Radio advertising

I think I have developed my understanding of TV advertising and I feel quite confident in that area. However, I am making a radio advert too and I do not feel confident in radio advertising. I am going to research into radio adverts, broadening my understanding of how effective they are and how to do them. I want to look into: the power and significance of radio advertising, how to create a radio advert and what you are/not allowed to say on radio adverts.

The power of radio advertising 

Before looking into radio advertising, it is important I understand how powerful the radio is so that I can fully understand how significant radio advertising is. I think it is important I know the power of radio advertising because I need to understand why it is powerful and what type of language do the adverts use to make them so successful and engaging. The image below shows a graph of the increased amount of listeners from 1994. Therefore, it is evident there has been a vast more amount of listeners and I need to know how radio's encouraged their audience to listen, and how adverts took a toll in this.

Additionally, I have done some research on an online website: "MediaPostPublications" which has provided me with more data about radio advertising.

"According to a study by Ipsos OTX MediaCT in partnership with Katz Marketing Solutions, people who are exposed to radio ad campaigns demonstrate high levels of engagement with brands at all stages of the purchase funnel, and particularly across metrics such as brand affinity and advocacy. Comparing results among consumers who had been exposed to radio ad campaigns (via listening to at least one station airing the ads) with a control group of people in the same market who had not listened to those stations, on average, consumers' exposure to radio ads generated a lift at all stages of the purchase funnel, from brand familiarity to purchase consideration, and most dramatically in brand affinity, and recommendation among 23 campaigns evaluated,"

This quotations essentially tells me the power of radio advertising and how it effects people. I need to ensure my radio advert is done properly so that I know my target audience will be engaged. 

Moreover, radio stations usually use advertising to their advantage and put adverts on at the same time, so that the audience have no choice but to listen to them. The radio station has to ensure they know when their target audience would be listening in - e.g. an insurance advert is targeted towards adults therefore would be played between the times 7am-9am and 3:30pm-6:30pm as that is when adults, who are travelling to work, most likely in a vehicle will hear it. 

What am I allowed to say?

When planning the language I am going to use in my advert, I want to ensure my language is emotive and persuasive so that my audience is engaged. The most common words I will use is 'you' and 'us' as I will be directly talking to the audience, as well as including them into what I am trying to promote. I need to look into words and phrases which I would not be able to say.

• Swearing is banned on radio ads, despite the time. 

• Any inappropriate / sexual language is banned

• Cigarette adverts

Furthermore, I think it is important that I research into real radio adverts despite if they're not on my chosen idea. Before looking into real adverts, I have found out some basic codes and conventions of radio advertising. 

• Persuasive language is used throughout using techniques such as direct address and rhetorical questions.

• Adverts that use persuasive language are normally deemed as humorous as it makes the advert more memorable. 

• The title of the product or service is used in the first (or) second sentence so that the audience can recognise the brand straight away.

• Advert's last around 25-45 seconds

• Dependent on the advert, there is usually some kind of non diagetic sound - such as a theme park advert would have people screaming/sound of rides in the background

I am aware I have not learned all the codes and conventions which means I need to still do more research into the conventions of radio advertising to ensure when I start planning, I am aware of them and I can decide whether they have influenced me or if I would like to challenge the conventions.

Therefore, I think I have gathered some research which has provided me with an insight into the power of radio advertising and why it is deemed as so engaging. I still think I have a lot of research to do about radio advertising before planning.