A local radio salesman sent me the following objections he received from an RV dealer today. He asked me how I would respond. Before I reply to him, I'd like to hear what you would say.
"Thanks for this information. I already have all my advertising and media buys booked for the year and I don’t plan on adding anymore. I am inundated with advertising people calling on me each week, wanting a piece of the pie. I will keep it in mind for next year, however, I am having much more luck in digital advertising over radio and TV."
This is an interesting to point response. Does your radio station/group sell any types of digital advertising? I transitioned from radio sales to digital sales in our company about three years ago so I have some experience on both ends of the problem/solution here. If you happen to have digital products available I would press back a bit and ask specifically what they are buying digital advertising wise. Is it a random run-of-site ad buy through a local print/radio group, AdWords campaign with search and display advertising, Facebook boosts/ads, etc.
It seems to be the norm that radio is getting pushed out for digital but in most cases our clients don't know what they are buying sometimes because they rush into buying 'digital' - which is a hundred different things under the sun. Some of which are great to pair with a top of mind awareness radio campaign and some being a total waste of money. Ask for some of the reports on their digital adveritsing, what they are paying for CPM, CPC, etc. See how knowledgable he/she really is. Works well for me and the 10 reps I manage. I firmly believe radio is a necessity in almost all marketing plans, we just need to figure out the best demo and the message for the demo. The rest sells itself.
From Robert E. Lee on the RSC Facebook page:
1. "Our station(s) have also offered digital solutions for a while, now, with much success." 2. "Studies continually show that radio is still an EVERY DAY, important part of consumers' media consumption, and should be considered an important part of your advertising mix. Presumably, you are not willing to ignore or overlook a large potential customer base." 3. "The demographic that is most likely to purchase an expensive RV is precisely the audience that is most engaged with the advertising medium of radio." Etc., etc....
