A Radio Success Story

Selling Radio with Pat Bryson

Many times we hear “Radio doesn’t work“.  And, after hearing it often enough, sometimes we begin to doubt our strength as a way to reach consumers.

I recently was making calls with a salesperson for one of my clients. We stopped at the Hidden Paradise Alpaca ranch. Now, this Alpaca ranch is in the middle of nowhere. You have to WANT to go there. They have been a client of my stations for 6 months. Here’s their story:

Last December, a listener called into our morning show on WLPO and mentioned to the show host, Rod Thorson, that he had been given a pair of Alpaca socks. He liked them, but didn’t know where they came from. The owner of Hidden Paradise Alpaca ranch heard the dialogue and called in to say that they sell the Alpaca socks. Rod put him on the air and they discussed the advantages of Alpaca socks. By the end of the day, Hidden Paradise had sold 25 pair of socks. They began an advertising campaign with us.  At the time of our visit in June, they had sold 700 pair of Alpaca socks. After my visit, they had sold 701.

The planets were in alignment:

  1. It was a cold winter with lots of snow
  2. It was the December gift-giving season
  3. The product was good
  4. The announcer was credible
  5. The frequency was good

Advertising can do only ONE thing: it can bring an interested prospect to the place of business once. We can’t control when someone wants to buy Alpaca socks. But, we can tell our listeners why they should want them and where to buy them. That we did, and the rest, as they say, is history.

P.S. The purpose of our visit in June was to pick up copy information for the seasonal product they are now advertising with us: Alpaca Poop. It’s a great fertilizer, and I have the feeling lots of plants will be fed with it this summer.

Read more posts in her radioinfo series: Selling Radio with Pat Bryson. (subscribers only).

Alpaca photo: shutterstock
 

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