How to Build a Brand on Radio
Using Radio Advertising Creatively to Develop an Audio Brand Image
Jul 4, 2009
‘Repetition, repetition, repetition’ is the ad man’s mantra and applies as much to success in building a successful brand on radio as it does to achieving successful results from any advertising.
Think Radio Campaign
One commercial, played once on one radio station, it goes without saying, will neither build a brand nor is it likely to be a successful advertising campaign. The wise and savvy radio sales management to will encourage their team to ‘Think Campaign,’ and likewise, the successful advertiser will also think Radio Campaign.
It’s very possible for local advertisers with limited and necessarily constrained budgets to build a brand solely on their local radio station. National advertisers with larger budgets, tend to use radio more effectively as part of their marketing mix to develop and brand their brand across a number of media. For both sectors there are important commonalities.
- Building and developing a brand costs money
- Don’t try and do it ‘on the cheap’ it’ll sound like it
- Money invested in building the brand, generally makes the brand worth more
- Choose the right media for the target market and dominate it
- Develop, agree and maintain the brand ‘style’ or ‘image,’ and don’t ever deviate from it lightly
The essential element in building and developing a brand demands both a sustained campaign and continuity; on radio or on any other media and both sides can benefit from this continuity.
Advantages for the Sales Effort
Thinking Campaign is important firstly for the radio station, the radio production house, or the advertising agency for a number of reasons:
- More production revenue
- More airtime revenue
- It’s an opportunity to talk and discuss the clients’ needs in greater detail
- It treats the medium more seriously, and if the seller doesn’t why should the buyer
- Getting more commitment from the client
Proposing a campaign of commercials and ’Thinking Campaign,’ to promote a brand over time initially for any client, rather than a one-off ad, demonstrates the commitment of the medium and whoever is selling the advertising both to their own media and their client.
Advantages for the Client or Advertiser
What’s good for the client is good for the advertising medium is it not? and a happy client making money from their airtime investment can only lead to a greater investment in the medium that’s contributing to that success. The main benefits for any advertiser considering a campaign-able idea, to build their brand by investing in a number of ads are:
- Repetition of the brand values in a pre-agreed consistent style
- Building the brand better with more control over the brand image
- Proper planning, avoiding hurried creative treatments
- The advertisers’ image is afforded more respect with more time spent on creative
- A creative commitment builds more creative / client trust
- Production work can be properly budgeted for and cost savings negotiated
Often advertisers are reluctant to enter into long term agreements until the chosen media is proven to work for their businesses. This is understandable and from a business perspective very sensible. Radio by and large however is a very cost effective media, and the cost of producing the commercials to the above criteria in most cases is not the overriding factor. It’s important from the outset where possible for the proper development of a brand on radio, to establish a long term radio brand image and style.
How to Think Campaign
In establishing a brand feeling or style and to enable businesses to make proper judgements of radio’s worth to that business as an effective form of advertising, both the advertiser and production source should consider a number of factors. Among them are:
- From the initial brief a series of styles should be suggested to answer the brief
- Agree a corporate brand image that promotes the product, company and/or service in the long term
- Agree not to vary in any significant way that style
- To implement an agreed and suitable budget, both are happy working to
Perhaps a somewhat over- used phrase which probably means it contains a kernel of truth but it’s worth repeating that building a brand costs money. All advertisers want results, and if the objective is to build a brand, gain extra revenue, and stay a profitable business, a brand name is one of the most precious assets a business has. It makes business sense to treat it as such.
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