Radio Advertising: Radio Announcers are not Marketers

I heard an awful, live radio advertisement/interview while listening to one of the sports radio stations in St. Louis and wanted to share the lesson this poor business owner just learned.

This small business owner has a landscaping business and recently acquired the exclusive license in the area for a golf putting surface that can be put down in your back yard so you can work on your putting stroke without hitting the golf course.

This small business owner paid for a live commercial promotion with the announcers. This type of radio advertising usually comes at a premium price because you're using the on-air radio talent and a greater number of listeners should hear the advertisement because it's number one in the advertising rotation.

Whatever this poor small business owner paid, it was too much.

The small business owner was on the phone with two sports radio announcers. The business owner was given the opportunity to talk a little bit about his product and then the radio guys started to ad lib with the questions.

Radio Announcer #1: "So, I guess we're talking about something that could improve your golf game and cost you less than $1,000 to install. Isn't that correct?

Business Owner: "Well, actually it costs a little bit more than that to install this product."

The other announcer realizes radio announcer #1 messed up and tries to change the subject.

Radio Announcer #2: "And I understand you can actually control the speed of the green. How do you do that?"

The small business owner responds, but then radio announcer #1 tries to make up for his mistake.

Radio Announcer #1: "Okay. Okay. I know this product costs more than $1,000, but we're still looking under $2K - right?

Silence.

Radio Announcer #2: "Exactly how much does it cost to install an average-size green in a back yard?"

Small Business Owner: "Well, let's say the average green size is roughly 600 square feet. The cost per square foot is $11. So, we're talking around $6,600."

Wow. A little bit more than $1,000? I'd say the difference between $1,000 and $6,600 is a lot more!

I can't blame the business owner. What can you say when the radio talent has established the value of your $6,600 product with the audience at only $1,000? And then tries to "redeem" himself by raising the value to $2,000 - still only one-third of the actual cost.

I have rarely heard local, on-air personalities provide effective live radio advertising. Far too often, radio personalities try to ad lib rather than read the script; or attempt to incorporate humor when it's a serious topic; or simply don't take time to educate themselves properly on the advertised product or service.

Yes, on-air radio personalities sometimes have credibility with the audience and mixing the advertisement in with regular content may result in slightly more listeners, but I think the risks far outweigh those slight benefits.

Don't forget, radio announcers are entertainers, not marketers. In the future, I'd suggest this small business owner consider one of the following options:

• Use on-air talent, but have the radio spots pre-recorded using a script.
• Use professional radio talent to pre-record a scripted radio spot.
• Use the business owners voice to pre-record a scripted radio spot.

By using pre-recorded spots, you have much more control over the quality of the radio spot, as well as the impression left with your potential customers.