How to Create Your First DFW Radio Ad

So your boss has asked you to write your company’s first radio ad. Congratulations! Here are some tips from advertising and marketing experts to help you create a more effective spot.

1. Understand Your Intended Audience

Know and understand the characteristics of the demographic segment you’re trying to reach. Although this is the least glamorous part of creating any commercial, thorough research will tell you the right basic tone and framework of your ad before you ever put your fingers on the keyboard to start that award-winning script.

In addition to age range, gender, education level, and income range, consider the target audience’s current buying status. A direct and simple pitch is often the best way to reach people who are already interested in the product or service and are just looking for the best price or other incentive. On the other hand, tomorrow’s potential customer may not even know he or she has a need for your product. Your commercial needs to educate them and then convince them to take the next step toward becoming customers (see “The Call to Action” below) and do so in the 150 or so words of the typical 30-second ad.

Choose The Right Station

This is a seemingly obvious decision that still deserves research and planning. An ad for a car dealership that specializes in SUVs will probably generate a better response among listeners of sports talk or classic rock than jazz or classical fans. To some extent, of course, the choice will be driven by the client’s budget, but the large variety of DFW radio station sizes and formats means that most advertisers can find one that will provide the “most bang for the buck”.

The Statements of Need and Benefit

Be sure that your script clearly and succinctly conveys what the product or service has to offer. Use a simple sentence or two and get right to the point. Don’t waste any of those precious 150 words asking rhetorical questions (“Looking for a way to cut your monthly cell phone bill?”). Instead, make a declarative statement: “Reduce your monthly cell phone bill with one of the many family plans now available from XYZ Cellular.” With just a few additional words, you’ve not only identified the listener’s need and conveyed the product’s benefit; you’ve also mentioned the seller’s name.

Sound Effects and Humor

While focus studies consistently demonstrate that ads with jokes or character voices are more memorable, they need to be appropriate for the product or service (no funny funeral home ads, please!) and the target audience. Remember also that the goal is to keep the focus on the product or service, not just entertain the listener.

The Call To Action

The inclusion of a call to action (CTA) – that is, asking the potential customer to take some next step (call, write, visit, e mail) – is an essential part of most ads, including radio commercials. Because so many consumers start their research online, it’s fine to include both a website address and a telephone number. However, don’t forget that most folks are listening to the radio while driving or otherwise multitasking. While giving the reader of a print as several additional options, this eats up too much of your thirty seconds and is too much information for the typical radio listener to retain. Give them something short and simple to remember

And, as with the name of the product or service and the seller, the CTA should be repeated at least three times during the spot.

Need help writing a script or getting your spot produced? We can help with that.  Just contact us and let us know what you need.

 

Guerilla Marketing Tactics for Dallas Businesses

Not every company has the budget needed for a large-scale marketing campaign, whether it’s inbound or outbound. This is especially true for smaller Dallas businesses. If you own a smaller company, don’t worry – there are still plenty of ways to effectively market your brand. In fact, you could be using guerilla marketing tactics in order to advertise your business. Guerilla marketing tactics are unique and effective ways to advertise without needing much of a budget. Both smaller companies and larger companies have made use of guerilla marketing tactics in order to increase the awareness of their brand.

The following are a few common guerilla marketing tactics that companies often employ that you can use to advertise your Dallas business:

