Sometimes it's possible for your radio advertising to be just as effective with shorter radio commercials. Though most radio spots being broadcast today are sixty seconds in length, shorter commercials remain a viable option. Astute radio marketers realize that by testing the effectiveness of a radio schedule using sixties for a few weeks and then running the exact same schedule using thirties for at few weeks, that it's possible to learn whether the product being advertised can be sold just as effectvely with a shorter commercial.
Since thirty second spots usually sell for about half of a sixty, you can "double your budget" if you find that thirty second commercials can generate the same result as a sixty. With the money you have saved, you can then increase the weekly frequency on the same radio station to find the number of commercials that get the best return on investment for you or take that money and add a second radio station to the radio buy. It's all about taking the extra time to test the best approach for your product before you roll out your campaign at "full speed".
In direct response advertising, it is rare that a thirty second commercial will work as well as a sixty. That's because as we've discussed before a direct response ad is one that asks the listener to take action by calling a toll free number and unfortunately, it takes twelve to fourteen precious seconds to repeat a toll free number at least three times in a radio spot. However, if the radio ad's "call to action" can be stated in just a few seconds, thirties and sometimes even ten or fifteen second ads can work just as well as the traditional sixty second spot.
The operative word in this message is "test". Test your campaign before you roll it out. Take a scientific approach to your radio advertising. Keep accurate records of everything you do both in the testing phase and on an ongoing basis so you can learn the right length of commercial to advertise your product or service. And once you find the best approach, you'll be ready to launch your campaign knowing that you've made the most effective use of your budget.
