Promotions for events should be timely and up-to-date, especially in radio advertisements.
Ever wonder about ads that run after the fact? Ads that have a timing component and they run at the wrong time?
On the way to the office one morning during the recent tennis matches in Memphis, a radio commercial urged listeners to buy tickets. The commercial listed all the top players in the tournament. The only trouble in this case was that half the guys they mentioned had already lost matches and were out of the tournament.
That wasn’t unusual. All year long, especially on sports radio, you hear commercials that have been out of date for months. “Now that football’s here . . .” you hear some guy say in November. Another one is still offering all the bowl picks more than half-way through the bowl season.
There is nothing cheaper to produce than radio commercials for events. There’s no reason why they shouldn’t be fresh daily throughout an event or season. Whether it’s for football season or Christmas, Halloween or Easter, anticipate the event.
What do you want to say before the event? That’s one commercial. The second day or week. That’s another commercial. The next day, an updated commercial. The final day or week, that’s another commercial. Even if you have to leave blanks for the station to fill in the day before.
Make timing work for you, not against you.
To reach Mr. Malmo, hear and read more of his commentaries, or to ask him your own marketing question, go to http://askmalmo.com.