• Give out free merchandise – One of the easiest ways to market your brand name is by giving out free stuff. For example, if you are sponsoring an event in town, then give out free T-shirts that have the name of your business printed on them. If anyone that takes one wears it any time in the future, you’re automatically getting free advertising! It’s smart to make the thing that you’re giving away relatable to your brand. For example, if you sell paper, stationary or greeting cards, give out free pens with your company’s name on them.
• Create referral networks – Team up with other local businesses in the area and create a referral network. For example, if you run a small bakery and the business across the street is a small coffee shop, then you can help each other out with a referral system. This would work by telling your customers to mention your business’s referral across the street at the coffee shop in order to receive a discount, and vice versa.
• Hang posters – Putting up posters throughout town (as long as you have permission of course) is an easy way to bring awareness to your business. However, the effectiveness of your poster depends on how creative and unique it is. A poster that has a few simple graphics, your company name and some information about products and services isn’t going to draw much attention. Just think about some of the guerilla marketing poster campaigns that movies have used over the last few years. The popular film “Blair Witch Project” put up missing person posters for their lead actors to give the film an air of authenticity and to build up interest in the film’s release. The film “District 9” used segregation posters forbidding aliens in certain areas, which mirrored the films alien apartheid premise. Creativity will help you draw attention to your brand.
• Create a fake rivalry – Find another business in town and create a fake rivalry. Obviously, you’ll want to keep it civil, but people love a good competition and it will help to draw attention to both your businesses. It’s a tactic that has been used for decades – in fact, Houdini even did it with his brother, Hardeen!
• Give something away – If you have a product that is affordable enough that you can give it away without losing too much money, such as baked goods, then go to a populated area and do just that. If your product is good, then those who tried it will come back and pay for more.
• Wrap your car – Put your company name and logo on your car, truck or even bike. You’ll be advertising your business wherever you go!

These are just a few guerilla marketing tactics that you can use for your Dallas business. Check out some of our other awesome ideas on our other blog posts.

If you want to get more information on how to activate a guerilla marketing campaign, let’s talk. 

5 Dallas Ad Agencies You Never Heard Of But Need to Know About

If you are the owner of a smaller or mid-sized company in Dallas, you may think that hiring one of the many Dallas ad agencies located in the area is out of your price range. However, think about everything that a good marketing campaign requires – research on your target audience, maintaining social network accounts and websites, keeping up with marketing metrics in order to adjust your strategy, creating new content on a regular basis and much more. Trying to do all of this yourself or designating the task to someone else in your company may be a mistake. Dallas ad agencies are not only experienced in all facets of marketing, which means no resources will be wasted, they will also save you valuable time. You could actually lose money by trying to do it yourself, whether it’s because you’re using time you need to use for other business matters, because it takes you longer to accomplish everything or because you are making mistakes. The following are five smaller Dallas ad agencies you might want to check out:

1. Slingshot – Founded in 1995, Slingshot established itself as a traditional advertising agency that has over the years become an industry leader in digital work. They pride themselves on putting the message before the medium, which they accomplish by working across every channel, including branding, strategy, advertising, media, promotions and production.
2. Tic Toc – Tic Toc has been around for over 40 years. They focus on three areas of expertise that include promotional products, consumer engagement and performance marketing. They have a reputation for combining integrity, insight and imagination in order to deliver innovative solutions to their clients on time and on budget.
3. Firehouse Agency – Firehouse Agency is a small agency that loves a good challenge. In fact, they are known for taking chances on big ideas, which is why they have gained such a positive reputation in the Dallas area. They focus on helping their clients to win a competitive advantage, no matter how big or small the client’s business is.
4. Johnson and Sekin – Run by two creative advertising veterans, Johnson and Sekin have done work for hundreds of clients in the Dallas area and specialize in marketing for the restaurant business. This is because they do careful research on the culture, clientele and atmosphere of every brand in order to carefully capture images that are certainly worth a thousand words.
5. Caliber Creative – Caliber Creative consists of a team of senior-level studio types with a combined experience of over 30 years. They focus on communication through good design and have the ability to create a new brand from scratch, create websites, create posters and much, much more.

These five Dallas advertising agencies may not be very large, especially when compared to some of the advertising agencies that do national work. However, using a smaller ad agency can have its benefits. First of all, you’ll know exactly who you are working with and communicating with. If you are not a giant company, many larger advertising companies won’t put as much effort into your marketing, whereas a smaller advertising agency will provide you with the best work that they are capable of, no matter how large your business may be. Creating a relationship with one of these Dallas advertising agencies will be much easier and more pleasant, and will allow you to work with the same people over multiple projects, thereby keeping your brand and marketing consistent over the years.

If you have questions about anything advertising related… we are here to help as well. Let’s set up a time to talk and we can help you get the information you need.

 

Where does Radio Fit in your Dallas Businesses’ Marketing Mix?

