The most crucial ingredient in a successful direct response radio campaign is selecting the right radio agency to work with. Radio Advertising can be difficult to navigate alone, and can lead to incorrect conclusions (such as, “radio doesn’t work for me”) when done with the wrong kind of radio agency.
As you shop around for the right radio agency, one of the first aspects to consider is agency experience. In order to run a successful direct response radio campaign, you’ll need an agency with a long track record of experience in the radio media buying and in the direct response radio creative fields. An experienced radio agency will have established relationships with stations, which should in turn, result in getting you the best rates and media placement possible. Also, a radio agency with a heavy media buying background should have proven media planning and buying tactics they use to develop a solid radio advertising campaign. The best evidence of adequate experience is the radio agency’s record of hit direct response radio advertising campaigns. A good radio agency will have built hit campaigns across many product and service categories as well as over time through different business cycles.
If you’re looking for a radio agency to also handle creating the radio commercials for your campaign, it’s important to select a radio agency with experience writing and producing direct response radio commercials. An experienced radio agency should be able to write fresh, powerful radio advertising scripts, and should have relationships with top quality voice talents in order to produce the most impactful spots possible. If your radio agency is doing production in-house, be sure they have the experience to create a crisp, quality radio spot that’ll stand out and get heard.
When choosing a radio agency to work with, you should also consider how each radio agency tracks results and measures success. How much information will you receive about your media results? Will you be briefed on the performance of each radio station? How will you measure the success of your radio advertising campaign? You should make sure each radio agency you talk to has a solid answer to questions such as these. And has a proven track record of meeting or exceeding the metrics needed for the success of your radio advertising campaign. And remember, the more transparent your radio agency is overall, the more accountable they are to you in delivering the results you need in order to be successful. In direct response radio, you want to avoid the “black box” radio agency that doesn’t share the details of what’s working, and where it’s working, with you.
Ultimately, if you’re searching for a direct response radio agency to work with, be sure to pay keen attention to experience, knowledge, and accountability. The best radio agency will have all three.