Radio

Radio is one of the toughest media to buy in a small to medium market because the stations often choose not to subscribe to ratings information. In general, there are two reasons for this choice... they don't show up well in the research or because the information is just too expensive. Often the answer is... both.

Radio has had a long and interesting history as an entertainment, information and advertising medium. However, like newspapers, new technology has not been good to the local radio business.

From the years of all locally-produced radio to now when much of their programming is satellite provided, their impact on the community has declined greatly. This has been caused by a number of influences in the industry... most of which have been negative for radio stations but positive for listeners.

As mentioned earlier, much programming on local radio stations is now provided by a satellite service that is being played on stations all over the country. The good thing for the station is this is usually a lot cheaper than paying a local DJ and a lot better quality of talent. The bad news is the show will not have a local feel to it. No one is talking about the pretty snow flurries outside the studio window or the flowers blooming on the square downtown.

Also, radio has been hurt by the advent of true satellite delivery. XM Radio provides hundreds of channels to your car with every imaginable type programming and you don't lose the signal when you are traveling. I can remember in my younger days we traveled with an atlas that stayed in the car. On the pages of the atlas we wrote down the frequency number of radio stations we enjoyed in each area so that we always had something to listen to. With my XM I can listen to my favorite music (70's on 7) or news (Fox News) from one coast to the other without ever having to touch the dial, and the music has no commercials.

And, of course, there are phones that now connect to the sound system in our cars. I can actually listen to educational and/or entertaining podcasts from my phone through my truck speakers. All of this is just an awful lot of competition for content consumers.

I'm not saying radio is dead. There are still some successful radio stations. I'm just saying, as always, buy local advertising by thousands if you can. If not, just use your gut on which stations are drawing the most listeners. I used to have a folder with the words... "Radio... the reminder medium" printed on the front of it. It was produced by some TV consultant as a negative about radio. However, I have always believed that is a strength of radio. If you are running a TV and/or print campaign and someone hears the same message in their car as they drive by your business... that's a pretty strong reminder of your sales message. But only if that driver is listening to your station.