Even though I agree that using the phone number is really a waste there are exceptions and primary among these is the small business that operates from home. They don't have a store front or showroom. We had a client who installs windows and he purchased a jingle package that included his phone number in a way that impressed it on the listener and we soon had evidence that it worked. He needed to have customers call him because there was no business where they could go and see his product, etc.
One of the other contributors mentioned the client who insists the number be used. I think you have to evaluate your relationship before you bow your neck against using the number. Brent mentions in his video it would be great if you could share these facts and stats with a client to back up your claim.
But then you open the question .. should you add the www. before the web address?
look us up at dominos.com ... or www.dominos.com ???
Phone numbers are the most ridiculous item to include in a radio ad. This would be something the client wants because they NEED some way to measure the effectiveness of their radio ad which is the number one challenge facing radio AE's. You are asking listeners to do what? Remember a phone number while they are in the car? The ad is so compelling that they start looking for a pen and a paper to write it down? You are better off to go with a website that might be memorable like "for all the details on our Spring Special go to get roses now dot com that's get roses now dot com.
The time has past for telephone numbers to be in commercial copy. with most adults now using smart phone, consumers would much rather go directly to a website. As we continue to transition our business into the digital world. Uniques to websites are currency, so let's get intio the habit of driving our audiences to our own and our client's websites.
I just realized that this is a second string this week about phone numbers in ads.
I'll post here as well.
For those of you TOTALLY AGAINST using numbers in ads.... please do not call on people that sell Pizza, Flowers, Balloons or anything else delivered... or clients that require an appointment... like a Dentist, Chiropractor, Doctor, Plumber, HVAC, Electrician or Roofer.
I am also reading over and over... "people do not listen to the radio with a pad and pencil" as an excuse NOT to put a phone number in an ad. You are absolutely right... but about 80% of the audience has a phone in their pocket at all times.
Next time you give away tickets to an event... tell people "the next person to stop in will win tickets because we do not give out phone numbers on the radio"
OK... I'm being a little silly by exaggerating this point... but there is NO REASON to say ALL phone numbers are a waste of time (although many are... many are not!)
Use your judgement... if the phone number is the BEST way to get the client and their customer together... use it!
I've had clients with very easy to remember phone numbers who I've recommended NOT to put the phone number in the ad. Why? Because they didn't want phone calls, they wanted people to come in and buy things. A phone number actually got in the way of the listener doing business with them.
Some times it not JUST about whether the number is memorable.
Why would I want to phone a shoe shop? (Dan O'Day example)
@Big John Small. I've called on all of those and I sell them on the idea that phone numbers should be prominent on their website. Hopefully, they have a website address that is memorable or better yet reflects the name of their business. Our job is to sell good ideas that create results, wasting ten seconds of their ad on phone numbers is wasting their investment. Not every AE wants to tell their client that including their phone number is a bad idea, we all simply want to please our client and we don't wish to take any chances in losing their business, however, when their radio campaign does not generate results we may lose the business anyway. If Yellow Pages have become obsolete, phone numbers might be obsolete as well.
You call 411 on your cell phone and ask for Acme Pizza or whatever pizza shop it is, they will connect you, you won't even have to dial the number...I would rather put in two more mentions of the business than the phone number. You're right Big John a delightful topic. Cheers.
Numbers are words. Write them out and see how much time they take up.
You press the SIRI button and ask her to find the Pizza for you.
If calling a phone # is the only way to reach the client then yes....otherwise no! If the number must be in the commercial then be sure the # is read at least 6x in the ad and at the very end. It's effective if the number is catchie like 1.800.Call-Home, that's 1.800 Call Home. I always discourage the use of phone numbers.
PHONE NUMBER KILLS THE GOOSE
Way to get my ire up with this question. Maybe I've even told this one here before. Whatever.
We once tried to convince a new retail client to NOT put a phone number in a commercial because it would reduce traffic to the store. They had a "super secret sale" going on. Their first commercial said, "Just come into the store, say'Super Secret Sale!', and get 20% off anything in the store."
The first week of the sale went gangbusters. The client also said, "But we're getting all these phone calls. We need to put the number in the spot!" We said, "No, you don't. They found your phone number without it being in spot. You're good. Add the phone number, and you're going to kill response." They wouldn't listen.
The phone number went into the spot. As predicted, the phone number clouded the message. Traffic dropped off precipitously. The client walked away saying, "Radio doesn't work."
Sometimes, you can't save an advertiser from himself. As for phone numbers, they are death for retail and any other message where the call to action is "come in." The ONLY reason to include a phone number in a radio commercial is that it's the only way to take advantage of the offer being made to the listener.
While I am against phone numbers in commercials, those businesses like pest control, AC/Heat companies and others work entirely off the phone and email/text to gain customers. Thus, a blanket 'no' cannot apply to every client. It is true that the phone number serves little purpose unless easily remembered.
Consumers, now more than ever, go online to get such information and do a bit of checking on the company they heard about.
I stress the website over phone number. And even the business website is similar to the phone number. Have you ever heard 'find us on Facebook'? You don't get the direct link, just 'find us'.
Because we want to get our clients to buy combos of over air and online advertising, we suggest the station website's business directory as the way to reach the client. A client in the business directory can get a photo and a write-up about their business (aka spot length detail of what they do personalized for the consumer in a way I like to describe as two friends chatting over a cup of coffee). This opens us up to selling coupons, posts on the station's Facebook page and e-letter mentions to listeners in addition to the on air campaign. A few will balk, but it is much easier to remember one website versus many. If I can say go to the station website and click on the business directory, I have a central location for all the listener needs about the advertisers they hear.
I believe in today's world we have to think consumer buying habits over just the radio audio option. I think we need to realize we are part of the buying process, not the only source in a consumer making a buying decision. With all the potential budget being scattered among so many media options, I think providing options via the radio station to cover more bases is crucial in getting amble dollars to be effective for the client.
So, in conclusion, stretch beyond the phone number to create a way for it to be found beyond the spot using your station's secondary presence. Simply put, if you don't promote your online presence it won't work or at best, be less effective than it could be.
From Robert E. Lee on the RSC Facebook page: If it's not a memorable 'vanity' number, it's pretty pointless to include it. Use those seconds to motivate consumers in other ways.
No, no, no! Numbers are words. Seven is a two syllable word. In this age of thirty second spots, why waste almost one third of the spot on something that people in their cars can't write down and won't remember.
Besides if the spot does it's job the listeners will find the client.
In one of his many posts on radio advertising, Dan O'Day cites just one justification for including the phone number in a radio commercial, and that's if the call-to-action is, in fact, dialing the advertiser's telephone number. If getting listeners to place a telephone call is the advertiser's goal, then give them the phone number. If not, there are much better uses of the commercial time. Read Dan's post here.
