For media pros, this will seem like a too-basic primer — but I’ve found that there are lots of business people these days who are interested in using radio advertising (spots) and have little idea how to get started. Here’s some information that should help.

I’d strongly recommend using a media buyer. They’re either independent or with an advertising agency. They make their money from the commission a radio station pays for the placement of ads, which is generally 15 percent of the total cost of the placement.

The advantages of using a buyer:

• There’s no cost to you.

• The media buyer will evaluate all stations objectively and keep you from getting inundated with calls from sales departments of the local stations.

• You’ll receive only one invoice for the whole buy, no matter how many radio stations you choose to advertise on.

• If you haven’t purchased time on the station before, most of them will want the money in advance, even if you’re a high- profile company like Microsoft. A media buyer has established credit.

However, if you choose to go-it-alone, here are six steps to follow — much the same as a seasoned media buyer would do:

Step 1 — Select your primary and secondary targets. For example, Primary: Higher income/educated male business owners, 35-54 who have a high computer literacy rate. Secondary: Women 35-54 with the same.

Step 2 — Contact a local station that you feel is good candidate for your buy. Ask for the sales manager first. He/she will likely turn you over to a sales rep, but the manager should know who you are. Tell him/her what you’re trying to accomplish.
Ask the rep to make a solid media buy that may include other stations, which is common in this day multiple station ownerships. In most instances they will oblige, but remember that they’re most interested in selling time on their radio station.

Step 3 — If you’re comfortable with the relationship, ask if they subscribe to Arbitron or another rating service. Describe the profile of your target audience and ask them to send you a “day part” for that demographic group.
What you should receive is the ranking of all the stations in your market from top to bottom for your target audience and when they listen.
Note: Your target audience may be listening to one station in the morning and entirely different stations for midday, evenings and weekends. Take this into account. This is where your analysis becomes important.

Step 4 — Your budget will determine how many stations you can buy. If you’re talking to a particular station, ask for a “Tapscan.” This will tell you:

• Reach: How many people will hear your message.

• Frequency: The number of times your target audience will hear the message. You want to obtain an absolute minimum of 3.0, meaning the audience will hear the message three times during the campaign.

• Cost Per Point: The cost per individual to reach your targeted audience. If you want to obtain at least a 3.0 frequency, purchase time to achieve that, within your budget — rather than diluting the impact by buying too many stations.
Step 5 — Following are the top radio formats in most medium-size and large radio markets today, in alphabetical order: All Talk; Business News; Classic Rock; Country; Ethnic; Jazz; Modern Adult Contemporary; News/Talk; Oldies; Public Radio; Religious; Soft Adult Contemporary; Sports; and Urban Contemporary.
Step 6 — Important tips to consider:

• Most stations want the actual spot on a dat, mini disk or reel-to-reel tape. They generally don’t want cassettes. More and more stations can receive the spot via e-mail.

• Often the sales rep will ask you to sent the tape/dat etc. to the traffic person, who schedules the spot. Send the tape to the rep and let them get it to traffic. They have a vested interest in making sure the tape is received correctly and on time. Be very specific with your instructions, especially if you send more than one spot.

• Ask your rep to e-mail or fax you the times the ads will be running so you can monitor them.

• Radio stations sell “units” — not time. Therefore, in most cases, the station will charge the same amount for a 60-second spot as they do for a 30. Ask if they have a price break for the 30 second spots.

• If you’re placing your ads on a Talk station, there may be an opportunity for your product or service to become a topic on the show. The interplay of advertising and editorial content is a sensitive area with most stations, so make sure you have something of value to offer before you suggest editorial coverage.

• Ask for references from other advertisers who have used the station and make follow-up calls to them.

• Radio stations are changing formats all the time. Take a closer look at the stations that have been with same formats for at least a few years. The longer the better.

(Editor’s Note: Paul Casey is president of Casey Communications, a multi-discipline firm that handles media placement, produces radio shows and publishes newspapers and magazines. He may be reached at (206) 448-5902. This article was reprinted with permission from Marketing.).