I'm in a small town along a major freeway with a casino a few miles away. The freeway is always busy with travelers and casino visitors. Locals avoid the freeway if they can because it is so busy. The billboard companies are aggressively selling billboards in my county. Rates are generally 2 to 4 times what an average business spends in other media and the contracts are firm 12 month deals. Frequently for the billboard client it is their entire budget. Even if I wasn't selling radio, I would think it was a good deal for them.
I was taught to sell your positives. You don't want to tell a client they made a bad decision but you sure want them to come to the realization on their own.
Recently a new fast food restaurant opened at a busy freeway exit. They advised 90 days in they'd look at advertising. I readied a proposal and other material to make a case for radio and my station, presenting it in writing and as instructed by the client, to come back the last week in August. I did so. I stopped off additional information I felt would be helpful in understanding the local market and the local 'culture' of the area knowing a good owner/manager doesn't have much time to mingle socially, especially early on. My intent was to be more than the guy selling radio but be that media guy that can help them in all their marketing.
At the appointed time, I returned to learn they leased two billboards and bought highway exit signage (you know, those blue signs with the services available at that exit). I was told "we might try radio in a year". I agree he needs the exit signage.
I would like help in building a list of reasons radio can outperform billboards. I know there's some good details I'm missing. In fact, does anybody know how effective billboards are such as traffic count versus percentage of drivers seeing and reading a billboard?
My short list is:
Radio is not restricted to one highway but is heard on every highway and road. Radio is in homes, at work and elsewhere.
Radio is targeted advertising. Radio lets you advertise on the peak days and times. Radio is advertising while you're open for business.
Radio can tell your whole story. Radio can be specific. You are not limited to a couple of words.
Radio lets you target those who are your customers and future customers. You pay less to reach your target because you aren't paying to reach those who will not be your customer.
Radio is flexible. You can change your message on the fly without all those production costs some media choices charge.
The local consumer is the backbone of virtually every business. If you're not talking to locals, you are missing out. The local consumer visits more often and spends more money over time than the visitor or traveler. Because of the nature of radio, radio also reaches travelers and visitors.
Radio gives you the stage all to yourself. You have the listener's full attention while your message is heard and the listener does not require all their senses to hear your message.
We are with you every step of the way to hone and maximize your advertising effectiveness. We're not 'call us when you need us', but rather we check back on how we are doing in delivering customers to your door.
From John Glavin : "Those billboards do a great job of grabbing transients - who have NO local loyalty. And will stop by once. They are doing their job well. Now let radio do IT'S part by creating DAILY customers for you." This way you're not fighting for a piece of the pie, but giving them a great reason to make the pie bigger.
From Spike Santee: A Radio commercial is like having a billboard on the dashboard of every car in the market. Advertisers buy billboards to reach consumers in their cars. But research says the attention span is 8-10 seconds, so a good billboard has a singular message, most focus on name and number. But the billboard only reaches those consumers who drive past the billboard. If you can convince your prospect to buy Radio advertising on all of the Radio stations in the market, 93% of the consumers will be exposed to the message, not just for 8-10 seconds but for 60 seconds!
If you subscribe to RAB, download the competitive media report on Outdoor.
Good Luck.
