In its first few decades, radio programming demonstrated an almost magical ability to capture the country's imagination and keep listeners on the edge of their seats. While doing so, it also successfully promoted the products and services of sponsors. From "The Palmolive Hour" and "Lux Radio Theater" to "Maxwell House Coffee Time," radio and advertising have always gone hand in hand.
Today the "theater of the mind" remains a uniquely effective advertising medium. Radio news, talk, sports and music programming can provide relatively affordable access to listeners with demographic characteristics that match those of many insurance agents' target audiences.
At its best, radio advertising can be particularly effective in terms of creating conversation and generating leads. In fact, it's been our experience that radio advertising, particularly when the subject is insurance, has a greater ability to create attention than newspaper ads. Yet newspapers have traditionally been the vehicle of choice for insurance agency advertising.
If you are committed to radio advertising, there are several steps you can take in order to run an effective campaign.
Select the audience you want to reach
As with most advertising and marketing initiatives, choosing the target audience is an essential first step. You have to determine whom you want to reach and influence before you can begin thinking about what form your ads will take and where they'll run.
For example, if your advertising objective is to increase the level of awareness and recognition of your agency in the community, then you'll want to reach a wide range of prospects. Conversely, if you'll be focusing on a particular product or service, your target audience will be more narrowly defined.
Determine which station is best for your campaign
Once you've identified your target audience, the next step is to determine the station that will be most effective at reaching it. You'll want to evaluate all the stations in your target market by gathering as much information about each station and its listeners as possible. What is the demographic profile of the station's audience? When do they listen most? What are the top-rated shows and broadcast times?
The radio station's advertising sales representative or an advertising agency can assist you in obtaining this information and selecting the most appropriate time and place for your commercials to air. If you're taking advice from a station's salesperson, however, bear in mind that he/she has only one product to sell. For that reason, you'll want to take a close look at the audience numbers and weigh them against your knowledge of the community. You also may want to check with the people in your office as well as local business associates to see if the salesperson's claims ring true.
Decide what image you want to convey
Another important step when you're putting together a radio campaign is to consider the image you want to convey. The image portrayed in your ads should mesh with what your agency is all about. For example, if yours is a high-tech company that uses the latest technology to better serve its clients, your ads should make that point abundantly clear. If, on the other hand, you're more of a hometown agency, your ads should convey a sense of community awareness and involvement.
Whatever image you have or want to convey, your ads can help create an expectation among members of the target audience with regard to what it's like to do business with your organization.
Consider what you really want to do in your campaign
While a number of factors will influence the overall success of your campaign, none will have a greater impact than your creative strategy. For that reason, it's essential to plan your creative strategy carefully.
While the radio station or ad agency will come up with the actual creative strategy for your ads, no one knows your target audience better than you. And while you probably aren't trained in writing and developing radio ads, you know what makes your prospects tick and what scenarios will have meaning to them. That insight can prove invaluable when it comes to selecting an approach that hits home with the intended audience and tracks with your advertising objectives.
Give some thought to what motivates the members of your target audience. What benefits are they looking for? Are they driven by price? Are they looking for convenience and ease of doing business? Are they more interested in top-notch service? Would a wide range of coverages make them give you a call? The answers here will help you craft your message.
Four of the most common approaches used in radio advertising are: slice of life, which depicts a realistic insurance-related scenario that members of the target audience may encounter; hard product sell; humor; and news. Each approach has its advantages, so it's best to weigh your options thoroughly with whoever is producing the commercial before deciding on an approach. One word of warning: Unless your ads are intended to be humorous, it's essential that the dialog be realistic. Unrealistic conversation won't ring true with your audience, and the effectiveness of your commercials (and more than likely your image) will suffer as a result.
Whichever creative approach you take, be sure to get the best production you can afford. If you're working with a limited budget, don't try to bite off more than you can chew. For example, don't select a campaign that requires multiple actors since your budget will prohibit you from hiring the level of talent needed to do the job right.
