Radio on the Road
Fast-food restaurant McDonald's ad campaign targeting drivers on the road is a situation to which we can probably relate: late-night driving, quiet radio tunes, rain on the windshield, passengers asleep around us. At the end, they throw in the idea that they're awake too and, oh, by the way, they have coffee and apple pie hot and ready to go.
What advertising medium do you think would work best for this type of advertising? If you said radio, you're correct. After all, you can picture yourself in that scenario because you're already in the car, right? A commercial called 'Driver' holds a bit less weight if you're sitting in the comfort of your living room.
Types of Radio Advertising
Depending on your brand and the type of message you're trying to convey, you'll likely lean toward one of these popular radio advertising choices.
Live Read
The ESPN Radio show Mike & Mike is a good example of a format where you can hear commercials read in real-time online by a radio announcer, a type of commercial also known as a live read. This type of advertisement is more effective with a really popular on-air host because advertisers hope that the host's voice will carry extra weight with the show's audience.
Sponsorship
Many radio stations implement sponsorships for certain types of radio segments, such as traffic, weather, or sports scores during halftime of the big game. It will generally sound something like this: 'This hour's weather update brought to you by Beach Rentals. Call Beach Rentals for all of your vacation needs.'
Produced spot
A produced spot can either be a straight read of your advertising message or a read that incorporates multiple voices, sound effects or a jingle. A jingle is a short, catchy song about your company. These typically tell listeners where to find your business or your products and can be funny, serious, or informative.