There are not a lot of people out there who are involved in deciding what kind of high-tech infrastructure will be used in a small- to mid-sized company, but they are everywhere, and are rarely accessible as a group to the companies that wish to pitch them. But radio is helping some companies make inroads.
According to a New York Times report, some IT companies have been searching for a way to get to corporate decision makers in the smaller size classes, but the lack of a consistent schedule of trade shows and similar events make it difficult to reach them in any great level of concentration.
However, some are finding that radio advertising is inexpensive enough that a brief message tailored to the people it is targeting has a good chance of hitting the mark, leading to internal corporate conversations within the businesses the advertiser is hoping to do business with.
This has proven to be the case even in smaller markets. In fact, the NYT piece noted that there is sometimes a spillover effect, where a large-market IT person hears a particular ad while on the road in a smaller market and is amazed at the reach the advertiser is able to demonstrate.
Of course, it helps when the program carrying the ad is specifically tailored to the audience that has a use for the product being sold – and this is where finding the right syndicated programming comes in, with talent testimonials being a favored type of spot.
RBR-TVBR observation: The lesson here would seem to be that there is that there is more to an audience than size. If there are ten people in your market with the ability to say yes or no to a high ticket purchase, and if five of them listen to your station, that is something of value for you to sell. Know your audience and shoot for the stars.
