Like most traditional media, radio marketing has certainly faced increased competition. New media options like Pandora, Spotify, Sirius XM, iTunes Radio and a host of others continue to chip away at radio’s once-exclusive domain.  But traditional radio is still a good media choice for marketing your hospital.

Radio is available at home, in the car, at the office and on the go. Even with all of the new audio options, it still dominates in-car listening. And most important to healthcare marketers, the radio listening habits of Baby Boomers has changed the least of any demographic group.

 

Other benefits of including traditional radio in your hospital marketing mix:

 

Targetable

• Diversity of station formats allow advertisers to target specific audiences. For example, Top 40 typically has a young female audience and provides a vehicle for promoting your hospital’s OB/GYN services. The Oldies format, which attracts listeners over the age of 60, can be effective for reaching prospective attendees of your upcoming Health Fair. News Talk and Sports programming offer opportunities to reach an audience for Sports Medicine and Spine.
• Radio allows you to reach key marketing areas. Use audience delivery data to determine the stations with the most listenership in your hospital service area by zip code, city, county, or groups of counties.

 

Reminder Medium

• For brands that are known, radio is effective as a “reminder” medium.
• When part of a multi-media mix, radio commercials increase recall of your hospital’s television, newspaper and Internet ads.
• Radio is a good driver to your hospital’s website or social media channel.

 

Influential

• Radio personalities are influential.
• 55% of respondents of a recent study stated that testimonials for healthcare or medical services given by their favorite air personality made the respondents trust that product or service. (Source: Radio Advertising Bureau F.C.T Report on Healthcare, 2014)

 

Engaging and Emotional

• Radio stars in the theatre of the listener’s mind.
• Voices, music, and sound effects in a well-written radio commercial can evoke powerful emotions.
• Emotional events like babies born and lives saved are part of your hospital’s story. Radio can take listeners on your journey.

 

Inexpensive

• Prospective patients need to be exposed to your message multiple times. The relatively low cost of commercials allows for frequency in your schedule.
• Affordable production means ads can be tailored to the format’s audience. Your branding commercial on the Hispanic station should not be the same one you air on the Country station.

 

Quick Turnaround

• Quick production and scheduling means you can adapt to events in your marketplace.
• If a local emergency creates a need for blood, radio commercials can drive donations.

 

Nationally, radio advertising revenues have declined, but local stations are actually seeing increases in their share of local ad budgets. Radio continues to be an effective advertising medium for many local businesses including hospitals.

If you would like to discuss ways to make radio work for your hospital, contact the radio experts at TotalCom Marketing.

 

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ABOUT JIMMY WARREN
Early to bed, early to rise, work like crazy and advertise! Jimmy Warren is president of TotalCom Marketing Communications and has over 30 years experience helping all kinds of businesses build a strong brand. A large portion of that experience has been helping hospitals and healthcare organizations. He loves the ‘weird’, interesting and extremely talented people he gets to work with every day – that includes co-workers and clients. Outside of work he enjoys his grand kids, traveling and any kind of good ole fashion Alabama sports. Roll Tide!