Monday, November 29, 2021
By Steve Lapa
Lapcom Communications Corp
President
PALM BEACH GARDENS, Fla. — The radio business can learn a lot about the core changes facing 21
st century commercial media in general by watching how the outdoor advertising industry is adjusting to the drastically new conditions of the modern era.
Next time you’re moving through traffic take notice of the variety of messages on the out of home media around you. Billboards of all sizes, and all kinds – poster boards, vinyls, newer digital, stationary, mobile, building signage, airport boards, bus stop enclosures – all are blatant reminders that the medium is the message and the creative is changing.
Think about the dynamic. The platform has a limited amount of time, sometimes as little as five to eight seconds, to convey a message that will grab the target-audience’s attention, lead to retention and ultimately motivate a reaction.
Comparatively, the 30 or 60 second paradigm of the radio spot seems like a lifetime.
Check out the health care field’s approach
My favorite exercise in getting a handle on this is analyzing the out of home creative – especially in the health care field.
One campaign featured a digital clock to display the wait time in a local hospital’s emergency room. Another campaign features images of physicians who offer a high standard of care. Finally there is the simple branding message. Each campaign fulfilling a different marketing goal, utilizing the same medium.
Here comes the Q & A for all students of radio sales and marketing who are willing to learn from a competitor who always finds a path.
1) Who is the target? The radio business is a built on targeting to demographics and psychographics. Our friends in out of home media understand to grab attention and make an immediate impact it’s hard to beat a five-foot image greeting you on your daily commute. But when it comes to recruiting employees (as opposed to customers) with hundreds of thousands of cars driving on the interstate the question aises, how many high-level health care professionals are driving along noticing that message?
2) Need a second opinion? The branding message drivers see every day reminds them a highly acclaimed facility is nearby.
3) New to the area and looking for a referral? Maybe the target consumer has been thinking about asking, but the matter is a bit too The message and the white coat could be the answer.
The learning experience for all radio sellers starts here:
1) Open your eyes and absorb the change in messaging and targeting around you.
2) Opportunity is staring you in the face if you will simply digest the information in front of you.
3) Radio is the original portable out of home medium. Sell that concept.
4) Take action! While you worry, competitors move.
This is the time of year to re-evaluate the changes necessary to keep the growth curve moving in the right direction. Make sure your eyes are wide open and ready to learn.
Steve Lapa is the president of Lapcom Communications Corp. based in Palm Beach Gardens, FL. Lapcom is a media sales, marketing, and development consultancy. Contact Steve Lapa via email at: Steve@Lapcomventures.com
Tags: billboards, branding message, campaign, Lapcom Communications Corp, Marketing, marketing goal, out-of-home media, radio sales, Steve Lapa
Category: Sales