Cost of radio advertising?

Cost for radio advertising

• I am looking for a rough idea of what a small business can expect to spend for a small radio campaign. For example, if a plastic surgeon wanted to run a radio commercial for the minimum number of times needed to have an impact, how much should be budgeted? Does the cost differ widely in different cities? For example, what would typical costs be in Los Angeles and Chicago?

• Answer:

  Dear tolucalake-ga; Thank you for allowing me to answer your interesting question. Your question is quite broad, so in broad terms I will try my best to provide some useful information about the costs associated with radio advertising: Let me first say that the costs per market obviously vary but there are also some complicated issues that can have a dramatic impact on costs even within the same market. Without a consultant it can be difficult to wrap your mind around the math. In determining costs, some advertising markets use CPM (cost per thousand impressions) and CPP (cost per rating point) formulas to compare media costs. You can purchase CPM and CPP data projection reports for various markets such as this one: SQAD http://www.sqad.com/legacy/raotoform.htm You report on the market of choice will look similar to this sample and will tell you approximately what the CPP and CPM costs can be currently anticipated in that market: SAMPLE REPORT: http://www.sqad.com/products/spotradio_sample.jsp If you are interested in the typical mathematical formulas associated with the costs here?s a very heady explanation: RADIO RATINGS http://www.slcc.edu/comm/telelab/radio_ratings.htm The big obstacle is that there is no standing scale published for any given area. Each market has it?s own adjusted scale depending on dozens of factors and to further complicate matters, the scale changes with the economy, the time of day, the volume of listeners, the popularity of the station and many other issues. Having said that, you can obtain market data for a given area but (1) it costs, and (2) it is current only for the quoted period and subject to change thereafter. This is why some people would rather leave the work to a reputable advertising consultant rather than embark upon a risky advertising campaign on their own. If DIY is going to be your approach here, it is imperative that you start at the beginning. These articles will introduce you to some of the financial variables of radio advertisement. Here you will read about issues like demographics, complexity of the marketing message, and a brief comparison of radio vs. television advertising, buying time and so forth: ENTREPRENEUR.COM ?Reach the Masses With Radio Advertising? http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,300428,00.html This helpful articles discusses issues surrounding OES, or optimum effective scheduling and the calculation of the turnover ratio that can have an impact on the cost of your radio advertising campaign: ENTREPRENEUR.COM ?Radio Campaigns That Get Results - Calculate the frequency of your radio ads for optimum exposure.? http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,289346,00.html Here are some great articles on the ?How to?s? of radio advertising production: ENTREPRENEUR.COM ?How Radio Ads Are Produced - You're ready to start advertising on the radio, but how do you actually make the ad?? http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,320582,00.html ENTREPRENEUR.COM ?Radio Ads: How Long Should They Be? - Everything you need to consider when choosing between 15-, 30- and 60-second spots? http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,317030,00.html Here are some excellent articles that details strategies for negotiating costs, selecting stations, maximizing your advertising budget, and getting the timing right for maximum results: ENTREPRENEUR.COM ?Negotiating Radio Rates - Get the most for your advertising dollar.? http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,285390,00.html ENTREPRENEUR.COM ?Timing is Everything - ...especially when it comes to buying advertising.? http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,286610,00.html ENTREPRENEUR.COM ?Selecting Stations - Where should your radio and TV ads air?? http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/0,4621,264933,00.html According to AdGrove.com ?The advertising industry represents a $190 billion industry and is expected to grow at 5.7% compound annual growth.? It is a thriving, money making endeavor that isn?t necessarily a cheap approach but it can be quite lucrative if done correctly, especially since it can also be very efficient and very effective in the locally targeted market in comparison to its boarder competitor, television advertising. ADGROVE http://www.businessplans.org/AdGrove/adgro00.html BUSINESS KNOW-HOW ?How To Tell If An Advertisement Costs Too Much? http://www.businessknowhow.com/marketing/adcost.htm Assuming you are going it alone, unless you plan to hire a consultant you should give this some thought before you decide how many spots to buy for your campaign. According to Tom Egelhoff, of SMALL TOWN MARKETING most mistakes in radio advertising come from buying too few spots and/or playing them at the wrong times. Depending on where you are, he recommends: ?Buy a block of 42 commercials. These would be played on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Three spots between 7:00 am to 9:00 am and four spots between 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm for two weeks. (Seven spots per day x 6 days = 42 spots).? I recommend you read his two articles as well: ?How To Buy Radio Advertising Time? http://www.smalltownmarketing.com/radiotime.html ?Radio Advertising: How To Make It Work For You? http://www.smalltownmarketing.com/radio.html I hope you find that my answer exceeds your expectations. If you have any questions about my research please post a clarification request prior to rating the answer. Otherwise I welcome your rating and your final comments and I look forward to working with you again in the near future. Thank you for bringing your question to us. Best regards; Tutuzdad-ga ? Google Answers Researcher INFORMATION SOURCES ENTREPRENEUR.COM http://www.entrepreneur.com/Your_Business/YB_Node/0,4507,465,00.html SEARCH STRATEGY SEARCH ENGINE USED: Google ://www.google.com SEARCH TERMS USED: RADIO COSTS ADVERTISING MARKET CPP CPM MEDIA