by Karen Buckner

Created on: January 11, 2009   Last Updated: January 22, 2009

Frequency, Frequency, Frequency!

Radio is a very cost effective marketing tool that provides heavy frequency within a group of targeted demographics.

There are many benefits to radio advertising that are proven to increase your ROI (Return on Investment) and provide a high reach within your target for a much lower cost than television advertising, specifically when it comes to creative development & production costs. Additionally, you will see more immediate results with radio versus television in regards to a campaigns success.

The overall pricing will be determined on many factors including Market, Station rankings, Daypart ratings, Frequency, TSL (Time Spent Listening) & AQH/Share (Average Quarter Hour). There are many advertising offerings in radio that can be packaged to accommodate any budget.

The Market: Cost is more than anything market driven. Ad spots may vary from station to station depending on current rankings within a given market but due to the competitive nature of the industry; one competitors pricing may drive pricing for another station(s).

Station Rankings: As with any industry if your #1, you have a little more justification for higher pricing. You have proven that your station delivers the listeners that your clients are marketing to. The higher the listenership, the greater the reach. Station rankings are determined within a market by Arbitron, a radio survey company. The company drops what is called "Diaries" throughout a market (city) in the form of surveys, they compile the date based on the returned surveys then provide a report known as a "Book" to the stations in that market. Larger markets have 4 books (Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall) whereas smaller markets tend to have 2 books. The books break down the stations overall ratings for the total number of people, ages 12 and older that are listening to that station. It then provides breakdowns throughout demographics (Adults, Women, Men & ages brackets 12-17, 18-24, etc)

Daypart Ratings: Daypart Ratings will affect the cost of radio advertising. The higher rated the daypart is, means typically the more money the ad schedule will cost. Morning shows for example are historically more expensive than Middays (10a-2p).

Frequency: They say the average listener has to hear a message 3 times before they begin to retain the information. A higher frequency simply means you are buying more ads. Many times clients will scatter them throughout different dayparts or concentrate them for

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