Have you ever felt the pressure to shell out more money in order to advertise on the top radio or TV station in your market? You are definitely not alone. It’s instinct to think your message needs to be broadcast by the station which reaches the most listeners. Going with your gut isn’t always the right thing to do, though. Feel free to say no to the big dogs in your market.
Quite often, using a secondary (not a #1) station earns you a better bang for your advertising buck. They may have a smaller number of consumers tuning in, but they probably also do not have the high demand on their station, which means they have more inventory and their rates will not be as expensive.
For example, radio Station A has 10,000 listeners tuning into their morning drive. It costs $250 dollars to run one :30 second spot during this time. Station B has 7,500 listeners tuning in, but their cost per spot is only $125. Your $4,000 budget would let you run 16 spots on station A with an approximate number of impressions at 160,000. That same budget would garner you double the number of spots on station B with approximately 240,000 impressions.
Now the above isn’t an exact media formula by any means — it’s meant to give you a very basic overview about the benefits of saying no to the big dogs in your market. It may be a scary prospect, but it may also be the best thing you can do for your business.
