By Holland Cooke
Consultant
National media sells products, most of which aren’t manufactured locally. Local media’s best bet: services, which are inherently local.
My brother-in-law is an engineer, 4-digit IQ. So – when was having his floors redone – he went into solve-the-problem mode. He and my nephew moved a piano from room-to-room with a skateboard, cinder blocks, and blankets. Imagine trying to do THAT? Ugh. There are companies that move pianos all day. For them it’s easy.
Sales meeting brainstorm: What’s difficult for the average person, but comes easy to a prospective advertiser? Radio has made lots of money selling convenience. Busy people will pay. Think high-TSL in-car listeners.
Right now, smart stations are booking painters, roofers, and arborists… companies that work on ladders. When winter weather slams-the-brakes on their business, they pivot to putting-up — and eventually taking-down — outdoor Christmas lights. Do YOU want to climb up there, let alone when it’s c-c-cold? Work like this monetizes what would otherwise be seasonal dark time. And by doing this job, they could earn perennial business… and their trained eyes will spot in-season work you might need.
Six months later, that painter says he’ll repaint/re-stain your deck “in time for the Fourth!” Around then, I see trucks from a company that fills swimming pools. And as listeners are planning summer travel, a local mechanic offers a multi-point bumper-to-bumper and tire check-up, “so your vacation doesn’t hit a speed bump.”
Radio can tell these stories more cost-efficiently than other media.
Holland Cooke (HollandCooke.com) is a consultant working the intersection of broadcasting and the Internet. He is the author of “The Local Radio Advantage: Your 4-Week Tune-In Tune-Up” and “Close Like Crazy: Local Direct Leads, Pitches & Specs That Earned the Benjamins” and “Confidential: Negotiation Checklist for Weekend Talk Radio.” Follow HC on Twitter @HollandCooke and connect on LinkedIn