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Does Your Radio Ad Need a Phone Number?
Still need a phone number in your radio ad?
Phone numbers have been such a huge part of advertising for so long, it’s easy to take them forgranted.
So let’stake a step back and ask: is there a genuine benefit to including one in your ads today?
Here aresome things to consider.
Your Message
How will including a phone number impact the message in your commercial?
You’ve paid for air time and production, so you have something specific you want to say to the market.
Regardless of what it is, a phone number will take up space in your ad. A standard Australian landline is eight digits–that’s 8 words of a total of about 85 in a 30-second script.
Can you justify sacrificing that much?
You may be better served by focusing on the message itself and using the available time to outline your brand’s benefits to consumers. And a quick word on mobile phone numbers: avoid them if you possibly can. The harsh truth is a mobile number simply doesn’t sound professional.
More Than Just a Phone
Be honest… is your phone ever not with you? And what percentage of the time do you use it as an actual telephone? No judgement, we’re all pretty much the same.
This behaviour offers a valuable insight into how other people use their phones. If you hear something interesting, it’s now instinctive to simply grab your mobile and search for it. There’s no reason to imagine anyone else is different in this regard, so why over-think it?
The right message to the right audience will drive consumers to find you, and the most direct way they can do that is to grab their phone and search for you online. Then when they find you on Google (or your website) they’ll find… your phone number.
Consumer behaviour suggests you don’t need it in your ad-they’ll find you if they want to.
The Last Time
We’ll finish with a question: when was the last time you wrote down a phone number you heard in a radio ad? Have you ever?
These days we’re constantly online, and that means potential customers can find you–and your phone number–quickly.
Unless it’s a critical part of your brand or jingle, there’s more to be gained in clearly delivering your key message, engaging your target market, and letting them find their way to you.
If you’d like help withcrafting your scripts and working out what to include and exclude, at The Voice Market we can help.
Get in touch today! (or call us ;))
Article: Written by Wade Howland