(By Marc Greenspan) In advertising, like many other areas, size does matter. Size, in this case, is how many potential consumers a certain advertising outlet will reach. An advertising message cannot be acted upon unless it is heard. The bigger the reach, the more likely the message will reach potential buyers.
For years, television has used its massive numbers to convince advertisers that all they need to reach potential consumers is their platform. That might have been true in the 1970s, but not today.
However, the size argument can be even more powerful when you compare your radio cluster to the local television stations. In many cases, a single cluster will have a much larger reach. But how do you prove this?
If your station subscribes to Scarborough, you can easily compare your cluster’s reach to the reach of each of the local television stations. An easy way to do this is to access Scarborough in Tapscan’s Multi-Media Ranker. That’s relatively straightforward. Which daypart(s) should you be using to obtain this information?
- Total Week
- Radio Mon-Sun 6a-12m
- Television Mon-Sun 4a-2a
- Primes
- Radio Mon-Fri 6a-7p
- Television Mon-Sat 8p-11p/Sun 7p-11p
Start with Adults 18+. Does your cluster win there? If so, great. If not — do not fret. While there is value with Adults 18+, radio will shine as you refine your focus on which demos most advertisers wish to target.
Need more information? Research Director, Inc. can help you know your numbers here.
This column is part of a series titled “Growing the Radio Pie.” To view past articles, visit The Ratings Experts at Research Director, Inc. online here.
Marc Greenspan is the CEO and founding partner of Research Director, Inc. He can be reached at 410-295-6619 x11 or by email at [email protected]. Research Director, Inc. offers consulting services to media companies to help them grow their audience, ratings, and revenue. Read Marc’s Radio Ink archives here.