Do all you can to ensure first-rate production
A few simple tricks of the trade can help you produce commercials that have the greatest chance for success. For starters, make sure your company's name is mentioned at least five times throughout each commercial, and keep your message as simple as possible. Rarely do radio listeners give advertisements their undivided attention. This is one way to make sure your name and basic message, if nothing else, get through to the audience.
Another test is to have someone read the copy to you before you get to the production stage since ads often seem completely different when you are reading them compared to when you hear them read. If something doesn't sound right, the time to make changes is before production begins. Wait until after the ads are recorded and you may incur re-recording costs.
Finally, make sure you can completely understand what the speakers in your ads are saying. One way to do this is to get a cassette of your recorded ads before you give final approval. Drive around town and listen to the tape (after all, that's how most listeners will hear your ads). Can you hear your commercial clearly above the traffic? Can you make out all the dialog? If not, be sure to resolve these issues before your campaign hits the air.
Get help from outside resources
While you and your people will do a lot of the planning involved with creating your radio commercials and determining their strategic objectives, you will need help from outside resources as well. There are a number of places you can turn to for assistance with everything from financial support to production of your ads.
Radio Stations--Many local radio stations will produce commercials without charge, and also may provide copywriting at no cost. Since stations have production facilities on site, they offer an easy and convenient way to get your ads on the air, with your only cost being for air time. But there are a few drawbacks to relying on the station completely.
To begin with, all the ads produced at a particular station have a tendency to sound the same. Since original, attention-grabbing ads usually have the greatest impact on listeners, you run the risk of diminishing the impact of your campaign. What's more, the talent available at stations is usually limited. For that reason, it's best to avoid creative approaches that require extensive (if any) acting. Finally, when radio station personnel are writing your copy and developing your creative execution, be prepared to spend a significant amount of time explaining your business to them, since chances are very slim that anyone at the station will have a working knowledge of the insurance business.
Insurance companies--Many insurance companies have cooperative programs through which they lend financial support to their agents' advertising initiatives. Given the climate in today's insurance industry, many carriers are hungry for business. If you approach them with a well-thought-out plan that incorporates sound business objectives, companies will consider supporting your initiative.
Typically, that support comes in the form of scripts or pre-produced ads to which you can add your agency's name and phone number. If the latter is the case, you'll have to decide if the insurer's ad promotes your agency enough for it to have an impact. If not, you may be better off relying on the radio station or an advertising agency to create commercials that feature your agency more prominently. Should you choose to go that route, the insurance company still may be willing to provide a portion of the funds required to develop, produce and air your ads.
Advertising agencies--Another option at your disposal is to use an advertising agency. Experienced local agencies often have the knowledge and background to develop, write and produce radio campaigns. An experienced agency also can help you select the best stations and times to air your ad and can find talented actors to give your commercials a high quality, professional sound. If at all possible, try to find an agency that has worked with insurance clients in the past. This may save you the time (and frustration) of having to explain the ins and outs of the business.
Give listeners a reason to contact you
If the objective of your advertising is to stimulate calls and leads, it's important to give listeners an immediate reason to pick up the phone. Through the years, more than a few agents have offered brochures on the product or service featured in their commercial. Others have advertised a free quote or, in the case of commercial lines, a complimentary risk consultation. While common approaches such as these are o.k., you'll need a more creative and enticing offer to stand out amid the clutter and do an effective job of getting the phone to ring.
If your agency has a Web site, by all means use it in conjunction with your radio campaign. If you're advertising a specific product or service, dedicate a page or section of your Web site to it and include detailed information there. Considering the limited amount of time you have to provide information on the air, your Web site is the perfect place to provide extensive information that your prospects can study at their leisure.
Your Web site also can be a great place to answer common questions, such as your hours of operation, lines of business, or even directions to your office. Each question that gets answered online is one less routine call your people will have to answer, which in the long run can help make them more productive.
Radio advertising has a unique ability to create conversation and generate interest in your products and services. With careful planning and a commitment to producing high-quality commercials, it can be just the tool you need to bring your overall marketing objectives within reach. *
©COPYRIGHT: The Rough Notes Magazine, 1999