Advertising Medium Companions
Don’t trust anyone who says that other advertising mediums don’t work. They all work. They’re all capable of miserable failure as well. It’s all in the execution. I have a bias for radio because that’s where my experience lies. But, I would never tell a client not to use another medium. In fact, I think they can often be very good companions to your radio campaign. Here are some of radio’s best “team-mates.”
Outdoor – Billboards are my favourite companion medium for radio. Most people listen to the radio in their cars. Billboards are seen while driving as well. Radio is a deep message. You can describe your product, and entice people to buy it. You have 30 seconds of pitch time. Billboards are shallow messages. You have seconds to get your message across using 8 words or less. Often, you’ll just have your logo and a picture. Billboards are an excellent reinforcement of a radio campaign. It’s another way to access the brain to gain brand recognition. When they’re used in tandem, they can be very powerful. Just make sure your message is consistent.
TV – Television can be very expensive. It can be relatively inexpensive to make a strong professional sounding radio commercial. Television is much more complex. So, the cost of production goes up. In the end, if you have a small budget, your commercial will probably end up looking bad. Most local television commercials look cheesy. I would suggest staying away from television unless you can produce something in keeping with your business. Cheesy ads portray a cheesy operation. Also, beware the PVR. People are skipping television commercials easily these days. I would suggest only buying air time during live features (like sporting events and news programs.) People are less likely to record those. This is where you may find a good pairing with radio. If you target sports radio, you may want to consider targeting sports television as well. You’ll probably end up speaking with the same audience. Other than that though, I don’t see a huge opportunity to compliment your radio campaign through television (on a small scale buy.)
Social Media – This is a big one. If you have a business, you absolutely need to embrace social media. If you don’t understand how it works, either learn, or hire someone to handle it. You will regret burying your head in the sand if you ignore this development. It is important. I would suggest doing at least one of the big three well (Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest.) It’s good to do all three, but it may be too much work for you. I’d rather have one engine working at full power than three weak ones. Social media is a great companion for your radio campaign. It lets people take another step closer to your business (brand.) As always, make sure your tone, and brand personality mirror each other. Also, don’t advertise to people on social media! You need to have more tact than that. Chat with people. Offer them tips. Have fun contests. But, don’t use it to pester people. It is a companion service. Try to connect with your customers on a deeper level. Become friends!
If you look for it, most advertising mediums can be used in tandem. The main thing to remember with each of them is to keep your message and brand consistent. I would also suggest trying to reach the same people across each medium. Don’t use another advertising form to reach a whole new audience. Find out how to have your message exposed to the same people in multiple ways. They will work best together if they’re used to reinforce each other.