People of all ages listen to the radio. They may listen to pop music, sports, traffic and news on a conventional AM-FM radio or smart phone. Many Dallas-Fort Worth radio stations now offer online streaming as well.

Much of the radio listening is in the car during commuter hours. This is where people get updated traffic information and news.

Your Dallas marketing strategy should include a radio ad, especially if you are in retail. This is a great way to announce a sale, a new product or service. The right ad agency will find the right stations and time slots to reach your targeted audience.

Sports

Does your product or service appeal to sports fans? If the answer is yes, consider advertising on sports radio. Sports radio is a great way to reach a large and fairly targeted audience. You can position your business as a radio sponsor of a local sporting event like NBA basketball or NFL football. This is a good audience for bars, restaurants, and other retail businesses.

It may be advantageous for a local business to sponsor a neighborhood sports event broadcast in the community. This includes a high school football or baseball game broadcast on a local low-power FM radio station. The sponsorship will increase the awareness of your product or service in the community. This is a great way to show that your business is involved with residents of Plano or Weatherford.

News and Weather

Smart drivers who keep their eyes on the road might have a news, weather and traffic station programmed for their daily commute. This is the prime commuter time slot for radio and its advertisers. Many stations offer news, weather and sports on a hourly bases. Traffic and weather information are given several times during the hour. Your radio ad can sponsor weather and traffic once during the hour or throughout the entire prime commuter time news cycle.

Music

Country, rap, pop, jazz and classical are all at your fingertips. People wake up to music. People can wake up to your radio ad as well reminding them to shop your weekend sale.

A good quality 15 or 30 second radio spot ad will make your product or service name familiar to listeners. They may drive by your business and remember that they heard your name on the radio while heading into downtown on Central Expressway. Radio should play an important part in your Dallas marketing strategy. This medium, almost a century old, is a quick and easy way to reach your market.

Have questions about how radio can fit into your company’s marketing plan? Set up a time to talk.

Should your Dallas Business Choose SEM or SEO?

As a small business in Dallas, TX, the Internet is going to be one of the most powerful tools at your disposal as you work to get the word out about who you are and what you offer. However, this is not a “build it and they will come” scenario. You must have a marketing plan in place if your online efforts will be effective.

Search engine optimization (SEO) and search engine marketing (SEM) are two tools you have at your disposal to achieve online marketing success. But which one should you focus your time nada efforts on? The answer depends on your goals. Before you can decide, you must first understand what these are and how they are different and alike.

Defining SEO

Search engine optimization helps the website or web page have high visibility in the search engines. This happens naturally through a variety of factors, including content, keywords and meta tags on content. The search results happen (or don’t happen) completely naturally based on your website’s features, current algorithms and appropriate keyword placement.

Defining SEM

Search engine marketing is a form of Internet marketing that uses both optimization and advertising to grow your site’s visibility. It incorporates SEO through optimization, so you grow your site’s following naturally, but it also buys traffic to your website. For some marketers, the non-organic side of SEM is what gets the focus.

Which Is Right for You?

SEO is something you use to grow your site’s traffic naturally. It is something you can do on your own or with the help of a Dallas SEO firm. However, because the traffic comes naturally, SEO is slow. Sometimes marketers are not willing or able to wait for the amount of time it takes to grow their sites this way.

On the other side, SEM, because it is paid, works more quickly. SEM is a short-term solution that basically buys traffic for your site. It can be highly effective, but the paid portion of SEM only works as long as you are putting money into it.

Look at the two as if you are buying or renting a home. If you are looking for a long-term real estate option, buying makes the most sense. Over the long-term, buying helps you increase your investment and grow value. However, if you have a short-term need for housing, then you will want to lease.

In the same way, if you have time and have long-term goals, then SEO is the route to take. It’s more affordable, will give you a more natural result and ultimately, will give you the long-term results you need. If you must build traffic quickly and have more short-term goals, then SEM makes the most sense. The answer to this largely depends on your goals and your needs.

If this is confusing to you, let’s set up a time to talk.  We can answer any of the questions that you might have and get you pointed in the right direction.