25-Jun-09 11:00 AM CST

Per Inquiry Radio Advertising - Is It For Me?

Q: I read a lot about per inquiry radio advertising. How can I take advantage of it?

A: Per inquiry radio advertising is a great method of radio advertising - if you can get it. The concept behind PI advertising is that you get free airtime, in exchange for a percentage of sales of your product paid to the radio station. This sounds like a great idea, but taking advantage of PI radio advertising is not as easy as it sounds.

There are a few hurdles to overcome before you can launch a PI campaign.

Radio Station Inventory:

This is the limited inventory of on-air slots to place commercials. In today’s tough media climate, radio stations are pushed further and further with higher revenue expectations. Every dollars is squeezed out of every second of available commercial slots. Although it is entirely possible that your per inquiry radio advertising campaign COULD make the radio station a lot of money, often this is not a gamble that radio station managers are willing to bet their desk on. The station has a goal that it has to reach at the end of the month…period!

Now, you may get lucky and land some available airtime in the evenings, overnights or weekends when radio advertising demand is lower. But the reality is that many radio stations do not want to touch per inquiry advertising. Some will, and for those it is best to have a relationship with the station manager, or use a company that specializes in per inquiry advertising. (Note: for full disclosure, Radio Lounge is not a per inquiry radio advertising agency).

Your Inventory:

If you are lucky enough to get PI advertising from a station, you better hope to sell a lot. Radio stations that do work with PI usually require a minimum of 3000 – 5000 units to be sold. SO make sure you are in a position to sell that many units! Remember, that you are at the bottom of the pecking order for commercial airtime. You will almost always get bumped off a station’s schedule by paying spots, and added value spots given to large paying clients. The result is, you may only get a handful of commercials run during a week. Can just a few commercials drive 3000 – 5000 units? Also, remember that radio stations make (on average) about 20% of a sale in most PI agreements. Make sure your gross margins can handle 20% for advertising alone. Also, most stations require a product to be sold through fulfillment companies meeting certain criteria. This criteria varies between agreements.

There are a few other hurdles, but these two are the biggest to overcome. Radio advertising is still a powerful advertising vehicle, even if a per inquiry radio campaign is not available for you.

________________

M. Bruce Abbott is Creative Director and Partner of Radio Lounge, a radio advertising agency in Houston Texas.

If you are thinking about advertising on the radio, let the experienced radio advertising professionals at Radio Lounge make your campaign a success. Call us for a free consultation. No pressure, just friendly people who love to help companies succeed with their advertising on the radio.

Call toll free, 1-866-4-AUDIO-9. That’s 1-866-428-3469.

Radio advertising works - and when done right, it can achieve powerful results.

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