Why Broadcast Advertising "Doesn't Work"

Almost all of us have clients who say they've tried your station before and that "it doesn't work." But saying that radio or television doesn't work when you don't know what you're doing is like saying a car doesn't work because you don't know how to drive. Whose fault is it that the client is ignorant about marketing, advertising and an effective medium like radio or TV? It's our fault. It's the broadcast industry's fault.

It's our fault that we fall all over ourselves offering bonus spots and free promotions to a client who threatens to cancel because his campaign "didn't work." But rewarding ignorance is ultimately a very short-term solution, because that client will eventually cancel.

It would be much smarter and less expensive to educate salespeople correctly from the get-go so that the salesperson could properly educate each client. An educated client is one who knows the basic rules on how to use your medium properly. An educated client knows the difference between a good and bad spot. An educated client understands the logic of owning a day or a daypart or a program on your station. An educated client won't have unreasonable expectations because he understands how to properly calculate return-on-investment. Finally, an educated client is less likely to advertise a flawed product or service to begin with.

When an advertiser says that radio or TV didn't work, just remember that one or more of the following five things occurred.

1. Wrong station or program. It does not make logical sense to advertise skateboards to a classical music audience. Yet, some eager salesperson is out there right now talking some business owner into advertising his product or service on a station or program that does not correctly serve the client's demographic.



2. Bad schedule. The best way to use broadcast is to OWN A DAY or OWN A DAYPART or OWN A PROGRAM. If your station is selling thin rotator schedules to a client, then there is a good chance the campaign will not work. Think about it this way. If one spot equaled one liter and if your station ran 1200 spots per week, then running a 10-spot ROS schedule would be like pouring a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne into 300 gallons of water. I don't think you'd taste much champagne. However if you concentrate a schedule by OWNING A DAY or DAYPART or OWNING A PROGRAM, your chances of success are much better.



3. Bad message. Remember that our job is essentially to tell an audience who the advertiser is, what he does and how to get in touch with him. We do that by
   1. Immediately getting the attention of those people in our audience that WILL BUY "X" product or service from somebody this week.
   2. Explaining without clichés, how that narrowcasted audience will benefit by doing business with the advertiser,
   3. Clearly explaining and repeating the call to action.


4. Mismanaged expectations. If the client and the salesperson haven't discussed what the client's average sale is and how many average sales the client would have to make to pay for the advertising schedule he is buying, then how can you possibly manage your client's expectations?



5. Marketing problems. You must deal with marketing problems before you even begin to discuss an advertising campaign. Because even the best advertising in the world will have little chance of success if the client has problems with his product or service and/or his sales force. Your client has marketing problems if his product or service is poorly conceived or packaged, overpriced or not conveniently available. Your client has further problems if he doesn't have a sales force that can successfully sell the customers who do call or come in. Always remember that advertising a flawed product or service is like putting lipstick on a pig.

I've seen instances where clients actually had all five of these problems at the same time. In most cases the exasperated salesperson is incapable of doing anything other than complaining about the client and wasting valuable time "putting out fires."

Putting out fires can get expensive when you're needlessly using free spots to extinguish them. By educating salespeople properly so that they can properly manage their client's campaigns and client expectations, you'll save time and money for your station and your client. You'll keep more clients long-term. And you're much less likely to hear your customers say, "Advertising with you doesn't work."







Paul Weyland: 5450 Bee Cave Road, Suite 1-C, Austin, Texas 78746, 512-236-1222, paul@paulweyland.com
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