The Online and On-The-Air Marketing Mix

The Online and On-The-Air Marketing Mix

by | Jun 19, 2019 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, ScLoHo's Web World, Sound ADvice, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

If you are a business owner or in charge of handling the marketing and advertising, a wise thing to do is to pay close attention to what the BIG GUYS are doing.

The “Big Guys”, the likes of GEICO, Home Depot, Proctor & Gamble and others, have huge budgets to track what works and what does not work in advertising. And they have marketing experts to think strategically in all of their planning.

There’s a strategic reason why GEICO and Home Depot remain strong radio advertisers and why Proctor & Gamble, after a short but strong run with digital, has come back to radio. These successful marketers understand something about their customers that most of their customers don’t even understand about themselves.

They understand the difference between HOW people buy, and WHY people buy.

The internet is where people do their due diligence and research, just before they purchase. They are trying to justify what they already believe based on Pre-Need Branding advertising that helped you decide WHAT you wanted to buy. They search online to learn more about the prices, warranties, policies, and technical specs of what they are about to buy.

But the smart advertisers understand that their digital media is typically not why people choose to buy from a particular business. The “why” is the pre-need preference and feelings great marketers create before their prospects search online.

Broadcast INSPIRES – Internet INFORMS!

It’s okay for you to steal proven marketing strategies from the big advertisers. Proctor & Gamble, GEICO, and Home Depot have already made a considerable investment to determine the most successful media strategies, and they use “radio to inspire, internet to inform”.

What I just shared with you is from my free email marketing newsletter, Sound ADvice that you can sign up for below.  

I’ve got a couple more tips to share with you right now…

Because you probably aren’t the size of the big advertisers I just mentioned, your advertising budget probably isn’t as large as theirs either.

It’s going to take more than a scaled down copy cat strategy, we really need to dig in an do our best to make the most of the ad dollars you have to get the best return on investment and help your business grow.  I can help.

I have several WOWO radio advertising partners that are doing both online and on-the-air advertising and marketing and I help them with the messaging on both.

Contact me and we’ll get started on what is appropriate for you. 

 

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How Much Does It Cost To Advertise on WOWO Radio?

How Much Does It Cost To Advertise on WOWO Radio?

by | Jun 6, 2019 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

Most of the business people I talk to these days are listeners to one of the radio stations I work with but they are not necessarily advertising partners with me, yet.

A big question that comes up is, “How Much Does It Cost To Advertise on WOWO Radio?”

When I started this year, I decided to focus my time and energy on working with people who listened to the radio station I work with.  In years past, I was also offering digital online services that I can also help you with through our digital department.  I will still do that, but the first criteria I am looking for is that you are familiar with WOWO.  If you listen to WOWO, we have a common bond, because I am also a fan and listener.

There are at least a half dozen factors that come into play when coming up with an answer to your question, “How Much Does It Cost To Advertise on WOWO Radio?”

Let’s take a look at them:

  1. Time of Day Your Ad Runs.  Certain times of the day cost more than others.  Nearly every time I work with a business, I place their ads in one of the most listened to times of the day for our radio station.  Why?  I want your advertising message to be heard by as many listeners as possible that can become your customer.  According to the latest rating information I have, over 118,000 people in the Fort Wayne area listen to WOWO every week.  Over 90% of them listen weekdays between 5 in the morning and 6 in the evening.  About 30% of them listen after 6pm. Ads that run during the day cost more than ads in the evenings on WOWO because of the audience size.
  2. Inventory.  We are very straight forward with our prices and use a supply and demand system. Every week or two, I get an updated rate card. This rate card tells me:
    1. How many ad slots we have sold and how many are still available
    2. It is divided by the different shows that air each week and also has a different rate for each week.
    3. If a show is 85% sold out or more, it will cost you $100 for your commercial to air.  If we are 100% sold out, we will still put your ad on WOWO, but you will have to pay more.  $125 up to $200, depending on the demand. 
    4. When inventory is tight, then ads that were bought at a lower price risk getting bumped.  I see this happening a lot a few times every year.
    5. There are times when commercial advertising inventory is less than 85% sold out and our prices are lowered to reflect that when it occurs.  However, that has become much more rare.
    6. My pledge to you is to get you the best price for your advertising campaign that takes all of this into consideration. Which brings me to another factor that determines the cost of advertising on WOWO Radio:
  3. Type of Ad. At WOWO, I have more options than nearly any other radio station I have worked with. Here’s a listing of some of the types of ads I may have available for your business with WOWO:
    1. Recorded 60 second ads
    2. Recorded 30 second ads
    3. Recorded 15 second ads
    4. Recorded 10 second ads
    5. Streaming ads heard online during our radio shows
    6. Live 60 second endorsement ads
    7. Live 10 second news/weather/sports sponsorships ads
    8. Recorded 5 to 10 second sponsorship ads
    9. Live Remote Broadcasts
    10. 30 minute (or longer) radio shows and podcasts
    11. Special Feature Sponsorships
    12. …Some other idea we come up with and get approval for 
  4. Number of ads. I do not sell one ad.  This is not worth your money or my time.  It is not effective, it is not the best practice by anyone’s standards.  Instead, I create campaigns that include numerous ads.  Now when I say ad, I am talking about the actual airing of an ad. When I am putting together a schedule for your advertising campaign, I prefer to air at least 10 ads per week in a 3 or 4 hour radio show that airs 5 days a week.  That means you are buying a majority of the show and reaching a majority of the listeners. I will gladly explain this to you in person and I’ll probably write another article and podcast on this subject.
  5. Talent Fees. This is a fee that is paid to an air talent or production talent that goes above and beyond the money spend on the air time for your ad airing on WOWO.  Those 60 second live endorsement ads you hear on WOWO, the radio host is getting paid extra for giving their endorsement and testimonial for those ads. Again, I’ll go more in depth in the future.  We also have a talent fee for writing ads if we use certain copy writers and producers on staff.  I usually don’t do this, but if there is a fee, we pass that along.
  6. Extras… Need a jingle?  I have connections.  Want to be a presenting sponsor for an event? We may have that event available for sponsorship.  Want to have one of our national talk show hosts record your ad?  That is also available under the right conditions and for a fee.

