Radio and TV advertising have different formats, costs, approaches, and reach. Radio is audio-only, cheaper, and better for products with easily understood benefits, while TV is audio-visual, more expensive, and better for products that rely heavily on visual cues. Radio targets working and driving adults, while TV can effectively target children. Radio benefits from channel segmentation, while TV watchers can skip commercials.
Radio and television advertising is a typical part of a company’s strategic marketing mix. While the two types of advertising serve complementary functions, there are distinct differences between the formats that make one type of advertising more appropriate in certain situations than the other. The key differences between radio and television advertising are in format, cost, approach, and reach.
The most obvious difference between radio and television advertising is the format. Radio advertising is purely audio, while TV advertising is audio-visual. This might seem like a simple difference, but it goes to the heart of deciding which format is appropriate for which products. Specific products with outlets that rely heavily on visual queues would likely be unsuitable for radio, since the consumer has no way to augment advertising with a visual rating. Conversely, products with easily understood benefits that people know about and can visualize for themselves often thrive on radio advertising.
A significant difference that often determines whether radio and television advertising are viable options in terms of initial cost. TV advertising is 50 times more expensive than radio advertising. A radio commercial can be done by anyone with a good voice and access to a studio in hours. Often, radio stations will produce the radio spot for the client quickly, writing the copy, retaining their show hosts such as vocal talent, and using their own equipment. TV commercials, by contrast, are large productions that take weeks to complete.
Another difference between radio and television advertising is the approach each has towards its target audience. Each format operates in a different prime advertising time. For radio, prime commercial time is on the commute to and from work. Primetime television is generally considered to be the evening time, but can vary depending on the target market. Radio also benefits from channel segmentation based on music format which makes it easier for advertisements to target a specific market regardless of when the advertisement is broadcast live.
Reach is another significant difference between radio and television advertising. Radio reaches more people for longer periods of time. Those people tend to lean heavily towards working and driving adults, however, while TV commercials can effectively target children. A developing trend in the difference between the reach of radio versus TV is the ability of television watchers to skip TV commercials through the use of digital recorders, while radio still benefits from a captured audience that can only skip commercials changing channel.
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