Are your customers listening? Mastering the Art of In-store Radio Ads

If you are one of the regular commuters in the Philippines, chances are you’ve come across many of the memorable radio advertisements playing during those long PUV rides.

(Here’s a playlist of some notable ones.)

Aside from catching your attention, each of these ads acts as a salesman working to get you to consider their product.

Your in-store radio ads should have the same goal.

Here’s how you can turn simple announcements into a compelling sales tool.

Key Strategies for Effective In-Store Radio Ads

Capture Attention Immediately

The battle for a customer’s attention is won in the first few seconds. You can’t turn browsing customers into active buyers if you don’t get their attention first.

Audio advertising is a slightly more challenging medium than its visual counterpart. We can’t rely on eye catching design or interesting copy to grab eyeballs.

Instead, you should aim to use engaging sounds, music, and a captivating voice to make sure your message stands out.

Make your ads relevant

Once you have your customers' attention, you don’t want to waste it with messaging that does not land with them.

To get them to keep listening, it’s essential that you have a good understanding of who your customers are.

Knowing your customers intimately allows you to tell them how your product fits seamlessly into their lifestyle, solving problems or enhancing their routine in some way.

Focus on Conversion, Not Just Entertainment

While entertainment value is important, the core aim of every ad should be to encourage a purchase. Only use entertainment if it helps make the sale.

Don’t be entertaining for entertainment’s sake.

Let’s get tactical

Once you’ve taken the first three principles to heart you can start to get tactical. A few effective ways to convey your message in an audio format are the following:

• Use specifics. Generic claims don’t resonate. Instead of saying “more” say "33% more". This help consumers grasp the real value of what you’re selling.
  

• Words like “free” or specific discounts can be powerful incentives, but avoid terms like “cheap” which might suggest lower quality.
  

• Avoid overusing platitudes (best, quality, innovative)

Test, Measure, Learn

Like with any good marketing campaign, you should always be testing.

Test your opening lines, delivery, script, background music, and voice over. See what works and double down on that.

Remember that what gets measured gets improved.

(Or let us do this for you with our Marico Data and Insight Service)

Conclusion

The key to effective in-store radio ads lies in three steps:

• Get their attention
  

• Show them how your product is relevant to them (using specifics, compelling phrases, and avoiding platitudes)
  

• Measure your advertisement's performance to find ways you can improve.

By integrating these principles into your in-store radio advertising, you can transform ordinary ads into powerful sales tools that speak directly to your customers, encouraging them to buy as they browse. Good luck!