Bottom line is, if you need help, let’s talk and see what makes sense.  My goal is to make it profitable for you to become an advertising partner with me. 

And the real bottom line regarding, “How Much Does It Cost To Advertise on WOWO Radio?”  I have advertising partners who spend over $100,000 per year and some that spend $30,000 a year or less.  Contact me, Scott@WOWO.com

As a side note:

I work primarily with WOWO Radio however, I also can help you with our local ESPN Sports Talk Station and with our companies Rock Station, 98.9 The Bear.  These are 3 of the local radio stations owned and operated by Federated Media in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  I can also connect you with the appropriate Federated Media co-workers that handle advertising on our other stations, WMEE, K-105 and BIG 92.3.

 

Looking for more free marketing tips?  Sign up for my free Sound ADvice newsletter below:

 

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Let WOWO Radio Tell Your Story

Let WOWO Radio Tell Your Story

by | May 21, 2019 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

Let Someone Else Say It for You

When you spend money on advertising, you obviously want to say positive things about your business, and you want to brand your business in a credible way. 

While most business owners don’t want to brag, at least publicly, bragging or boasting about your business is exactly what you should be doing! 

When it comes to advertising, especially the digital and social media of today, to say consumers are skeptical is an understatement.  Today’s consumers question nearly everything they see on the internet and the trust factor increases only slightly more when it comes to traditional media unless there is something extra that creates trust.  I’ll have more on that in a moment.

Consumers will always be leery of the claims you make in your advertising.  Understanding how to get them to or make them less leery is key to getting them to open their trust. 

In this environment where skeptics are comparing your claims to your competitors, it’s increasingly important that you build “validators” into your branding.

One validator can be to use third party quotes or research to validate your branding claims. Referrals or recommendations from others can go a long way towards making your advertised claims more credible. 

That is the something extra I offer to my advertising partners on WOWO radio.  It comes in a couple of different forms.

Start with the foundation of trust that WOWO radio has built over decades including more than 20 as a news and talk radio formated station.

Back when I was a kid, WOWO had legendary radio icon Bob Sievers as their morning show host and if Bob told you something, you believed him. 

Today we have our morning news host Kayla and afternoon talk show host Pat along with our weekend hosts Rob and Rick who all do personal endorsement ads.  They are priced at a premium and they work.  In April, I had a new advertising partner with Pat Miller that tracked 35 WOWO leads for the month.  To put that in perspective, the average job this company does is around $4,000 or more.  They only spent $2000 and well, you can do the math to see how profitable it has been for them.

Along with the full fledged live 60 second personal endorsement ads, another option I have is live news, weather, traffic and sports sponsorships.  These are about 10 seconds long and businesses get an implied endorsement from the news person or show host.

Even regular recorded ads have a stronger impact on WOWO than other stations I work for and it is because of the format and characteristics of the audience. With a music format, listeners perceive anything but music to be an irritant. But with our news and talk format, WOWO listeners are paying closer attention to the talking and that includes the commercials.

I have other advertising partners that use third party and customer testimonials in their ads and that works well too.  What is the best tactic for your business?  I don’t know but let’s sit down and brainstorm.  Contact me with an email at Scott@WOWO.com

I also have a bonus article from my Sound ADvice Marketing tips Newsletter.

Click here to read the Eight Ways to Validate Your Advertised Claims.

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How To Decide Where To Advertise in 2019

How To Decide Where To Advertise in 2019

by | Feb 19, 2019 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

Despite all the talk about the internet and digital media being the place to be with your advertising, it’s not time to dump traditional media.

That’s a one line summary of a report issued recently that summarizes where the advertisers and advertising agencies are choosing to spend their advertising dollars.

I’m looking at a chart that lists the factors that are most important in the media mix decision.

In plain english, what are the factors that these businesses and media buyers use to choose one advertising option over another.

