A long time ago, I wrote an article about buying radio advertising – what to look out for, and how to buy it. I think I wrote it while still working for a commercial radio station in Yorkshire.

I had an email with a query about it the other day, marked “Are we being ripped off?” which piqued my curiosity. They were asking me for my advice on their spot plan.

So, here’s my reply to bits of it, suitably anonymised. Those in commercial radio might like to advise me whether I said the right thing…

> We have received effectively 0% of the typical 15% agency fee which was the reason for coming direct to the station.

True. But you don’t spend what an agency does, you’re more work to look after, you’re more of a credit risk, and why would radio stations give “15% off for coming direct” to annoy their biggest customers?

> We require no weekend spots, no slots after 2100 or before 0900.

How odd. So you’re content to miss listeners after 9.00pm at night (who are cheap as chips and listening much harder)? I ran advertising on the DAB scrolling text for the (national) radio station I worked for around three years ago, asking people to text to win a competition – the amount of responses we got at peak listening time (7.30am) was exactly the same as the amount of responses we got at midnight… yet far, far, fewer people were listening. They had the time to respond, and the time to act on what they heard. And you want to throw this goldmine away?

Not least your insistence on “no weekend spots”, where you’re reaching audiences in a completely different frame of mind (and audiences who speak to their partners to inform a purchasing decision).

> We have a requirement for a low-cost trial based around £3.2K per month.

What are you trialling? Radio advertising works, so you’re not trialling that. So are you trialling your product (in which case, why should the radio station take the risk), or your creative (in which case, why should the radio station take the risk)?

Is your requirement -actually- for a low-cost advertising campaign?

> What has been the impact of the recession on Radio advertising rates?

Perhaps a better question would be – what has been the impact of the recession on radio advertising effectiveness?

Given you’re talking £3,200 a month on a station with a 3m population, I wouldn’t be marking you down as a large advertiser. So, I’d trust the advice your salesperson is giving you – or if you don’t, just find yourself an ad agency – it’ll not cost you any more, after all.

Photo: superk8nyc. It’s in New York, obviously. Used under licence – thanks!

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