The cost of radio
By Patrysha Korchinski
When I started with XM105 Country, I was under the illusion that radio was expensive. I thought it was something for big business. It was something for the brick and mortar business at the very least, not something that could be with the reach of a home based business.
Ah - there's too much truth to the old cliche "If I knew now what I knew then..."
Radio, like all advertising and marketing efforts, should be properly construed as an investment and your decision should not be based on the "cost" but on the return on investment. Advertising of any type is supposed to bring you results and increase your bottom line.
Of course, that's a simplistic non-answer and you're probably saying "Yeah, Yeah lady - but how much does it cost?"
It's impossible to give a definitive answer without knowing exactly what you are looking for and where you are planning to advertise. It costs much more to advertise on a top rated station in a large market than it will to advertise on a smaller local station like XM105 Country. The cost will also depend on whether you are looking at a short term blitz, a long term branding campaign or a sponsorship opportunity.
That being said - I was amazed to discover how affordable radio can be for small and home based businesses. For example, our station has a special advertising package called the Business Directory. I like to describe the Business Directory as an audio business card, because at 15 seconds long they don't provide a lot of time for a fully developed sales message. They are the perfect price for a start up branding effort because it airs once per day, six days per week and costs less than one quarter page ad in our local weekly paper.
I had absolutely no idea that radio advertising could be that affordable.
I believed that newspaper advertising would require less of an investment than radio. Newspaper is where I invested first when I had a local event to advertise. It cost three times as much for two ads than it would've if I'd called our station and got on the Xtreme Zone for a month. I've now seen local events draw nearly 10 times the crowd with an Xtreme Zone listing than I did for my event.
Yes, I do have clients who invest $2000 a month in radio advertising. That is what it takes to achieve the results they desire. If your goals are smaller, then your budget can be too.
That's one of the things I love about radio. It's completely customizable. You can pick and choose the type of coverage that's going to work for your business and your budget.
What does it cost?
Call your local radio station and find out! Or if you have an internet business that can service the areas in and around Whitecourt, give me a call.