Welcome to  Burkhard Works. Logical Analysis Leading to  a Leap of Faith. Portfolio & TV Reels. The fastest way to the wallet is through the brain The  Complete Works of Burkhard Nine  Brand Turnarounds Peter A.  Burkhard.  Writer. Producer. Creative Ingenious Welcome to Burkhard Works

Peter A Burkhard (407) 895-3092  peter@burkhardworks.com


Breaking April & May:
 

True West launches promos for 55-acre LV Ranch Estates just outside Prescott, AZ.  KFMB-AM San Diego targets tax-hammered Californians who want to get Out! Out!; KFYI-AM and KFNX-AM in Phoenix go after native Arizonans looking for that Perfect Place.  Dinovite breaks six new :60s in Sirius XM:  Hairballs. Clumps. Happy Vets. The Bomb. Vacuum. Canned Heat.  New spots for Sutra Max roar in test. (Yeah, I've been busy.)


In Direct Response Radio your creative and media planning have to be in sync with your target audience, and you have to beat out all the other DR advertisers on the air.  That seems like a lot of work, doesn't it?  Fortunately, this page describes most of the tools you'll need to outgun most of The Other Guys.  (Don't worry, they're locked into the status quo.) 

To apply these tools to your own efforts, send for my free "Planning For Profitable Radio Advertising" Excel workbook.  Plug in a few numbers.  Answer a few simple questions.  You'll be well on your way to earning a fine return on your investment in brand image, 1-800, click-to, or retail radio. 

FREE: Planning for Profitable Radio Advertising

Who Wants Your Thing?

Reps tell you that radio is a frequency medium, but it's really a loyalty medium. Local stations target and hold small slivers of the local market.  Networks such as ABC and Premiere deliver small slivers of the national market.  Your first task is to define your best prospects in terms of gender, age, and a few other qualities that help us select your best stations, programs, and networks.

How Will You Close The Sale?

In Radio, Conversion is King. A good ad can open the minds of Impulse Shoppers.  Your website, in-bound telemarketers, retail sales staff or package design have to close the sale.  Long-term profits come from happy repeat customers, but short-term revenues depend more on conversion rates than on any other metric.  Don't expect me-too radio to save a me-too website.  It won't.

What's Your Brand Promise?

All purchase decisions are driven by emotions and then rationalized by facts.  Bullet-points alone will bounce off most people's heads.  You can derive a solid Brand Promise from honest answers to my Seven Easy Questions.

How Much Does Radio Cost?

Radio spots are priced like airline tickets.  Everyone pays a different rate based on day, day part, tonnage, and negotiation.  Creative & production costs are extra. (Most local spots are written by reps and voiced by the same announcers who read everybody's bullet points.)

A better question is, "How much does a radio sale cost?"  Media Cost Per Sale is a function of three dynamic variables: response rate, cpm, and conversion rates. 

(000's of Gross Impressions per Inquiry  x Cost Per Thousand ) / Conversion Rate = Media Cost Per Sale

MCPS must be an acceptable percentage of incremental upfront plus expected downstream revenues. Spot costs can always be negotiated and are, at best, only one third of the equation.

My Top 20 Favorite Radio Commercials
  Personal favorites that worked. Fusillades, demos, FM blasters, testimonials, jingles, a few straight reads. For 150 other samples, click to Complete Campaigns.

1 Stinky II
Dinovite. 2007. MP3.
2 S-O-C-K-S!
National Dynamics. 1993. MP3.
3 Forrest P is on Vibrate
Dice.com. 2001. MP3
.
4 SutraMax Does Wonderful Things
Natrient v Viagra et al. New. MP3.
5 No Pity
PlanToForeclose.com. New. MP3.
6 Work Work Work - Play Play Play
Carnival Crystal Palace. 1998. MP3.
7 Quality Gush
QualitySmith.com. 2008. MP3.
8 The Lincoln Dinner?
Budget Rent a Car. MP3.
9 Perfect Place
TrueWest. New. MP3.
10 Olivia v The Pharaohs
Dice.com. 2001. WMA.
11 Tune in Radio Tonga
Grundig Radios. 1998. WMA.
12 Michael Quit Work
Whitney Education Institute. 2004. MP3.
13 Ooo! Grout Grunge - Yum!
Citrus Miracle Cleaner. 1994. WMA.
14 Monica D Got 150 Jobs
Dice.com. 2002. WMA.
15 K or a S?
National Dynamics. 1994. WMA.
16 The Body Sled
Supplement Super Store. New. MP3.
17 Laura Ingraham Intro
BeHeardToday.com. 2008. MP3.
18 Brutus Almost Died
Dinovite. 2007. MP3.
19 Choose Your Partners Well
Aetna Partners National Health Plans. 1985! MP3.
20 Are You a Geek?
Dice.com. 1999. WMA.

Complete Radio Campaigns 1998-2008


Can You Do Everything Yourself?

Absolutely!  Send for my free Planner.  Fill it out. Or, click to the Advanced Concepts of Radio page, open and print all 18 articles, read each one twice. You'll know 80% of what you need to know to achieve profitability in radio advertising.  Have at it!

18 articles on media, creative & production techniques.

If and when you need the other 20%, do what you want your own best prospects to do.  Pick up the phone.

(407) 895-3092.


I am the only human in America who conceives, writes, produces, voices, plans, places, and tracks the results of Network Radio Advertising.  Perhaps I can help you, too?






Peter A Burkhard (407) 895-3092  peter@burkhardworks.com




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Updated May 4, 2009 © Peter A. Burkhard

Peter Burkhard's Radio Show features radio advertising, radio commercials, direct response marketing, direct response advertising, radio station advertising, radio advertising costs, advertising on radio, advertising radio, commercials for radio, direct response radio, advertising jingles, radio commercial production, direct marketing solutions, radio ads, strategic consulting, radio jingles, commercial jingles, advertising on radio, radio strategy, radio marketing.  This paragraph also brazenly demonstrates a low cost SEOPS alternative to PPC & Overture.  Proof: You're reading it.