Should your dental commercial be on radio or television?
According to Andy Warhol, we all have at least 15 minutes of fame coming to us. If you’re going to seek yours in the form of a dental commercial, which type would you choose — radio or television? Both are effective mediums for your dental advertising, but each has its own unique advantages, depending on which factors you’re considering.
How do you want to target your dental commercials?
Radio and television offer ways to target your dental commercial to more focused segments of the general population. For both, you want to choose a station that provides content aligned with your audience. If your patients are more talk radio than classic rock, radio can reach them. If they like cooking more than sports, there are cable and streaming tv channels for that. Ad placement can also be purchased around specific programs, although the cost can be more. Generally, it will be cheaper to go with run-of-schedule placement, which allows the station to decide when your dental commercial will run.
When and where do you want to reach them?
When and where are you most likely to get your dental ads noticed? Radio is a good opportunity to reach people while they are in their cars, on public transportation, or working out. Basically, any time they are mobile. If you are using television dental commercials, odds are they will be relaxing in their own homes. Because of that, daytime is a good time to get the attention of radio listeners and evenings are better for getting in front of television viewers.
How much do you want to spend?
Generally speaking, radio will cost less than a comparable dental advertising campaign on television. But what you really have to look at is your overall return on investment. Even if your bill for television is higher, you may generate more (and better quality) new patient leads than you would from dental radio ads.
What do you want to communicate?
Perhaps the most important factor to consider is what the content of your dental advertising will be. If you are trying to communicate something visual (like before and after treatments or your beautiful, modern office), then television is the way to go. If you want people to pay more attention to what you’re saying, then radio can get them to focus more on the message of your dental advertisement. Radio ads about sleep apnea, featuring loud snoring sound effects, are a perfect example of a dental service that belongs on the radio.
Television, radio, and the digital age
Although television and radio have long been considered somewhat archaic compared to digital dental advertising, that is changing rapidly. Television and radio ads are bridging the gap to the digital world by using technology like scannable QR codes, push notifications, and voice activated devices like Alexa to make it easier for audiences to respond to your dental commercial and take immediate action on their digital devices. If you’ve forgotten about these two types of dental practice advertising, it may be worthwhile to start thinking about incorporating them back into your dental marketing plan.
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