7 Steps for Successful Advertising on Boston Radio Stations

September 27, 2023 Charles Zanazzi, Regional Vice President of Professional Services in partnership with Beasley Media Group

Small businesses play a vital role in our communities, providing innovation, services, revenue, and employment. As a way to support small businesses and their contributions, HarborOne Bank has teamed up with 98.5 The Sports Hub to create the “Small Business, Big Winner Contest,” which will provide one fortunate winner with the power of radio advertising to grow their business. This contest gives local entrepreneurs the opportunity to win a prize of $15,000 in radio advertising and more! Enter here!

On September 21, 1921, WBZ-AM signed-on as the first radio station in Boston. Since then, local business owners have depended on radio advertising to successfully market their goods and services. Despite the many new media options available for advertising, radio remains an effective way for New England business owners to connect with potential customers. These seven steps from Beasley Media Group will help you reach your business goals through radio advertising.

Step 1: Define A Key Marketing Objective for an Advertising Campaign on Boston Radio

An effective advertising campaign on Boston radio needs a specific marketing objective. The objective should correspond with an advertiser’s key challenges or opportunities. The objective will influence which radio stations to purchase, the length of the campaign, the timing of the advertising, as well as the length and the content of the commercials. It is possible that over time, a business could have many different marketing objectives, but it is a proven, best practice for each campaign to focus on one.

Step 2: Choose the Right Boston Radio Stations for your Audience

The stations selected for advertising a product or service on Boston radio should be determined by the marketing objective. There are 33 radio stations that service the Boston area. Despite numerous listening options, the typical listener tunes-in to between two and three stations each week. So, to create a successful advertising campaign on local radio, a business owner must identify those radio stations that attract the target consumers defined by their marketing objective.

Step 3: Select the Right Time to Advertise on Boston Radio Stations

The times of day a small business owner should advertise on Boston radio is determined by the campaign’s marketing objective and the budget for achieving it. Radio stations breakdown the day into segments called dayparts with the greatest concentration of listeners occurring on weekdays between 6:00am and 7:00pm. This is referred to as radio’s “prime time”. Research indicates that the typical person tunes-in at about the same time throughout the week. Achieving a branding objective requires frequency of message among the target consumers. To build effective frequency, a business owner should concentrate commercials during specific dayparts over an extended timeframe

Step 4: Determine How Long an Advertising Campaign on Boston Radio Should Last

The US Small Business Administration recommends that every New England area small business advertise consistently. “Think you have a great product?” asks the SBA. “Unfortunately, no one’s going to know about it unless you advertise.” The SBA goes on to say, “Advertising, if done correctly, can do wonders for your product sales, and you know what that means: more revenue and more success for your business.” Henry Ford believed continual advertising was a wise investment. “Saving money by not advertising,” he claimed, “is like stopping a clock to save time.” Rules of Thumb: Branding campaigns require repetition of message (frequency) for an extended period-of-time. Promotional campaigns require delivering a message to as many target consumers as possible during a shorter timeframe.

Step 5: Create an Effective Radio Commercial for Boston Radio

The number one job of any radio commercial on Boston radio is to break through and be heard. If it is not heard, then it can’t be remembered. If it is not remembered, then it can’t be acted upon. Breaking through and commanding a listener’s attention is a function of a commercial’s creative content. According to a Nielsen study, the creative content of an ad contributes more to a commercial’s ability to drive sales than any other element of an advertising campaign. Content is more important than brand, reach, and frequency combined. Nielsen’s findings are confirmed by a study from OMD, an advertising agency whose clients include McDonald’s, Apple, Pepsi, and Google. This study found that ad engagement has an 8-time bigger effect on sales than size of audience. Given a well-defined marketing objective, the creative team of local radio stations will be able to apply their professional skills to the development and production of effective radio commercials.

Step 6: Choose the Best Length for a Commercial on Boston Radio

Boston radio stations offer different commercial length options to fulfill the marketing objectives and budgets of local small business owners. The most common lengths are :60 seconds; :30 seconds; :15 seconds; and :10 seconds. A guideline to consider: Strive to make the commercials as long as necessary but as short as possible.

Step 7: Determine a Budget for Advertising on Boston Radio Stations

Advertising and marketing are crucial to the success of every New England small business. How much should be budgeted is a function of current or projected revenues. The U.S. Small Business Administration recommends that established businesses with more than $5-million in gross revenue should budget 7-8% to advertise. Businesses who have not yet achieved that level of revenue should plan on investing 10-12%. Newer businesses that may not yet be familiar to their target consumers should plan on investing a larger percentage. Once an advertising budget is determined, then station selection, campaign durations, and commercial lengths can be decided in a manner that conforms to the budget.

ABOUT HARBORONE BANK

HarborOne Bank serves the financial needs of consumers, businesses, and municipalities throughout Massachusetts and Rhode Island through a network of full-service banking centers and commercial loan offices. The Bank also provides a range of educational resources through “HarborOne U,” with free digital content, webinars and recordings for small business and personal financial education. HarborOne Mortgage, LLC, a subsidiary of HarborOne Bank, is a full-service mortgage lender with offices in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Rhode Island and is licensed in six additional states.

For more information about how HarborOne Bank’s Small Business Team can help your business, contact: [email protected]

ABOUT BEASLEY MEDIA GROUP

Founded in 1961, Beasley Broadcast Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: BBGI) currently owns or operates 64 radio stations located in fifteen large and midsize markets across the nation. Nearly 41% of Beasley stations are located in the nation’s top 50 markets such as Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Las Vegas, New Jersey, West Palm Beach, and Atlanta. The remaining stations are primarily in vibrant regional centers like Central North Carolina, Northeast Georgia, Delaware, and Southwest Florida. Beasley stations are home to a diverse range of formats, featuring top on-air personalities and programming that appeal to a wide range of audiences and demographic groups. These include Country, Oldies, Adult Contemporary, Sports, Talk, CHR and Rock, among others, reflecting a diversity that translates into a broad revenue base. Beasley also offers local advertisers compelling digital marketing solutions as well as podcasting opportunities.

For more information about advertising opportunities with Beasley Media Group in Boston, contact: [email protected]

For more great information and advice about advertising on Boston radio click here: Advice | Advertise In Boston
For resources for small businesses from HarborOne, click here: Business Resources – HarborOne Bank

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