Radio advertising might be seen as old fashioned, especially with the rise of the Internet and other forms of advertising. However, this isn't the case.

Commercial radio has a reach of more than 16 million Australians every week. Australians spend 17 hours of the week listening to the radio, with the majority of it at home (49%) and in the car (32%).

What Are the Benefits of Radio Advertising?

There are six benefits of radio advertising: 

1. Selective targeting
2. Increased frequency
3. Memorability 
4. Cost effective
5. Time efficient 
6. Measurable results 

1. Selective Targeting

Radio station already targets specific demographics and market segments. Therefore by choosing which station to broadcast with, you can lock into your potential customers and increase the frequency of delivering your message. At the same time think about all the advantages and disadvantages of radio advertising in your selected radio station and see if that's what you are looking for,

2. Increased Frequency

Advertising works with frequency and reaching your audience repeatedly. Radio is the perfect medium for this, being able to expose your ad to the audience repeatedly to build awareness. Also due to the loyalty of people listening to the same station, you are able to impact the same people more often.

3. Memorability 

Compared to a written advertisement, sound is more effectively stored in memory. In addition, there is the ability to instil emotion and also allows listeners to use their imagination to create their own image of the product/service. 

4. Cost Effective

Radio advertising has significantly fewer costs compared to other forms of advertising. Television and print ads can go up to hundreds of thousands including costs for video equipment, studio time, actors, models. Radios ads require fewer resources while being able to reach the same target audience that a television spot would have resulted in.

5. Time Efficient 

Lead times with print and television ads can be very long, especially with planning and may take up to a year for the ad to run. In contrast, producing a radio spot can occur between two to three weeks. Another advantage of this is the ability to adapt and react quickly to changing market conditions.

6. Measurable Results

You can track results quickly and accurately compared to television where it may take months for measurable results or print media which can be even more difficult to track. Results for radio ads can be analysed on a daily basis, and if the message is not working in a week or two, a new radio spot can replace it efficiently as mentioned above.

With the widespread access people have to radio, even indirectly through shopping centres and supermarkets, radio continues to have a big presence in the advertising industry. Small businesses should continue to consider it as a top medium to advertise their product/services as the advantages over other resources remain strong.

Are you looking to create radio advertising campaigns for your business? SavvySME can connect you with radio advertising experts in your area. Simply answer a few questions to find out how much radio advertising costs.