How To Buy Radio Space

Since the early 1920’s radio has been a vital component in the advertising industry and probably will continue to be so for many years to come. When a business decides to look at the radio industry to buy radio space it has to consider there are more than twelve thousand radio stations nationwide and the type of programming these stations feature vary as much as the audiences they want to reach. Probably the best point on considering to buy radio space is the fact that it is a truly mobile medium. Consumers can’t read the newspaper or watch TV while they are driving to and from work, buy they can comfortably tune in to the radio without it being a major distraction or driver safety issue.

When a business is ready advertise on the radio there are some issues they should consider. First of all, the majority of radio stations offer an exact or specific placement ad that will buy radio space for a precise disc jockey or show. A run of station ad is also available which consists of a formula that spreads an advertisement over all available radio day-parts.

What is a day-part? When you are ready to buy radio space, you need to understand that radio stations plan their programming to appeal to their target audience or specific listener. A radio station has a limited amount of ad space to sell and it is usually broken down into fifteen, thirty and sixty-second increments. Because the amount of radio listeners varies considerably throughout the day, the rates charged to buying radio space reflects listener popularity and the rates change accordingly.

In the radio world, the day is separated into day-parts. 6 to 10 a.m. is referred to as the morning drive time and the most expensive time to buy radio space. It typically has the most listeners who are more receptive to advertisers messages as they drive to work and prepare for the day ahead.

The 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. listeners are known as the midday crowd. These listeners are considerably less than the morning crowd, but on weekdays they are faithful listeners to their favorite stations while they work. If you advertise at this time, your target audience is likely to be tuned in on a regular basis and listening to the message you deliver.

The p.m. drive time is from 3p.m. to 7p.m and will have about the same audience as the morning drive time. However, if you advertise during the evening drive time, the audience may be more receptive to your message, because they just left the stressful work environment behind and are on their way to rest and relaxation.

The evening day-part consists of 7 p.m. to midnight and late night is from midnight to 6 a.m. There are definitely fewer listeners during these hours, but the people that do listen are steadfast listeners and if your message is targeted to reach this audience, you can count on them to receive your message.

Radio space it’s based on the day-part or time of day, the number of times you run the ad, and length of the ad you run. An important tip to remember when you buy radio space is to only use the amount of time needed. Thirty seconds is usually enough to relay a reasonable message.

Advertise on stations that reach your target audience, not on the stations that are your favorites, or stations that did well for other business owners. If your budget allows you to buy radio space on more than one station, you have a better chance of reaching a larger audience. Alternate using the stations on a weekly basis.

Unless the over night or evening listeners are a part of your target audience, don’t buy radio space for those day-parts. You want to reach people when they are interested in listening to the radio and that is during the morning and afternoon drive times. Radio advertising is known as the mobile medium, millions of commuters are on the road everyday, take advantage of it and buy radio space for your advertising campaign.