOW GENERATOR
A normal flight will run 8-12 days.
If your TV track includes good sound-bite testimonials, we can use them as is. We can also interview past customers willing to gush on your behalf.
Total Time from Start-Up to On-Air: 3-5 weeks.
Total Creative Cost for consulting, copy, talent, studio production will be from $1,500 to $2,500 per commercial.
Total Media Cost depends on market size, desired reach, and campaign duration. Figure $5,000 to $25,000 gross per market per flight.
STEP II. Do what you want your own prospects to do. Pick up the phone.
Call Peter Burkhard at (407) 895-3092.
For more information on how we handle strategy, brand promise, media planning, creative development, results tracking, etc., go back to the Radio Show intro page, or gird up your loins and delve into Advanced Concepts.
SITE INDEX
Don't, because it doesn't.
© 2005 Peter A. Burkhard - Your Creative Director Online