Compared to the latest social media platforms being leveraged by PR pros these days, radio seems so old school. But while it may be the oldest broadcast medium on the books, radio is still a pretty effective way to get your message out. Consider these facts (from Arbitron):
• Radio reaches 92% of all U.S. consumers every week
• Consumers 12 years old and up spend an average of 19 hours per week with radio
• Radio reaches more than 236 million persons 12 and older over the course of a typical week
• Radio listenership has a higher penetration than television, magazine, newspaper or Internet viewership.
• News, news-talk and talk radio collectively are now the No. 1 most listened to formats based on total number of listeners in the U.S.
• An estimated 53 million consumers tune in to news and talk stations each week
“Radio is a medium that has been resilient,” says Lynn Harris Medcalf, cofounder and executive VP of News Generation, a Bethesda Md.-based agency that specializes in radio outreach. “It’s come up against all sorts of competition, yet it’s retained its listenership,” she says. Why? “People have strong relationships with their local stations, and a lot of people listen to the radio in their cars.”
While radio may be a bulletproof medium, it’s a platform that may be overlooked by communicators. One reason for that: “It’s not a visual medium, and careful listening is required to get familiar with radio,” says Medcalf. Another reason is that radio outreach can be a bit overwhelming, with more than 13,000 stations in the U.S. alone.
Yet there are plenty of PR pros out there leveraging radio quite well, and PR News recently asked some of them about their radio strategies and best practices.
DO THE LEGWORK
For successful radio pitching, it’s all in the research, says Matt Farrell, senior director of media relations at communications agency GlobalFluency. “Not only do you have to be familiar with the outlet, you also need to know the different audiences and when they are listening—whether it be morning, afternoon or evening drive times,” says Farrell.
Farrell finds the radio research payoff large: “If you spend time researching a radio network or a station, you’ll find that once you get that first hit, you’ll be able to build off of it,” he says.
MARKET WATCH
Knowing your markets will also help in radio pitching success, says Medcalf. National networks cover big news stories and survey findings, while local affiliates may be a harder nut to crack. Farrell says that for him, a national network hit is easier to get than a local hit. Outlets like CNN, The Wall Street Journal Radio Network and MarketWatch have all been put into play by Farrell, who pitches business, tech and consumer stories to radio stations regularly.
Farrell stresses that whatever market you’re pitching to, there’s no cookie cutter approach that you might use for print outreach, for example. “Your pitch strategy will depend on the outlet and the show’s format,” he says.
Markets that are often overlooked, says Medcalf, are statewide and regional networks. “This is what makes radio so challenging,” she says. “Knowing which states have radio bureaus and metro-area bureaus, like Seattle, D.C., New York, etc., takes a lot of legwork.” Medcalf adds that radio producers expect PR pros to know not only the pitch topic, but the vagaries of their outlet.
For some PR pros, radio is an afterthought. To others, it’s a requirement. The American Red Cross uses radio often, particularly in disaster situations. “When people lose power, a battery-operated radio works,” says Laura Howe, senior director for public affairs for the Red Cross.
So Howe works both big networks like CBS Radio and local stations (reached by local Red Cross chapters) during a disaster. “We get so busy we have consultants make calls to radio stations as well,” says Howe.
SELL SOUND BITES
Most critical to the Red Cross, and relevant to all who pitch radio, is the importance of media training.
“Our spokespeople have to paint a picture with words,” says Howe. “They must help people understand what’s really happening during a crisis.”
The goal, continues Howe, is to provide the “driveway moment,” where a listener will want to stay in the car in the driveway to hear the whole story on the radio. “We teach our people storytelling principles, so listeners will be fully engaged,” says Howe.
Farrell seconds the importance of media training. “Know about sound bites, because radio stations want and require people who communicate well over the air,” he says.
Medcalf stresses the importance of being able to speak in broad strokes about a particular subject. “How survey results may be applicable to a wider audience,” she says. “Particularly with science, tech and finance stories, they can get very deep and the average person may not be able to understand. The ability to put the story into their perspective is important.”
PITCH TIPS
If you haven’t explored radio as much as you should have, Farrell has some suggestions for getting started:
• Try to match up stories with news that appears online in the morning. “This will be fodder for radio news topics during the day,” says Farrell.
• Pitch a video along with your story, as most stations now have Web sites and are looking for content.
• Research, research and research. “The more you know about outlets, markets and radio show formats, the more successful you’ll be,” says Farrell.
Putting radio outreach into perspective, Medcalf sees plenty of opportunity. Even though radio ad revenues have been down, that’s opened up air time for more content such as PSAs. “Times may be tough, but that doesn’t shut PR out of radio,” says Medcalf. PRN
CONTACT:
Lynn Harris Medcalf, [email protected]; Matt Farrell, [email protected]; Laura Howe, [email protected]. Jeff Guaracino, [email protected].
Looking For a Win-Win? Consider a Radio Partnership
It’s true, the line is blurring between PR and marketing, particularly at the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation (GPTMC). You see, they don’t pitch stories to radio anymore, says Jeff Guaracino, VP of communications at the GPTMC. Instead they set up media partnerships with stations. If you have content that fits radio stations’ needs, you might want to check into partnerships. Warning: Building and keeping relationships is labor intensive. Here’s some tips from Guaracino to help you get started:
• Identify key stations that fit with your messaging. “A local CBS station has a lot of viewers interested in dining and food,” says Guaracino.
• Be selective and strategic when partnering. The GPTMC gives cash to their radio partners, but “it’s not a media buy, and there are no sales people involved,” says Guaracino.
• Find stations interested in partnering on shared events, such as those on New Year’s and the Fourth of July.
• Help partners develop content. For Black History Month, the GPTMC worked with stations to make content more contemporary.
• Hit niche markets. The GPTMC partners with a syndicated radio show station Proud-FM, which targets gays and lesbians in Toronto.
• Create customized messaging for partners. Package it in an easy-to-use toolkit.