I recently came across some data about the amount of trust that radio listeners have in our medium – see those HERE (CRA report on radio during COVID) and HERE (A UNESCO report), HERE (an iHeart Radio report) and the HALO effect of the trust of talent and radio HERE.
But it made me think – while listeners have a high level of trust in radio, why is it that our advertisers do not.
I found this Trustworthy Advertising (article HERE) and Consumer Trust article HERE – but none specifically about advertisers… why?
It led me down a rabbit hole of random thoughts and searches online to find out why – and these are the 6 reasons I came up with.
This may be due to a number of factors, including:
1. Lack of data: Advertisers may not have access to sufficient data to accurately measure the effectiveness of their radio campaigns, leading to uncertainty about the ROI of their advertising spend. This could be done by surveying their own customers, or running Call To Action Campaigns and tracking the results – but for some reason advertisers find this ‘too hard’ – as an industry we need to look at why and how we can fix this.
2. Competition from other media: With the rise of digital media, advertisers may be shifting their focus and budgets to other channels, such as social media, which offer more precise targeting and measurable results. The argument that we have about radio helping to boost those results must be falling on deaf ears – or not reaching advertisers – again we need to let our clients know how it can boost results – eg: Digital + Radio = HERE, TV + Radio = HERE, Print + Radio = HERE
3. Misconceptions about radio: Advertisers may have outdated or inaccurate perceptions of radio as a medium, such as believing that it is only effective for reaching older audiences or that it is not as engaging as other channels. This is something only we can deal with by being more visible in the public, by disproving that conception and getting out there in the publics eye – and getting our results and messages more attention.
4. Limited resources: Smaller businesses or organizations with limited budgets may not have the resources to invest in radio advertising or may prioritize other channels that offer more immediate returns. This is a fair enough thought on their behalf – BUT – we need to show them how using radio in their media mix adds benefits to them – an advertiser is not going to do so unless they see results. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding. Show they will get the results if they invest in radio, prove it and they will come.
5. Lack of creativity: Advertisers may struggle to create compelling and engaging radio ads that capture the attention of listeners and effectively communicate their message. This is an industry problem – too many ads are bland and cookie cutter, and not creative – in fact I did a short listening survey of the top 6 stations in my state over the last 7 days saw, on average, 55% of the ad content was creative ads, per station, from 9am to 5pm, the rest were straight – that’s pretty damning evidence – we need to be more creative.
6. Lack of Sales Training: Advertisers are used to getting cold calls, door knocks and random sales reps turning up on their doorstep – what we need to do is stand out from the crowd – to have the sales team that clients of all sizes can’t wait to come into their business, or get a call from. We need to have better training to help inform and get our people ringing those bells. Management needs to invest in this training to get better results for themselves.
To overcome these challenges and build trust in radio, we need to improve ourselves, our sales techniques, and our methods of getting OUR messages out there.
We need to work with advertisers to help to invest in data and measurement tools to track the effectiveness of their campaigns, and collaborate with creative teams to develop engaging and effective radio ads.
Without it – we may as well switch off our microphones now.
