Greetings FSB folks,
I am the waste reduction and recycling education coordinator for our County and we are having a debate about the relative effectiveness of radio vs newspaper ads as a way to disseminate information. People who guard the money say the dollars are better spent on the radio. I say it all depends on who you are trying to reach, that most likely differet people listen to radio than read the paper. Any advice? I've been saying over and over again that we need to use the cbsm approaches of focusing on specific behaviors,identifying barriers and so on, but my superiors just seem to want to continue to "just put information out there" willy nilly.
Thanks,
Heidi Swets
NE Iowa
Effectiveness of Radio vs Newspaper Advertising
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I don't have sites handy, but any intro text on marketing will tell you that the medium you use should be determined by the audience you want to reach and the kind of message you want to transmit. Message placement goes far beyond such gross responses as "on the radio." What stations, at what time of day, embedded in which programs. The same goes for newspaper placement. Ads on the sports page would differ from ads in the fashion section, because the likely readers of these two sections differ in their characteristics. You might even run different messages on different media--newspapers might reach older folks and you might hit the theme that waste reduction will assure a better world for their children.A hip hop radio station ad might focus on waste reduction as "cool", or a way for kids to rebel against the adult consumer society. Tell your bosses they will see a reduction in the waste of their own resources if they target their messages more effectively.
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At IWMC, we utilize random community audits/surveys to help measure our success with respect to disseminating information on our waste management/waste reduction programs. Our feedback here on the Island clearly indicates that about 76% of our readers obtain their information from the newspaper, and about 31% actually hear our PSA's on radio. About 80% indicate they learn about our programs through newsletters delivered twice annually by Canada Post. I realize the stats could be different for other jurisdictions, but thought I would share our results.
Hope this helps.
Merie Surkan
Manager, Marketing and Public Relations
Island Waste Management Corporation
110 Watts Ave., Ch'town PEI C1E 2C1
ph: (902) 368-5619
Toll-free: 1-888-280-8111