A No-Nonsense Marketing Smart Tip June 24, 2004
At the Radio and Records convention today, Mercury and Point to Point Direct Marketing present the results of a research study aimed at showing you how to spend your marketing dollars more effectively. This is an ALL NEW sequel to the project we did last year, and many of the results will surprise you. For the full report, visit the Mercury website and download it for free. Here are a few headlines:
Outdoor is the Best Advertising Vehicle for Creating Trial
Got news? Trying to win new Cume? Before plunking down your hard-earned cash on a TV campaign try flooding the market with outdoor. Nearly 40% of radio listeners who recall seeing radio outdoor say they tried a station because of it. That beats telemarketing, TV, and Direct Mail by a wide margin.
If TSL is your goal, then Direct Mail is still the most powerful way to get listeners tuning in longer.
The Kinds of Direct Mail and Contests that Work Best
Listeners are most likely to open and look over a CD, a box, or a big color postcard. And the content that most appeals to them includes: A list of big events in town, fantasy-fulfillment contests, Coupons/special offers, and a contest with a big-money prize. Also, note cards or greeting cards test VERY well among Women – and very poorly among Men.
If you don’t encourage online signup for contests, you’re making a big mistake – more than 50% of respondents would prefer to register for contests this way. Meanwhile SECRET contests are more compelling than PUBLIC ones.
What about Frequent Listener Clubs and New Media?
20% of Radio listeners have signed up for a station Frequent Listener club. What will most induce listeners to join the club? A free CD with the year’s top hits, points for listening which can be redeemed for prizes, and station logo merchandise.
Meanwhile you can dispel the myth that most listeners are technologically backward. More than 60% of listeners and nearly 70% of “likely diarykeepers” use e-mail often. About 20% use instant messaging and 10% use text messaging. But note: 18-24’s are two to three times more likely to use IM and TM than the average listener. Have you tapped into your audience via these new media yet? What are you waiting for?