At the top of the list, in a tie at 73% we have:

  1. Channels that have been successful in the past, based on research 
  2. Channels that are preferred by our target audience, based on research 

A little over half gave the following three factors for picking an advertising channel:

  • Channels that are appropriate for a specific campaign
  • Channels where our target consumers are most receptive to content from brands
  • Costs and Budget

So far, the two of the most talked about factors for choosing one advertising media channel over another hasn’t been mentioned.  But I’m about to.

Being able to measure Return on Investment only got a 44% rating while New Marketing Channels scored a measly 32%.

Those last two items, are the hallmarks of digital marketing and yet they are the two least important factors.

Let’s look at those top two factors again.

Channels that have been successful in the past.  That sounds like a safe bet. But you also need to know if those channels are still the best choice and that’s where the other top factor comes in. Channels that are preferred by our target audience.

The good news is if you want to consider using WOWO radio, I have dozens of advertising partners that have been using WOWO radio for years, even decades successfully.  I also have details on who listens to WOWO and all the other local radio stations so when we meet we can see what advertising channels your target audience is listening to.

Reach out to meet to set up a meeting and in the meantime, sign up for my free Sound ADvice marketing tips newsletter using the form below or send an email to Scott@ WOWO.com.

 

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The Advertising Secret You Don’t Know About

The Advertising Secret You Don’t Know About

by | Feb 12, 2019 | Marketing and Advertising Insights, The Not-So-Secret Writings of ScLoHo, WOWO Fort Wayne Radio Advertising with Scott Howard

The advertising secret that you don’t know about is…

Well, should I tell you or should I keep it a secret?

If I tell you, it could disrupt your entire marketing strategy.

It might initially cause panic attacks, but pretty soon it will help you sleep better at night.

It’s not really a secret, but in this digital age of measuring impressions and clicks, it’s been pushed to the back burner.

And I can’t really lay all the blame of internet marketers, it’s simply a perverted way of thinking about the way advertising works and how you determine that it’s working.

Instead of measuring the results of each ad impression, measure something else.

Instead of measuring the success of your radio commercial by waiting for the phone to ring 30 seconds after your ad played, measure something else.

Instead of counting the number of coupons that were redeemed with you 10% off offer, measure something else.

Instead of measuring the immediate Return On Investment of each individual marketing piece and advertisement that you spend money on, measure ….

Listen carefully because here’s the Advertising Secret You Don’t Know About:

You want to know:

The Lifetime Value of a Customer.

This secret is only a secret because you haven’t embraced this concept.  Perhaps you haven’t even heard anyone talk about the Lifetime Value of a Customer until today.

Marketing Insider shared this concept using the example of DSW, Inc. (Designer Show Warehouse). The article says:

DSW Inc. has been having a pretty good year, with second-quarter earnings growth of 65 percent year-over-year and a flaming-hot stock performance. The reason, according to the footwear retailer’s CEO, is a perfect combination of marketing and merchandising strategy that has activated its customers and increased its customer lifetime value. 

Customer Lifetime Value.  The Lifetime Value of a Customer.

This is long term thinking instead of the short term thinking too many businesses try and measure.

Let me tell you a couple of stories from advertising partners I work with.

The first is a non-profit organization that relies on volunteer drivers to deliver meals to homebound residents weekdays at lunch time.  Hundreds of hot meals are delivered every week and their business model relies of having a small and efficient part time paid staff who run the office and coordinate the volunteers and everything else behind the scenes.  For over 40 years, they have run this way.

Last year we kicked off an advertising campaign, something that they have never done before. Sure they did some marketing here and there, but not a full fledged advertising campaign spending thousands of dollars.  The purpose was to invite people to become a volunteer driver.  That was the one need that they would always have.

The first month they started getting phone calls and visits to the website, they were actually getting exactly what they needed when we put together their advertising campaign.  Did they get phone calls on the very first day their ads ran on WOWO radio? No. 

Did their first month of advertising pay for itself?  Kind of hard to tell because the results they were looking for is not measured strictly in dollars.  Here’s what we do know.  Every week now, they are getting people contacting them to learn how to be a volunteer driver.  This was not happening before.

The other example is of an RV Dealer.  For years they used an advertising agency that would occasionally promote a sale a couple times a year.  The rest of the year, they relied on, well accidental foot traffic and luck.

Last summer they came to me for advice on how to create a better marketing plan that would produce better than the occasional advertising blitz and luck strategy they were using.  I created a long term plan that was based on the lifetime value of a customer.  They decided to let their ad agency try one more time with an open house sale. Sorry to say, it didn’t work.

The money they spent promoting a two day sale I could have used for two months work of advertising.   This story has a happy ending.

In January, we launched my plan, with goals of what we need to do over the next six months, not just a weekend.  I know the Lifetime Value of a Customer and they do too.  With this knowledge, they understand how important each customer is and they also realize that the old way of measuring foot traffic each day is futile. 

So how about you?  Are you ready to see if this Advertising Secret You Didn’t Know About, (until now), is appropriate for you?  Are you ready to sleep better at night with the knowledge that your business is on the right track?  Let’s talk.

Also I invite you to get a free subscription to my Sound ADvice marketing newsletter. Fill out the form below and sign up today.

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