Effective Radio Schedules?

Spaced repetition is the key to learning anything. It’s also the key to a successful radio advertising campaign. The more times your message is heard, the more it will be remembered and stick in people’s minds. In “The 33 Ruthless Rules of Local Advertising” Michael Corbett refers to the first 16 weeks of any broadcast advertising campaign as the “chickening out period.” It is following this initial phase that your advertising takes hold and you start to reap the benefits. Consistency in advertising is extremely important. This is why practically all the advertising experts recommend you plan out at least one year at a time.

Another component of a successful radio advertising campaign is frequency. Frequency is simply how often someone hears your message. We learn by spaced repetition. We need to hear a message three or more times within a short time frame in order to “get” the message. In advertising jargon this is referred to a “frequency of three.” To obtain a frequency of three you need to air at least twenty-one commercials per week.

Reach refers to the number of people who hear your message. Reach is only important if you’re reaching the right people; those who have a need for your product or service. Also, are these people hearing your commercial enough times to compel them to take action? Though reach is important, an over emphasis on the number of people hearing your message can lead you to fall prey to “spray and pray.” 

“Spray and pray” is simply the tendency of some people to assume more is always better. People sometimes get excited about reaching the largest number of potential customers. This is not a bad concept unless they sacrifice adequate frequency of message in order to reach more people. An adequate frequency gives the listener a chance to “get” your message. It also gives you the opportunity to convince people to invest in your product or service.
What’s more important to your business? 100 qualified buyers or 1000 people with little or no interest?

Most retailers still believe that people only shop on the weekends. They schedule all their advertising on Thursday through Saturday to drive their weekend business. While Monday and Tuesday, and to a lesser degree, Wednesday have fewer commercials. Think for a second. Do you only listen to the radio during the latter part of the week? By scheduling your commercials in the early week you avoid some of the commercial clutter found at the end of the week. This increases the opportunity for your message to stand out against other commercial messages.