Article as it appeared in Public Relations Tactics, December 2005
RESEARCHING FOR RADIO: BASIC TECHNIQUES
AND TAILORING TO GET YOUR STORY ON THE AIR
by Susan Matthews Apgood
You've recognized the power of radio —
its localizing capabilities, captive audience, and widespread
listenership, and you have decided to conduct a radio
campaign to capitalize on these strengths. But with
over 13,500 radio outlets in the United States, where
do you start? Who should you pitch and how? How do you
tailor your message for radio? And what techniques will
work best for your particular message?
Where to Start
First, visualize the ideal radio listener
for your story. With radio, you can target networks
and stations in multiple ways, including geographic
areas and listener demographics.
So whether your story is aimed at teens
learning to drive or men over 50 at risk for prostate
cancer, take a look at the demographics of your target
audience, and go to stations whose formats reach that
audience. For a complete list of station formats and
the demographics they reach, contact Arbitron at www.arbitron.com.
Once you determine your target audience
and the appropriate station formats, it's time to determine
your geographic scope. Is one geographic area impacted
by your issue more than others or more important for
your client to see results in? Determine what markets
are best for your message and focus on those areas first.
Who to Pitch
One of the biggest challenges to radio
pitching is knowing which radio programs, reporters
or producers to approach. Radio stations' websites are
a good source of information. Don't be afraid to call
the station to ask who the right person is to talk with
about your story. Assignment editors, program directors,
even receptionists can be great sources of information
and can give you a feel for what they might cover. Through
one of these methods, you can find almost all the background
information you need to determine the right contact
for your story.
The consolidation of the radio industry
has changed the dynamic of the station newsroom. Now
many stations share news and information and have one
department that provides news and talk programming.
Before going into a pitch, find out what outside content
they accept. If they primarily use news from a local
or national network, your pitch may work better at the
network level.
The Pitch
Whether your story makes it on air depends
on a number of factors. Often it can depend on the way
the story is pitched and what you provide . If a compelling
or breaking news story is pitched from a credible source
with a track record of offering good news stories and
the story has a local tie-in that will impact listeners
of that station, it has a greater likelihood of being
accepted.
Remember, newsrooms are busy places, so
keep your phone pitches to about 20 seconds. Be mindful
of reporters on deadline — and keep track of those deadlines,
especially if you plan to pitch a reporter on a regular
basis. Reporters have preferences about how they receive
pitches. Ask them what their preferences are, and then
follow their guidelines.
The most important element to a story's
success is getting a station's feedback, so follow up
on all pitches. Stations tell our team that they get
many stories pitched to them where someone says they
will follow up, and they never hear from them again.
Stations may want more information and
you definitely want to receive station feedback for
your client, so remember to follow up.
Tailoring the Message
Preparing strong background materials
ensures that stations will feel compelled to do the
interview or cover the story. We have found that one
key to a successful radio campaign lies in the old real
estate adage: location, location, location. Stations
and local networks are always seeking ways to localize
stories with information that is pertinent to listeners
in their markets. Any statistics or background you can
provide to stations about their listeners makes the
reporter's research efforts easier and the chances of
them using the information much greater.
One method to localizing your story more
is to have a general release, but provide stations with
additional supporting information on state-by-state
statistics. One example is an annual teacher salary
survey released by the American Federation of Teachers.
The data includes information on current salaries and
increases or decreases by year, broken down by state
on a grid. This allows stations to easily compare their
state to a neighboring one, current results to last
year's rankings and see where they fall nationally as
well.
Another way to localize your story is
to write an individual release for each market featuring
local information. While this is time-consuming, it
is also the most user- friendly format for stations.
By adopting this approach, you provide all of the resources
necessary to create a story featuring each station's
geographic area. The time invested could result in significant
additional airtime. The less preparation stations have
to undertake to make the story relevant to their audience,
the higher the expected usage rate.
Utilizing local information and having
knowledge of issues in a particular market can often
determine whether a campaign is successful. The next
time you are preparing a release for radio, think globally,
but act locally.
Using the Right Technique
Determining the best radio method is also
key to a campaign's success. If your issue needs explanation
and your spokesperson enjoys interacting with stations,
a radio media tour is the perfect technique. A tour
is an efficient use of your spokesperson's time, as
interviews are conducted in just a few hours over the
phone. Subjects that work well for radio media tours
include technology, health and education. These are
multifaceted issues that typically warrant a discussion
that can take place in this setting.
On the other hand, if your information
presents itself clearly in a one-page release and does
not require further explanation, an audio news release
(ANR) is often the best choice to maximize your impact.
This technique is used to reach a wide audience of stations
in a short amount of time. The ANR is a fully produced
news item that includes a voiceover and a sound bite
from your spokesperson embedded in the piece and is
pitched to stations in your target demographic and geographic
areas.
If you have a broad distribution list
of stations to reach with a message in a short period
of time, an audio bite line is often the best technique.
An audio bite line capitalizes on radio's immediacy
and is widely used during a crisis to get out important
information. If, however, you are looking to increase
public awareness or having listeners take action about
a particular issue, a public service announcement may
work best. Finally, a radio broadcast fax can be utilized
for a full range of purposes, from quickly turning around
a late-breaking news story to promoting giveaways and
events. Use this technique when audio isn't available
and you want to get the word out quickly.
With all of the radio methods, it is important
to remember to be a resource to stations. Recognize
that the media is a client too. They may not pay your
salary, but they determine your ability to place stories
with them in the future. Serve stations well by pitching
them stories that impact their listeners, and you will
see a long-term return on your investment.
Susan Matthews Apgood is president
and co-founder of News Generation , Inc., an award-winning public relations services firm specializing
in radio, and services that include radio media tours,
audio news releases, audio bite lines, broadcast faxes,
and public service announcements.
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Copyright 2005 PR Tactics. Reprinted
with permission by the Public Relations Society of America
(www.prsa.org)
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