When businesses look to cut costs, advertising budgets are usually among the first to be on the chopping block, and traditional media like radio may seem like prime candidates for pausing or eliminating. Digital advertising may be an afterthought for interruption after radio advertising. However, cancelling your radio ads can be short-sighted and have long-term negative consequences. Here’s why maintaining your radio advertising is crucial, even when cash is tight, perhaps ahead of your digital play.
Brand Awareness and Top-of-Mind Recall
Consistent advertising is essential for building and maintaining brand awareness. When you cancel your radio ads, you risk losing the top-of-mind recall that keeps your brand in front of potential customers. All your generated momentum can be lost with just a three-month absence. Radio ads help reinforce your brand message, making consumers more likely to think of your business when they need your products or services. This is especially important in competitive markets where staying visible is vital to remaining relevant. And slugging it out with huge national advertisers for digital advertising targeted at now buyers is a low rate of return.
Complementing Digital Strategies
Radio advertising and digital marketing are not mutually exclusive; they complement each other effectively. While digital marketing targets users who are already online, radio reaches people during their daily routines—commuting, working, or relaxing at home and pushes them online!
Building Trust and Credibility
Radio advertising can enhance your business’s credibility. Hearing your ad on the radio gives your brand an air of legitimacy and stability. Consumers are increasingly skeptical of online ads due to ad fraud and privacy concerns. The established and regulated nature of radio advertising can help build trust with your audience, as do your on-air personalities when they endorse clients. Stopping and starting an endorsement campaign isn’t always possible and can cause clients to lose endorsers.
Long-Term Investment in Brand Equity
Cutting back on branding efforts like radio advertising can provide short-term savings but often leads to long-term losses. Branding is a cumulative process; the more consistently you promote your brand, the stronger it becomes. When you stop advertising, you lose immediate business and risk diminishing your brand equity. This can make rebuilding your brand presence more expensive and difficult when financial conditions improve. Starting and stopping is more costly than a steady spend.
Widening the Funnel
Digital marketing often focuses on low-hanging fruit—customers who are already close to making a purchase. While this is important, it’s equally crucial to widen the top of your marketing funnel by attracting new, unaware audiences. Radio casts a broader net to those almost in the market or not at all. Only 5% of any market is ready to buy today. The other 95% can become future customers through consistent exposure.
While it might be tempting to cancel your radio ads to save money, it can undermine your long-term marketing strategy and overall business health. Radio advertising maintains brand awareness, builds credibility, and complements your digital efforts. By continuing to invest in radio, you ensure that your brand remains visible and top-of-mind for potential customers, helping to drive sustained growth even during challenging financial times. Instead of cutting back on radio, look for other ways to save money.
Jeff Caves is a sales columnist for BSM working in radio and digital sales for Cumulus Media in Dallas, Texas and Boise, Idaho. He is credited with helping launch, build, and develop Sports Radio The Ticket in Boise, into the market’s top sports radio station. During his 26 year stay at KTIK, Caves hosted drive time, programmed the station, and excelled as a top seller. You can reach him by email at jeffcaves54@gmail.com or find him on LinkedIn.
