Back to Basics: The importance of REACH!

May 25, 2023

Have you ever reached for a goal that you really thought was unattainable? Gone after the one big local direct advertiser you knew was a huge stretch? An advertiser you knew was a perfect fit for your station, yet they “don’t buy radio”? Or they “tried it once and it didn’t work”? I am sure you know a few of these types of advertisers. What do we need to do to cut through and get their attention and appointment?

As a mass medium, radio is all about REACH. It’s your cume audience … how many people listen to your station. To the advertiser, REACH demonstrates the number of different people that will be exposed to their advertising. Be sure to show a sample ad schedule and include Net Reach.

What do you do if you want to show a higher REACH? Answer: look for low duplication. Since Net Reach is unduplicated audience, you will want to select dayparts on your station that have low duplication, meaning there is NOT a high percentage that listen to more than one daypart. If you are pitching several stations in your cluster, then you will want to select the stations that have the lowest duplication.

REACH is also a great way to debunk the myth that nobody listens to radio anymore. By highlighting your cume audience or showing the Net Reach or % Reach of your schedule, you are proving that radio (and your station) continue to be a vital medium in delivering an advertisers’ message. I’m often surprised by people’s perception that more people listen to platforms such as Spotify or Pandora than AM/FM Radio. That is almost never the case.

Be excited about radio’s mass appeal! Show advertisers your station’s REACH and how you are a great fit to deliver their target consumer!

-Karen Morriss, Director of Client Services

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