Paradigms and Communication Mediums - Radio

It was not so long ago, that Radio and TV were the preeminent modes of electronic communication. In the series here, this an article from 1986 on Radio, written from the point of view of it holding a different place in our collective consciousness than it does today. Who we were in relationship to it was much different. What's interesting here is how different, outdated and outmoded some these concepts are, and how other things have remained entirely similar...


RADIO PROMOTIONS: THE WHYS AND HOWS

Radio waves are everywhere. They are in every country in the world, and and most every country in the world uses them. In the united states, radios were used to transmit and receive signals primarily for military purposes. When radio started being used for purposes other than military, one of the first problems that arose was how to pay for it. In many other countries, the government stepped in and took control and in the U.S., it almost happened as well.

A station called WEAF though, started something that changed radio forever. The station sold time on the radio to someone who wanted to talk about his business. The strategy worked, and it became apparent that a way to fund radio was invented. No governmental intervention was needed. Today, the United States is the only country in the world that has a radio system that is not government controlled.

Advertising has come a long way from the early days of radio. The types of commercials done, and the way in which it is handled is much different. Today, there are a variety of ways in which a commercial is presented, from a disc jockey talking about a product to elaborate and sometimes expensive productions.

There are many reasons why an advertiser can be attracted to radio. Radio is a very far reaching medium, reaching into an estimated ninety-four percent of American homes. 1

Radio advertisers also have a lot of control over who it is that is being reached, due to the number of and variety of stations in any given listening area. 2

Choosing the appropriate audience and station that serves that audience is very important when looking to advertising on radio. (For instance, it would not do an advertiser much good to try and promote an offer for something like free beauty tips during the coverage of a football game or sell afro sheen on a country and western station.)

There are many different things that can be advertised, from goods and services, to the station itself. Promotions which are a very important form of advertising have many advantages. For one thing, it can be fun, not only for the listeners but for the radio staff itself. It makes things that the radio station does important to the listeners. It involves people and invites participation, and most importantly, it attracts advertisers. 3

Promotions can be used to bring in listenership when listenership is going to be predictably low. (For example, a time of year that a lot of broadcasters dread is the early part of January.) Certain promotions, like a year long promotion, can really help a time of the year when things ratings wise are in a slump. Getting prizes are very easy to do in a promotion of this size, and the lost revenue from either trading merchandise or purchasing something (although the former is much more common), can be a tremendously great investment for the amount of listeners it is likely to draw. 4

Promotions are a very useful idea also because although a percentage of revenue for radio comes from national advertisers, the local advertiser is radio's primary customer and it makes sense to work with that fact in mind. 5

In the past 40 years, promotions for radio stations themselves have significantly grown in popularity. 6

A popular form of promotion is known as the remote. A remote means that an event is broadcasted on location of that event. A remote has many advantages to the advertiser as well as the station. It gives the advertiser some very good on the spot publicity as well as bringing the radio station out into the community. Having a special event at a given location can greatly increase customer traffic. One example might be a laudrimat opening. A prize might be offered ("Be one of the first 100 customers down here at Joe's Laundry and receive 10 loads free".) Radio personality involvement can also be a fun idea for a draw. (Come on down to Joe's laundry and have your favorite morning man wash your clothes.) 7

There are risks to the advertiser, though. One of the most important aspects to doing a remote is a form of advertising known as saturation. This means that an advertiser should buy a large number of spots to grab listeners attention, and that can be a moderately sizable investment. If the turnout isn't heavy enough, it could be quite a financial loss after the radio bill has been paid and the "prizes" have been given out. It's a good for the advertiser though, if it's been done already and there's a proven record of it working. 8

Unfortunately, someone's got to be first.

Simplicity is another key factor. Too much information and detail given to the listener can be confusing and can tend to make people mentally tune out the event. A good rule of thumb to go by is, if it can't be said in thirty seconds, don't say it. 9

Advertising on the radio is a very powerful medium, and although many different forms can be used, advertising in the form of a live remote has many distinct and exiting possibilities. As Ralph Tangney of the telecommunications department at Mercer County Community College put it, "You've got to blow your own horn...If you don't blow your own horn, nobody else is gonna do it for you."


BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Handbook of Radio and Publicity Promotion
Jack MacDonald
Tab Books
Blue Ridge Summit, PA.
© 1970

Media in Advertising
McGraw Hill Inc.
New York, San Francisco, London
© 1964

FOOTNOTES

(1) Media in Advertising
(2) Media in Advertising p. 271
(3) The Handbook of Radio and Pub. Prom. p. 11
(4) The Handbook of Radio and Pub. Prom. p. 25
(5) Media in Advertising p. 270
(6) The Handbook of Radio and Pub. Prom. p. 11
(7) The Handbook of Radio and Pub. Prom. p. 270 p. 315
(8) The Handbook of Radio and Pub. Prom. p. 314
(9) The Handbook of Radio and Pub. Prom. p. 13

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